Charcoal Boys

July 15, 2019
The lives of a hornet and a boy unexpectedly intertwine in this vividly illustrated, unusual glimpse of child labor at a coal yard. Translated into English from its original Portuguese by Hahn, Brazilian Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning author/illustrator Mello's enigmatic text addresses the humanitarian and environmental stakes of charcoal production. A primarily black-and-white color palette sets a somber tone, while die-cut pages shaped to resemble tongues of orange, pink, and red flame echo the collaged endpapers evoking clusters of embers and ashes. Told in distinct, titled fragments from the hornet's perspective, the sometimes frustratingly abstruse text offers readers just enough visual and verbal information to construct meaning. The hornet, who guards a larva in its mud nest on a charcoal mound, addresses readers in deceptively plain language peppered with descriptive words and repeated phrases. Skin color is mentioned only in reference to an albino boy, depicted with bright white skin, who struggles to hide from the labor inspectors among the charcoal while the first boy, depicted with dark skin does not. The only named character is the albino boy, whom the hornet christens, unoriginally and somewhat insensitively, "Albi." The book's format and Mello's professional background suggest children are its intended audience, but it's difficult to envision any child engaging with this book without adult scaffolding. The text is more poetic than informational, and it does not include references for further reading. Still, for those readers who wrestle with it, it's an unforgettable experience. An ambiguous ending makes this book truly haunting--and vital. (Picture book. 8-12)

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August 26, 2019
This haunting story from Hans Christian Andersen medalist Mello, sensitively translated by Hahn, explores the life of a Brazilian child laborer who tends a domed oven in which wood is burned to make charcoal. The story is narrated by a sharp-eyed hornet whose own dome-shaped home duplicates in miniature the shape of the boy’s oven: “My house keeps an egg, his house embraces the fire.” In moments snatched from the desperate search for food, the hornet watches the boy at work as he dodges labor inspectors and tussles with a companion over a cigarette. Mello uses dingy grays and blacks to depict the boy’s surroundings, but when the precious cigarette starts a brush fire, hot pink and orange die-cut pages create a conflagration in the book’s center. The charcoal boy and hornet share the same fate: they’re small, vulnerable beings whose lives are blighted by forces they can’t see. While the story’s grim content and its enigmatic prose-poetry—“I just have to shout with all the strength in my wings”—may make it a difficult choice for the stated age range, Mello’s distinctive work burns with poetic truth. Ages 5–8.

October 1, 2019

Gr 3 Up-In this bizarre, yet strikingly beautiful book in translation, Mello presents the story of a Brazilian child laborer through the eyes of a hornet. In a meandering conversational style, the hornet addresses readers in the second person. She abruptly switches back and forth between the story of a young boy working in the coal mines and her own preoccupations with feeding her egg. The boy escapes the grasp of an inspector, and accidentally loses a mysterious key given to him urgently by his friend who was not so lucky. In his frustration, the boy destroys the hornet's nest, receives a retributive sting, and the book ends uncertainly with the boy in a fever. The odd style of narration, quick changes in pace and tense, and illustrative language require close and careful reading. For these reasons it is unclear how much children will understand or appreciate the story. Furthermore, as the boy's friend smokes cigarettes, and the word hell is used, it may be better suited for a more mature reader. That said, the unique and stark illustrations, created in highly textured layers of paint and paper, are gallery-worthy. While most pages are black or dark grayscale, pops of brilliant neon oranges and pinks stand out, and on rare occasions, occupy the majority of a page. Mello creates silhouettes that resemble haunting cave paintings, and captures the essence of fire in several forms, from wispy thin smoke, to bright chunky paper cutouts. VERDICT This book is a work of art, but one better suited for the shelf of a collector than that of a child. Still, there may be some out there who will appreciate this dark offering.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2019
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* What to make of this idiosyncratic picture book from Brazilian author-illustrator Mello? Told by an observant hornet, it's the story of two boys in a coal yard where fiery ovens make charcoal. One, dark-skinned, is known only as the boy. The other, said to be an albino, is nicknamed Albi by the hornet. The boys scuffle over a lit cigarette, which, dislodged, sets the coal yard on fire. The next day the inspectors come and the boys hide but Albi, because of the whiteness of his skin, is quickly discovered and taken away?to incarceration, perhaps? Alone now, the boy returns to the coal yard, where he foolishly throws mud at the hornet's nest, driving the hornet to sting him. The boy becomes feverish and, the hornet says, flies for the first time. Is he dead? The book is filled with haunting enigmas that are as tantalizing as the vaguely expressionist, non-representational illustrations executed in black, white, and shades of grey (there is smoke everywhere) and accented with neon pink and orange (there is also fire everywhere). The effect is dramatic, especially a layered spread of cut-paper flames. The fascinating mix of words and images invites?almost demands?rereading to tease out meaning. Though not for every reader, the book is perfect for those who enjoy a challenge and a puzzle.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)