Summary: "[A] tale of a world in between time, where children have played so long it's almost become work, machines have worked so long they have begun to play, and all the clocks have stopped at the same time. This is how this land has remained, until 314 dapper-looking gentlemen rain down from the sky and set off in different directions to start the world again. Now Ayden, the only boy to still ask questions; Zoe, the robot girl all other machines hold dear; and the Dapper Man known only as '41' must discover what happened that made time stop, understand what their true places are in this world, and learn what 'tomorrow' really means. The sun is setting for the first time in memory, and once that happens, everything changes"--From publisher's web site.
Booklist Reviews
*Starred Review* This beguiling graphic novel joins the likes of Shaun Tan's The Arrival (2007) and John Harris Dunning and Nikhil Singh's Salem Brownstone (2010) as a book that is so immediately distinctive that it promises a unique reading experience—and more than delivers. In the dreamy land of Anorev, children, all under age 11, live underground among intricate gear-work mechanisms, while elegant robots live in abandoned houses aboveground: "Neither children nor machines knew which was work nor what was play, and neither seemed to be any fun or any use." All are perpetually stuck in the same day, and time has, essentially, ceased to mean anything—until 314 Dapper Men rain from the sky and set in motion the impetus for change. The sometimes slippery-to-grasp story plays around with classic Peter Pan themes, obliquely delivering the message that childhood is not something to hold in limbo; it can only find meaning and value in moving forward, in growing and changing and looking to tomorrow as much as revering today. But where this book truly stands out is how well the story works in concert with Lee's stunning artwork, which employs an art nouveau sheen. Arresting layouts give the book an ethereal, timeless quality and turn each page into a frameworthy work of art. A true dazzler that speaks on multiple levels for both child and adult readers and one that gets richer with each read. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.
Eisner Award Winner
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