TEXAS TALES ILLUSTRATED: “The Revolution”
Mike Kearby, illustrated by Mack White, TCU Press, 2011, $6.95, pb, 32pp, 9780875654393
Two-thirds graphic novel and one-third background material, “The Revolution” tells the story of events between October 1835 and December 1836 in the struggle to form the Republic of Texas. The battle at the Alamo is told through the viewpoint of eight-year-old Enrique Esparza, taking refuge, and fifteen-year-old William King, who fights alongside its defenders. Warfare rages on as young Dilue Rose molds bullets for her uncle. Francisca Alavez, the wife of a Mexican officer, saves a young man from a massacre. Sam Houston overcomes setbacks to defeat the Mexican army, and the Treaties of Velasco conclude the account.
The storytelling in both word and image is vivid, stark, and compelling. It neither romanticizes nor glosses over this violent road of Texas history. But there’s so much incident in this single illustrated volume, it may lead to a crammed-in reading experience. The supplemental section includes a timeline, battlefield map, account of the Texas Independence Convention and content of the Treaties of Velasco. The narratives here seem to be written for an older audience. (Ages 8 to 12)
