Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Starred Review Chronicling the true trip-around-the-world adventures of three nineteenth-century adventurers gives Phelan the opportunity to once again examine the Great American Narrative, as he did so effectively in his beautifully mythological The Storm in the Barn (Booklist Top of the List, 2009). While examining Thomas Stevens' bicycle journey, feminist-ahead-of-her-time reporter Nellie Bly's race to beat Phileas Fogg's imaginary record, and Joshua Slocum's solitary globe circumnavigation on a sailboat, Phelan does not fail to explore their inner journeys as well. Though any one of the tales (particularly Bly's) could well have supported an entire book, juxtaposing the three allows Phelan to cast a wider psychological net, and the stories encompass such national ideals as dogged can-do spirit, exploration, enterprise, and commercialism, while never straying from the characters' personal worlds or out of age-appropriate territory. In addition to tight research and a gift for evoking both an era and the personalities that lived in it, the stories are greatly abetted by the magic of Phelan's art: washes of light and dark that set the tone and effortless, uncomplicated (yet highly distinctive) faces that are the very essence of determination and adventure.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

With uncommon perception and a flair for visual drama, Phelan tracks three intrepid souls' solo journeys around the world. In 1884, Thomas Stevens rode a bicycle from San Francisco to Boston, and then decided to extend the outing—to Yokohama. Journalist Nellie Bly set out in 1889 to beat the 80-day schedule suggested in Jules Verne's novel (meeting the encouraging author along the way and bettering the novel's time by two days). Mariner Joshua Slocum took the most circuitous route, sailing over 46,000 miles between 1895 and 1898 accompanied only by poignant memories of his first wife. Adding brief bridging captions or snatches of dialogue to quoted comments from their subsequent memoirs, Phelan highlights the experiences and reflections of each in cinematic sequences of delicately drawn panels. By focusing on the travelers' faces, he captures their distinct characters (and shared rock-steady determination) with such force and clarity that readers can't help but be swept along by Stevens' aggressive mustache, Bly's steely glare at male doubters and nay-sayers, the aching heart visible behind Slocum's tough, grizzled countenance. The author rounds off each account with an epilogue, then closes with a thoughtful note and a source list. Three true tales of adventure as grand and admirable in the telling as they were in the doing. (Graphic nonfiction. 10-13)

Horn Book

A fast and furious street-basketball game is played in an original graphic style: from action-packed spread to spread, the ball travels from New York to countries including Nigeria, China, and Brazil and back to New York. Despite the schematic concept, the book, featuring comic-strip dialogue boxes capturing the young players' telegraphic speech patterns, will hook readers.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

With uncommon perception and a flair for visual drama, Phelan tracks three intrepid souls' solo journeys around the world. In 1884, Thomas Stevens rode a bicycle from San Francisco to Boston, and then decided to extend the outing—to Yokohama. Journalist Nellie Bly set out in 1889 to beat the 80-day schedule suggested in Jules Verne's novel (meeting the encouraging author along the way and bettering the novel's time by two days). Mariner Joshua Slocum took the most circuitous route, sailing over 46,000 miles between 1895 and 1898 accompanied only by poignant memories of his first wife. Adding brief bridging captions or snatches of dialogue to quoted comments from their subsequent memoirs, Phelan highlights the experiences and reflections of each in cinematic sequences of delicately drawn panels. By focusing on the travelers' faces, he captures their distinct characters (and shared rock-steady determination) with such force and clarity that readers can't help but be swept along by Stevens' aggressive mustache, Bly's steely glare at male doubters and nay-sayers, the aching heart visible behind Slocum's tough, grizzled countenance. The author rounds off each account with an epilogue, then closes with a thoughtful note and a source list. Three true tales of adventure as grand and admirable in the telling as they were in the doing. (Graphic nonfiction. 10-13)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In the wake of Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days, the desire to circumnavigate the globe ran rampant, as Phelan (The Storm in the Barn) illustrates in this oddly unexciting tale of three such adventure seekers. In 1884, Thomas Stevens, a former miner, vows to cross the U.S. by bicycle, then a newfangled mode of transportation. After successfully traveling from coast to coast, Stevens decides to continue on to Europe via ship, and on through India and China before ending his 13,500-mile journey in Japan. Nellie Bly, by far the most interesting globetrotter seen here, departs New York in 1889 as a reporter with the goal of traveling around the world in 74 days, beating Verne's fictional Phileas Fogg. Sending dispatches back during her long steamer and train journey-during which she briefly meets Verne in France-Bly's ticking clock adds an element of suspense. Finally, in 1892, Massachusetts sea captain Joshua Slocum sets sail alone on the Spray, intending to sail around the world. Despite visitations from his dead wife and rough weather to liven up the voyage, his journey is comparatively dull. Little differentiates the three stories visually and the elements begin to blur, the result as flat as a breezeless sea. Ages 9-12. (Oct.)

School Library Journal (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Gr 1-4-A pickup basketball game in New York City expands to similar scenes of kids and hoops in nine other locations around the world. Cartoon panels show a girl named Tanika leading a fast break, then a page turn shifts to a moonlit court in Perth at the same moment. The Australian kids complete their fast break and subsequent spreads take readers to China, Turkey, and other locations before returning to the finish of the New York game. Comic-book-style artwork captures the speed and motion of the sport with elongated figures and good use of small panels inset within larger views. Game details come through in dialogue bubbles, sound effects ("thwack!" and "swish"), and play-by-play description: "Vladimir finds Marko, who drives baseline." The language and look of the players convey their differences, as do the various venues, from an indoor Serbian gym to cool beachside hoops in Puerto Rico. Court action includes arguments, injuries, and rough play, along with fancy passes and finger rolls. This helps reaffirm the commonalities of the sport, regardless of the setting. Tanika's game of "around the world" that begins and ends the book is a slightly forced tie-in to the international theme but serves as a suitable framework for the more fast-paced scenes in between. This title helps fill the need for books about kids from different countries, with particular appeal to fans of comics or basketball or both.-Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.