Description

"A brilliant, powerful, must-read for anyone and everyone on planet earth." —Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear

The climate crisis is reaching a critical tipping point—and you might have heard of the countless amazing young people who are taking action and speaking up for change.

Emma Reynolds shines a spotlight on sixteen incredible youth activists from around the world who are fighting to protect the planet and all life on Earth. From Autumn Peltier campaigning for clean water to Edgar Edmund Tarimo turning plastic waste into building materials—and many more—these inspiring true stories highlight the importance of taking charge and creating change.

Beautifully illustrated by sixteen different artists and accompanied by facts and pictures that explain the science, Drawn to Change the World is for anyone who wants to learn more about the climate and nature crisis and what we can do about it, with extensive front matter and back matter materials.

You are not too young and you are not too old to begin. We need everyone to help with the biggest challenge the human race has ever faced. We can do this if we work together.

For after all, change starts with you!

About the Author

Emma Reynolds is an illustrator and author based in Manchester, UK. Emma started #KidLit4Climate, the first global illustrated climate campaign in early 2019, bringing together thousands of children’s illustrators and authors from more than fifty countries in solidarity with the youth climate strikes. Her author-illustrator debut picture book, Amara and the Bats, about bat conservation, community action, and finding hope, is a NSTA Best in STEM and Empathy Lab #ReadForEmpathy selection. She is passionate about storytelling and making accessible SciComm and is inspired by nature, animals, adventure, and seeing the magic in the everyday. Visit her at emmareynoldsillustration.com. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @EmmaIllustrate.

Emma Reynolds is an illustrator and author based in Manchester, UK. Emma started #KidLit4Climate, the first global illustrated climate campaign in early 2019, bringing together thousands of children’s illustrators and authors from more than fifty countries in solidarity with the youth climate strikes. Her author-illustrator debut picture book, Amara and the Bats, about bat conservation, community action, and finding hope, is a NSTA Best in STEM and Empathy Lab #ReadForEmpathy selection. She is passionate about storytelling and making accessible SciComm and is inspired by nature, animals, adventure, and seeing the magic in the everyday. Visit her at emmareynoldsillustration.com. Follow her on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok @EmmaIllustrate.

Ann Maulina is a comic artist from Indonesia. Her original comic is Raruurien (raruurien.com). She also works as a freelance comic book artist for Marvel and DC Comics. She holds a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design, which gives her a high advantage with art and design projects. She enjoys creating art while exploring some dynamic and harmonic colors.

Natsha Donovan is a self-taught illustrator from Vancouver, British Columbia, with a focus on comics and children’s illustration. Her work has appeared in two anthologies: The Other Side, edited by Melanie Gillman and Kori Handwerker, and This Place. She illustrated the award-winning children’s book The Sockeye Mother by Brett D. Huson and the graphic novel Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett. She has a degree in anthropology from the University of British Columbia and has worked in academic and magazine publishing. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington. Natasha Donovan is a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia.

Teo DuVall is a queer Chicanx comic artist and illustrator based in Seattle, Washington. They graduated in 2015 with a BFA in cartooning from the School of Visual Arts and have had the immense pleasure of working with Levine Querido, HarperCollins, Dark Horse, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, and more. They have a passion for fantasy, aesthetic ghost stories, and witches of color and love being able to create stories for a living. Teo lives with their spouse, their two pets—a giant, cuddly pit bull and a tiny, ferocious cat—and a small horde of houseplants.

Devon Holzwarth is an award-winning picture book illustrator, author, and painter. Born in Washington, DC, Devon grew up in Panama surrounded by nature and her dad’s art supplies. She has lived in many other places over the years but currently calls Germany home, along with her husband, two kids, a galgo dog from Spain, and a little dachshund from Romania.

Margarita Kukhtina is a children’s book illustrator currently based in Batumi, Georgia. She studied fine art at the State Academy of Slavic Culture. She creates illustrations for picture books, advertising, magazines, and posters.

Victoria Maderna and Federico Piatti are Argentinian artists based in Spain. A married couple, they work individually as illustrators creating artwork for books, magazines, and tabletop games, and they make comics in collaboration. They’re currently working on Hematite, a graphic novel series about a teenage vampire published by Dargaud (France), which they write and draw together.

Shivana Sookdeo is an Eisner and Ignatz Award–winning cartoonist and senior designer. Her work is about the personal—everything from body politics to deepest fears. She has been featured in Elements: Fire, Dirty Diamonds, and Sweaty Palms, among others. She lives in Brooklyn and is currently working on a graphic novel and picture book series.

Anoosha Syed is a Pakistani Canadian character designer and the illustrator of over twenty books, including I Am Perfectly Designed by Karamo Brown, APALA honor book Bilal Cooks Daal by Aisha Saeed, and her author/illustrator debut, That’s Not My Name! Some of her past clients include Netflix, Disney, Target, and Google. In her free time, Anoosha hosts a YouTube channel dedicated to free and accessible art and business education for aspiring illustrators. She lives in Toronto with her husband and cat.

Jade Zhang is a queer Chinese Canadian illustrator and comic artist based in Toronto. She is interested in telling stories about magic, memory, and monsters with feelings. Jade is currently illustrating Ghost Circus, a middle grade graphic novel filled to the brim with mystery and ghosts. Previous published works include “How to Survive a Haunting” with the Shades of Fear anthology, and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller: Tricksters with BOOM! Studios.

Derick Brooks is an illustrator and author from Virginia who loves to create adventurous stories about Black folks. He is currently hard at work on various projects, including his debut graphic novel about intergalactic thumb wrestling called Grip Up!

Natasha Nayo is a 2D animator and illustrator from Ghana with a BFA in animation/illustration from Maryland Institute College of Art. She does character design, visual development, and 2D animations. Her videos were displayed in various festivals such as Encounters Film Festival; Bristol, 2018, and DISCOP Johannesburg, 2019. Her love for creating personal, vibrant comics dates back to 2012. Drawn to Change the World is her first published anthology feature.

Bill Masuku is an award-winning comic book and storyboard artist from Zimbabwe. Masuku is the creator of Captain South Africa, Razor-Man, and Welcome to Dead World. As an author Masuku has written in the urban fantasy genre with his novellas Misfortunism and Psychophagy, books centered on mental health as a form of magic gone awry. He offers his experience in the field of African comic books to guest lecture a fourth-year digital arts course at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Praise For…

"Young environmental activists around the world are making a difference... The comics were created by different cartoonists whose backgrounds, styles, and even palettes are equally wide-ranging. Overall, these are heartening examples of young people taking action against what is probably the most important issue in all our lives; readers will emerge compelled to make a difference themselves." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Reynolds and an assortment of artists have created something spectacular with this middle grade graphic novel perfect for young activists and those interested in bettering the world... The images are striking and emotional in places, moving in all the right ways, which perfectly complement the stories being told." — School Library Journal (starred review)

"A brilliant, powerful, must-read for anyone and everyone on planet earth." — Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear