Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters: A Graphic Memoir

Gr 4 Up–Ukrainian illustrator and artist Nayberg shares a compelling and accessible graphic memoir of her experience living through the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which happened in 1986 outside of Kiev, then part of the Soviet Union. She portrays her major life events between 1982 and 1986 as she begins her journey to becoming an artist. As a young child she learns from adults not to “stick out” and practices wearing WWII era gas masks in case of nuclear war. The bulk of the story takes place in 1986 as she applies to the prestigious Art School, practicing the required Academic Style and expressing herself in her own way. Nayberg’s art makes subtle but striking growth as the book progresses - from starting with basic pencil lines and experiments with texture and collage, then maturing into a variety of expressions and exploration with color. The confusing world of adult vocabulary, euphemisms, and contradictions are amusingly portrayed. Today’s young readers will gain important Cold War history and awareness of the effects of nuclear radiation through Nayberg’s childhood world, which can provide context for the complexities of Ukraine today.