Oasis

Gr 3-8–JieJie and her little brother DiDi are living alone in a barren desert while their mother works in Oasis City, hoping to earn a place to live within. The siblings fend for themselves by waiting out sandstorms, taking daily treks for water, and making food from survival packets. One day, after their mother doesn’t respond to their daily phone calls, JieJie and DiDi wander into a junkyard where they find a torso of a robot. The children bring it home, repair and activate it. They program the robot to “Mother Mode,” and the siblings have a parental figure living with them again; then the children’s actual mother gets worried by the lack of communication and returns home unannounced. The use of darker and lighter shades for the color scheme matches the narrative tone presented throughout. Color is used sparingly to demonstrate heartfelt moments amongst the characters. Overall, this is a poignant illustrated story about the desire for a mother’s love during a somber time.