Global – One fragile world. An epic fight for survival

by Lilian Nyamongo

Global is a dual narrative of Sami, living in the Bay of Bengal, near the Indian Ocean and Yuki, who lives in Northern Canada in the Arctic Circle. The narratives centre the diverse and interconnected (global) experiences of children under global warming. The book opens with scenes of Sami and his grandpa fighting with their neighbours and migrants from Myanmar over their property while they went out fishing to earn their daily wages. Yuki can’t help but notice her town’s gradual decline with decreased economic opportunities. At the same time, she has seen an increased number of hungry grolar bears (a cross-breed between a grizzly and polar bear; aka pizzly bears) roaming her town. She recognises that the bears are doing their best to survive, “They can’t exactly order takeout” [pg. 14]. At the same time, she is cognizant of the human/bear tensions as the bears struggle to survive. Thus, she sets out with her trusted dog, Lockjaw (Locky), to document the ongoing environmental changes so that fewer grolars will be harmed. Organised in chapters, the book shifts back and forth between Sami’s and Yuki’s stories as they attempt to make sense of their current situations.

Through Global, Colfer, Donkin and Rigano cover topics of forced migration, grief, growing up, survival and resilience while living in the Anthropocene (our current geological age). Climate change threatens the lives, health and well-being of children across various divides. They are the most vulnerable to its effects; particularly those at higher risk of harm in low-income communities and in small island developing states (SIDS). It’s only in the recent past that the lasting impact of climate change on children has been brought to the limelight. Hazards resulting from the increased frequency and intensity of weather events such as storms and flooding as depicted in Sami’s narrative are more likely to cause displacement. In a 2023 UNICEF report¹, 95 percent of recorded child displacements were attributed to storms and flooding between 2016-2021.This translated to 43 million children losing their homes over the five year period. At the same time, on page 25 in the novel, we see evidence of simple actions with lasting negative effects when Yuki and Locky find a snickers wrapper during their excursion.

Global targets middle and young adult readers with its straightforward explanations and richly hued illustrations. The semi-realistic characters along with distinct visual palettes (icy blues in Yuki’s story and warm golds in Sami’s story) create Rigano’s desired emotional effects of lonely vastness and encroaching danger, respectively. At the same time, we see their courage and resilience, which will make readers want to cheer them on. This graphic novel will be a great conversation starter between children and their guardians or even among peers who want to explore topics around the climate crisis while building empathy and hopefully motivate readers to take action in their communities. The book ends with a cliffhanger and so we can only anticipate more adventures soon.

Reference

1. United Nations Children’s Fund, The climate-changed child: A children’s climate risk index supplement, UNICEF, New York, November 2023

Reviewer’s Information

Lilian Nyamongo recently graduated with her Master’s degree in Food Policy from the Centre for Food Policy at City St George’s, University of London. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development and an undergraduate degree in Finance. Her current career interests include building resilient agrifood systems, climate issues, evidence-driven policymaking and science communication. She enjoys thrifting books from charity shops, discovering London’s underhyped museums and catching up on the latest K-drama tropes.