What It Is

Starred review from December 1, 2012

Many librarians have found themselves at a loss how properly to catalog these companion volumes by renowned comic artist and author Barry. They are ultimately part memoir, part creative workbook, part comic, and part tragic, and while many kids and teens may enjoy them, much of the subject matter is quite mature. Each book deals with drawing pictures and telling stories in varying proportions, and both examine from many angles the notion of keeping visual journals. Barry has said that her goal is to inspire readers, and she succeeds.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2008
Gr 9 Up-Every so often a book comes along that surpasses expectations, taking readers on an inspirational voyage that they dont want to leave. This is one such book. Each page is a feast for the eyes with beautiful full-page collages of photographs, watercolors, ink drawings, and text, resulting in a gorgeous volume that explores and encourages writing in a combination of ways. The author challenges readers with philosophical questions to ponder, such as What is an image? Where are they found? Can we remember something we cant imagine? The volume also acts as a workbook that successfully encourages teens to explore their own creativity through writing. In addition, autobiographical glimpses of Barrys journey from childhood to adulthood appear throughout the book. The struggles and obstacles she faces while following her path of becoming an artist and writer allow readers to believe in the possibility of writing themselves. This stunning book will appeal to those teens who are interested in delving into their creativity through words and art. The questions posed and valuable exercises that exist within its pages, along with the illustrations, could also make this book a valuable tool for English and art teachers in the classroom."Lara McAllister, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2009
"It" is a highly imaginative, image-and-words collage, mashed-up with a how-to-write book and highlighted with autobiographical snippets. Barry's purpose is to urge readers to interact with their own imagery, ideas, and stories, then write and/or draw them. The text wanders through a colorful, free-form garden of birds, animals, flowers, and snippets of letters and quotations, almost demanding that readers break any habits of associating "creating" with fear-inducing concepts like "assignments" or "rules." As her own form of exercises, she invites readers to write what first comes to mind, using various prompts and tricks to disable inhibitions and the hypercritical overseer in the head. Doodles, hypothetical questions, ornate borders, and dialog all become grist. Create images, and words will come; create words, and images will come. "What It Is" will frustrate readers who want to follow a clear trail of ideas and pictures but delight those who take the time to let their minds taste all of Barry's visual and literate smorgasbord. For teen and adult collections.M.C.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2008
Though she has drawn the weekly Ernie Pooks Comeek and other alternative comics for nigh-on two decades, Barry still manages to surprise and delight. Take this hard-to-categorize book, an ambitious work that combines ink and watercolor drawings, collage, and handwritten and typeset text to explore the creative process by posing open-ended questions ("What is an image?" "What is a memory?"), and autobiographical passages about Barrys harsh, lonely youth and creative struggles. A freewheeling "Activity Book" follows, proceeding in the same lively fashion by drawing on exercises from the creativity workshops Barry holds around the country and inviting readers to join in the fun of unleashing their imaginations. Although such content is a departure from the usual for Barry, her distinctive style, with its vividly messy expressiveness, remains a constant. Barrys legions of fans will appreciate the insight she provides into her work, but her entertaining, accessible approach to weighty philosophical matters deserves a still larger audience. Drawn and Quarterly, this books publisher, plans to bring the Ernie Pook strips back into print--good news for us all.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)

Starred review from May 26, 2008
This brilliant, beautiful, nearly uncategorizable book is a print version of Barry's famous seminar “Writing the Unthinkable” a class about writing from “images,” recollected or imagined moments. It's part cartooning, part handwritten text, part ornate multimedia collage (with heartbreaking pieces of decades-old school papers and words snipped out of old textbooks)—all three appear on almost every page, most of which Barry constructed by decorating every available space on ruled yellow notebook paper. The first and longest section is a bizarre and hilarious memoir of Barry's creative impulses: how they developed when she was a child, how they flickered and faded when she started asking herself “Is this good?” and “Does this suck?” and how they returned when she learned to escape that trap. The core of the book, though, explains the “writing the unthinkable” technique; it's narrated by a sea monster and stars a “magic cephalopod.” Finally, Barry shows us a sheaf of her note pad, the pages she fills with doodles and spare phrases while she's working on a “real” project; they are, naturally, as vivid and radiantly eccentric as everything else here. The whole thing is overflowing with quirks, strangeness and charm, and makes palpable Barry's affection for her students and the act of art making itself.