COMICS - Early Reader

WINNER

Whose Sock?

Text and Art by Sun Jun
Hsin Yi Publications, Taiwan, 2020

What the jury said:

Whose Sock? adapts the repetition and variation of a classic early reader narrative to the comic book format with immaculate precision as a small black cat searches for the owner of an unusual yellow sock. A journey from floor to floor of an apartment building crowded with a humorous menagerie of anthropomorphic characters that represent the diversity of urban communities. The book itself overflows with gags and graphic inventions that make for rich reading and rereading even as the main character pursues his objective. Sun Jun makes excellent use limited color throughout. Because of all these qualities and more, the jury chose this work as the winner of the BRAW Comics for early readers.

Après les vagues

SPECIAL MENTION

Après les vagues (After the Waves)

Text and Art by Sandrine Kao
Grasset Jeunesse, France, 2022

What the jury said:

Kawaii characters dance through a floating world landscape as poetic language sensitively describes the bittersweet emotional experiences of the self encountering the other and the family discovering the world. The oversized album makes full and dynamic use of the canvas of the page to render a rich and immersive environment through which delicate emotions can safely echo.

O primeiro dia

SPECIAL MENTION

O primeiro dia (The First Day)

Text and Art by Henrique Coser Moreira
Planeta Tangerina, Portugal, 2022

What the jury said:

This wordless comic delights in its fluid employment of the basic mechanics of the comics form just as its child protagonists delights in the simple pleasures of the first day of spring. Tiny, elegant, sweet yet still rigorous, this minimalist book is a miniature delight.