[Graphic Novel Review] The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg

The first work by Isabel Greenberg that I read was The One Hundred Nights of Hero (check out my review by clicking here), and I really loved it! As soon as I finished that book, I went to my library database to see what other works I could request.

I had to wait quite some time to get my hands on The Encyclopedia of Early Earth, but it was definitely worth the wait!

Let’s dive in!

My Thoughts on The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg

This collection begins with a Nord boy and a girl from the South Pole meeting. The two are immediately drawn to one another, but there’s a problem- the two cannot get very close. They marry anyway and then sit around telling each other stories. That is where we dive into part the first: the land of Nord.

In this first story we meet three sisters who find a baby one day. When they cannot find his family, they decide to raise him on their own. But when they start to fight over him and who races him the best they go to a local medicine man who splits the boy into three different babies. But during this process something goes wrong, and a fourth bit of his soul escapes.

After thirteen years, the three boys meet and merge back into one. But something is still missing… That fourth piece of his soul. Throughout the rest of the book we follow the boy as he searches for his missing piece.

I loved the writing and the format of this book! I really enjoyed that the story begins in one place, then each following stories all lead into one another seamlessly, and then we wind up where we first began before we venture on into the conclusion. I also really enjoyed all of the extra stories and pages in the appendices section.

The art is so lovely. I really enjoy this style with the bold lines and striking colors. I really appreciate the slight use of color throughout. Rather than fully coloring, the artist choose to use a few colors very sparingly; so when color was included, it was very striking.

Check out these panels:

I also really loved the humor that was sprinkled throughout. Example:

My Final Thoughts on The Encyclopedia of Early Earth

I would definitely recommend this! It was such a fun and quick read, and the illustrations were wonderful.

---

Snag a copy through Bookshop to help support local indie bookshops:

Thanks for reading! 
Have you checked out any of Isabel Greenberg’s work yet? If so, what did you think?