Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Annelie Geissler
Categories
Books for very young children, children’s picture books & activity books

HIDDEN SYSTEMS

Dan Nott

Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day

A four-color YA graphic nonfiction project: the hidden history and geography of how our world really works.

The world we live in is stitched together by systems we often can't see and which we know very little about. Our lives depend on these systems and yet their architecture, their operation, and the differences between how they were first conceived versus how they've come to function reveal a surprisingly rich and intricate world right beneath our noses. Taken together how we get our water, how our world is wired for power, the way we handle waste and recycling, and the little known infrastructure of the internet we can discover the hidden history and geography of interlocking networks that make our lives possible and keep our worlds moving smoothly. HIDDEN SYSTEMS, in a beautifully designed and factually rich comics format, will be full of information, insight and discovery for readers of all ages. Random House Graphic is a brand new imprint and is a part of Random House Children's Group. HIDDEN SYSTEMS will be published as a YA title but with the full expectation of an all ages readership. Dan Nott is a cartoonist, illustrator, and educator. His work has been featured in THE NIB, SEVEN DAYS, Fusion's GRAPHIC CULTURE section, and been featured in MEDIUM's Editor's Picks, and in the WASHINGTONPOST.com. Dan lives in Vermont.

Available products
Book Published 2023-03-14 by Random House Graphic

Comments

Ever walked through the city and wondered what lay beneath your feet? Of course you have! But most of us quickly put it out of mind and move on. Hidden Systems is what happens when that wondering doesn't go away and the answers come to you in the form of a comic. While there are dozens of hidden systems that keep modernity operating, Nott chooses to focus on three that, arguably, set the foundation for all the rest: the internet, the power grid (electricity), and waterworks. The book is split into sections for each system, with each section providing a history of how these systems emerged, where they are today, and views at different scalesmacro, micro, and in daily life. The future of these systems is briefly considered, with a note of hope for adaptation in a world of climate change, largely in the concluding chapter. The true power of comics is on display here, with complex, difficult-to-comprehend structures presented both through a variety of metaphors and by placing those metaphors in context with simplified renditions of their real physical appearance. As he credits in the end pages (with process sketches and a bibliography), Nott is channeling the brilliant illustrative work of David Macaulay's The Way Things Work here, bringing clarity to a new generation of curious readers. Strong crossover YA and adult appeal. Matthew Noe

1) longlisted for the National Book Award, 2) called a Best Book for Teens (2023) by the New York Public Library, 3) singled out by the Children's Book Council as a Sustainability and Environment pick, 4) named a best book of the year by the librarians of the Cooperative Children's Book Center, 5) won the Vermont Book Award, 6) named a Green Earth Honor Book by The Nature Generation, 7) made the Indie Next List by the American Booksellers Association, 8) was a Junior Library Guild Selection, and acknowledged as both 9) a Best STEM Book, K-12, by the National Science Teaching Association and 10) an Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book by The National Council of Teachers of English.

This is a compelling and thoroughly entertaining display of intellect and empathy brilliantly communicated through page after page of masterfully designed and drawn cartoon panels. Every panel, simple or complex, deserves a closer look and as in all the best graphic literary work, each word is carefully chosen and each phrase precisely placed to lead us on a thoroughly rewarding journey.

An unnamed narrator marvels at "how little I know about everyday things" in the initial chapter of this illuminating graphic novel debut. According to the narrator, a hidden system is "something we don't notice until it breaks"; when commonplace amenities such as water, electricity, and the internet are working the way they should, "we take for granted the benefits they provide some of us, and disregard the harm they cause others." In subsequent chapters, Nott breaks down the origins, basic functioning, and cultural impact of each aforementioned industry into easily digestible graphs and panels, rendered in cyan lines reminiscent of technological and architectural blueprints. While these systems act as the foundation of society, however, the text posits that they can also be harbingers of "inequality and environmental harm." A chapter on electricity, for example, touches on how hydropower, while not requiring carbon fuel, still causes "drastic disruption to the environment, local and Indigenous communities, and wildlife." A necessary introductory approach to everyday systems that briefly interrogates the bias and inequalities imbedded within them. Ages 12up. (Mar.)

UK: Abner Stein ; China: Luminaire ; Japan: Kawade-Shobo ; Korea: Forest Book Publishing; Spain: Planeta Comic ; Russia/Popuri ; Portugal/Classica ; Italy/Quinto Quarto

Hidden Systems is fascinating, thought-provoking, engaging, and accessible. If you've ever wondered how the world around you works - at both the human and the planetary scale - this book is a wonderful way to find out.