The Great Turkey Walk (Graphic Novel Adaptation) - Kathleen Karr - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Kathleen Karr

ILLUSTRATOR: Léonie Bischoff

TRANSLATOR: Michelle Bailat-Jones

GENRE: Graphic Novel

PUBLICATION DATE: October 8, 2024

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A graphic novel adaptation of the 1998 children’s book by the same name. Loads of fun, but also covers plenty of dark themes. Wild West setting, historical era, adventure, and turkeys! Great for middle-graders and younger teens.

Plot Preview:

Simon is not really the brightest of bulbs, so his class teacher (in whose class he has spent many years repeating grades) advises him to stop schooling and “explore the world.” His mother is dead and his father disappeared soon after, so Simon, who stays with his maternal aunt’s family, has no clue what to do next. That’s when an opportunity presents itself.

When Simon hears from his neighbour Mr. Buffey that turkeys fetch a higher price in Denver, he decides to go into business. He borrows money from his teacher, bids a hearty goodbye to his uncaring guardians, purchases a thousand turkeys from Mr. Buffey and sets off on an 800-mile journey from Missouri to Denver. His sole companion is an old drunk Mr. Peece, who is the only fellow Simon found to help steer the mule wagon while he himself herds the turkeys. Thus begins an epic adventure filled with plenty of memorable moments and close calls.

The story comes to us in Simon’s first-person perspective.

Kathleen Karr originally wrote a middle-grade novel named ‘The Great Turkey Walk’ in 1998. A graphic novel adaptation of this book was first published in French in 2022 under the title ‘La longue marche des dindes’. With this new translation releasing in October 2024, the graphic version is now available in English.

Bookish Yays:

🦃 Simon is the worthy lead for such a story. Initially dismissed as ‘pea-brained”, his good heart and his business acumen immediately proves that there are several strengths to him. His personality is sketched wonderfully. Simon’s story proves how bookish know-how isn't the only thing guaranteed to give you success in the world.

🦃 Simon often wallows in self-doubt thanks to always being referred to as a dullard, but his teacher supports him beautifully through his lack of confidence and shows faith when he needed it the most. Such a wonderful example of how teachers should be!

🦃 The other characters who accompany Simon on his journey – Mr. Peece the alcoholic mule driver, Jo the runaway slave, and Lizzie the lone survivor of her family after an epidemic – also contribute much to the story. I love how they are supporting characters not just in name but also in deed. Whenever Simon stumbles, they have his back.

🦃 The above characters shatter the usually clichéd depictions of an alcoholic, a slave, and a delicate teenage girl. Another character who makes a surprise appearance midway the story is also not sketched the typical way. I appreciate the themes of the importance of freedom, coming out through Jo’s arc, and of women’s equality through Lizzie’s narrative.

🦃 The turkeys add to a lot of fun to the plot. There’s even a lovable dog – a nice addition to any story!

🦃 The adventurous journey from Missouri to Denver, covering a variety of terrain and bumping into varied kinds of people. The almost 800-mile-long trip is filled with episodic adventures, each of which has a different kind of struggle to overcome. There is a healthy balance between the fun and the serious elements of the journey.

🦃 The found family trope is used well in the plot, proving that friends are better than blood relatives at times.

🦃 The idea that everyone has a talent, even if they don’t know it yet. How lovely for little ones to know!

🦃 The illustrations are gorgeous. The graphics are in light pastels whereby you can actually feel the sunshine and the prairie breeze. The night-time illustrations are suitably darker but never dull. A special mention of Simon's wild mop of hair! The lettering is done in a lovely serif-style typeface that suits a first-person narration wonderfully.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🌵 Some important details should have been made clear at the start for those who haven’t read the original middle-grade novel. We know only later into the story that the journey begins in Missouri and that Simon is twelve. The year in which the story is set isn't revealed at all, except in the blurb that mentions 1860 Missouri. Not everyone reads the blurb before beginning a book!

🌵 There are too many moralising themes tackled in the story. While all of these are important, they make the book feel needlessly overloaded, especially as it is only 144 pages long and hence there is not much depth to each episode. This could be a negative of being the condensed form of a full-length novel.

🌵 There are a few spelling errors, which might be a deliberate choice to show Simon’s lack of schoolish knowhow, but they could be confusing to little readers.

All in all, despite some issues, I enjoyed this book. I am not usually a fan of Wild West or cowboy-style stories, but this proved a worthy exception with its loveable characters, adventurous historical plotline, and worthy life lessons.

Recommended to middle-graders looking for an inspiring + entertaining story with awesome graphics.

My thanks to Helvetiq for providing the DRC of “The Great Turkey Walk” via Edelweiss+. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Content warnings: parental death (off page), alcoholism, racial discrimination, shooting, references to slavery, cruelty against the indigenous, violence, toxic parent.