Alien Nate

Alien Nate is a school-age graphic novel about Nate’s trying to fit into his new school (while he explores all of Earth’s best foods). Fitting into his new school, finding a way back home, and figuring out how to bring pizzas back to his home planet are his main concerns. Panels with funny animals in the background – à la Michael Martchenko – add a great deal to the brisk story. Lots of puns (including the title) are scattered throughout, and many visual gags will keep reluctant readers engaged in the fun.

Purple is the main colour that frames many scenes (and the alien, Nate, of course). The use of secondary colours (i.e. purple) synchronizes well with the main theme of the mixing of cultures and the alienating feelings this sometimes causes. Nate stands in for a child who feels alienated at school due to his encounter with different cultures other than his own. The story does not explicitly go deeply into this theme—it does, however, boast a large culturally diverse cast of characters, including Nate’s best friend—but rather leaves the readers to identify themselves with feeling like an alien via its visual themes. Nate’s obsession with food and books (and his new friendships) becomes the unifying force to explain how we incorporate diversity and embrace one another—a great lesson for Canadian kids of all backgrounds.