Bluffton: A Graphic Novel: My Summers with Buster Keaton [Paperback]

“Thrilling — a spirited, poignant coming-of-age vignette and an intriguing window into a little-known chapter in vaudeville history.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In 1908, a visiting troupe of vaudeville performers is about the most exciting thing to come to Muskegon, Michigan, since baseball. They’re summering in nearby Bluffton, so Henry has a few months to ogle the elephant and the zebra, the tightrope walkers, and — best of all — a slapstick actor his own age named Buster Keaton. Henry longs to learn to take a fall like Buster, “the human mop,” but Buster just wants to play ball with Henry and his friends. With his signature nostalgic touch, Scott O’Dell Award–winning graphic novelist Matt Phelan illuminates a bygone era with lustrous color, dynamic lines, and flawless dramatic pacing.Thrilling—a spirited, poignant coming-of-age vignette and an intriguing window into a little-known chapter in vaudeville history.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Phelan’s watercolors are expertly rendered and soft in focus, but pop at just the right moments, simultaneously showing the sleepiness of the town, the glamour of show business, and the energy of summer. ... Bluffton is a rich and engaging story with a lot of charm, and will be a great choice for early chapter-book readers and graphic-novel fans.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Phelan’s soft, pastel watercolors perfectly depict the idyllic lakeside summer as well as the riotous circus antics and elaborate pranks Buster and his family pull, both on and off the stage. There’s enough background about vaudeville, Buster Keaton, and the real-life Actors’ Colony in Bluffton to make this an informative glimpse into American history, but it’s compellingly, solidly centered on Henry’s discovery that, while the grass on the other side may appear greel£Ý