Chanté Timothy talks art and science our Graphic Literature episode.

On this special episode of Fully Booked, author/illustrator Chanté Timothy joins us to discuss her middle-grade graphic novel, Supa Nova (Nosy Crow, June 3), in celebration of the Graphic Literature Issue of Kirkus Reviews. “Ecological concerns prompt a young Black inventor to create a plastic-eating creature,” Kirkus writes in a review calling Supa Nova “just the ticket for unstoppable young mixers and makers with big dreams.”

Timothy is a freelance illustrator based in London, England. She has illustrated 11 books, including A Black Woman Did That by Malaika Adero and Hey You! by Dapo Adeola. Supa Nova is her first book as both illustrator and author, and the start of a planned series.

Here’s a bit more from our review: “This STEM-centric romp introduces Nova, a science-loving child with a big personality, a pesky preteen big sister, and a gigantic underground lab. Having learned that scientists are working on mushrooms and mealworms that will consume the multiple islands of waste plastic floating in the ocean, Nova decides to help out. Unfortunately, Chomp, the little being she creates by zapping a mix of random ingredients, including her sister’s used gum (“IT’S ALIVE!”), doesn’t stop with eating the odd toothbrush and other small items—and Chomp grows bigger the more it consumes.…Timothy brings the tale to a suitably thrilling climax that involves sisterly bonding, creative problem-solving, and wildly entertaining antics. Science for the win!”

Timothy tells listeners all about Nova, an 8-year-old scientific genius who can create anything she imagines in her underground laboratory. We talk about Nova’s first big project—inventing a solution to plastic pollution in the world’s oceans—and the unintended consequences of her invention. She and I discuss illustrating for a living, the advantages of digital illustration, and why she chose to include character-drawing lessons at the end of the book. We touch on the real-life science behind the story, the AI system that assists Nova in her experiments, the next book in the Supa Nova series, and much more.

Then editors Laura Simeon, Mahnaz Dar, and John McMurtrie share their top picks in books for the week.

EDITORS’ PICKS:

Soul Machine by Jordana Globerman (Annick Press)

Chickenpox by Remy Lai (Henry Holt)

Muybridge by Guy Delisle, trans. by Helge Dascher & Rob Aspinall (Drawn & Quarterly)

THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS:

A Cat’s Historical Yarn by Lorraine Abrams

Dancing With Panthers by Patrick C. Notchtree

A Song for Olaf by Jennifer Boulanger

From Manila to Wall Street by Butch Meily

The Color of Mourning by Kim Dempster

Fully Booked is produced by Cabel Adkins Audio and Megan Labrise.