Thud

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard SelectionWhen Noel's mother has a stroke, his world is turned upside down. He has to move from his apartment and his city to some kind of care facility, in a town he's never heard of. Especially when a man comes, who tells Noel that he can't stay in the only home he's ever known.

Who can he trust? For the first time, Noel is on his own. Who can he love?There is a village in Germany called Neuerkerode that is largely populated and run by people with developmental disabilities -- the local restaurant, the local bar, the local supermarket.

It's a beautiful, even incredible place -- and it's where The Thud takes place. In 2016, cartoonist Mikael Ross began visiting Neuerkerode. Over the course of two years, Ross learned about the people who live there and listened to their stories.

As Neuerkerode Protestant