A boy and his mother refuse to identify themselves as American or Canadian at the border and become caught in the limbo between nations when they claim their citizenship as Blackfoot. - (Baker & Taylor)

Adapted into a powerful graphic novel, this story follows a boy and his mother as they are caught in limbo between countries after refusing to identify as either American or Canadian. 10,000 first printing. Simultaneous eBook. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

A People Magazine Best Book

? "The thematic and literary richness of this story is exhilarating."— Horn Book, starred review
? "An important and accessible modern tale."— School Library Journal, starred review

From celebrated Indigenous author Thomas King and award-winning Métis artist Natasha Donovan comes a powerful graphic novel about a family caught between nations.

Borders is a masterfully told story of a boy and his mother whose road trip is thwarted at the border when they identify their citizenship as Blackfoot. Refusing to identify as either American or Canadian first bars their entry into the US, and then their return into Canada. In the limbo between countries, they find power in their connection to their identity and to each other. 

Borders explores nationhood from an Indigenous perspective and resonates deeply with themes of identity, justice, and belonging.

Thomas King has written several highly acclaimed children's books including A Coyote Solstice Tale (illustrated by Gary Clement) which won the American Indian Library Association Youth Literature Award for Best Picture Book and A Coyote Columbus Story (illustrated by Kent Monkman) which was a Governor General's Award finalist. King, who is of Cherokee and Greek descent and was born in California, was chair of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota before moving to University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. He recently won a Governor General's Award for his adult novel, The Back of the Turtle; he won both the BC National Award for Canadian Nonfiction and the RBC Taylor Prize for The Inconvenient Indian.

Natasha Donovan is a Métis illustrator with a focus on comics and children's illustration. She has illustrated several award-winning children's books including The Sockeye Mother by Brett Huson and the graphic novel Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett-Sumner. She has a degree in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia, and has worked in academic and magazine publishing. She currently lives in Bellingham, Washington. - (Grand Central Pub)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Adapted from King's 1993 short story from the collection One Good Story, That One, this pithy graphic novel showcases the preposterousness of border bureaucracy. The unnamed narrator recounts the story of traveling from Canada to Salt Lake City to visit his sister, who left their home on the reserve against their mother's wishes. When they arrive at the border and the guard asks for their citizenship, the narrator's stoic mother says "Blackfoot." The guard won't let them cross without knowing whether they're American or Canadian, so he sends them back to the Canada side, and those guards won't let them back in based on the same question. For days, the narrator and his mother are stuck in the limbo area of the border, spending their days in the guard offices and their nights watching the stars from the hood of their car, and all the while, his mother will only say she's Blackfoot. Donovan's distinctive faces and expressive body language add plenty of depth to this subdued, tightly written story, and her warm, expansive scenes of the prairie in sunset colors are engrossing. King deftly balances tension and absurdity, and in the process, he wryly points to not only the arbitrariness of the border in general but the divisions that it imposes. Subtle and smart, this laconic graphic novel will linger with readers. Grades 5-8. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Originally a short story in King's adult collection One Good Story, That One, this comics version retains its complexity, dry humor, and sharp political edge. A boy (the narrator) from a Blackfoot reservation in Alberta drives with his mother to visit his sister, who has moved to Salt Lake City. At the tiny border crossing in Sweetgrass, Montana, a border guard asks the mother to state her citizenship. Blackfoot, she says. She's denied entry to the United States (It would have been easier if my mother had just said 'Canadian' and been done with it, but I could see she wasn't going to do that) and sent back to Canada -- to the tiny border crossing in Coutts, a hundred yards away. Your citizenship? the Canadian border guard asks. Blackfoot, the boy's mother replies, and is denied re-entry to Canada. Stuck between borders, mother and son spend several nights sleeping in the car, near the duty-free shop, until they are allowed to cross into the U.S. as a result of media attention. The thematic and literary richness of this story is exhilarating, unsettling the insistent binary of American/Canadian nationalities for the lived reality of Indigenous nationhood. But the story is textured, too: the unspoken reasons for the mother's resistance to her daughter's departure; the daughter's own motives in going. The geography, accurately and evocatively rendered by Donovan, is yet another multi-layered presence, raising a multitude of insights and questions about borders, identity, and the passing on of culture. All this is delivered with a light touch by the narrator, whose perpetual quest for food is realistic and funny. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Originally a short story in King's adult collection One Good Story, That One, this comics version retains its complexity, dry humor, and sharp political edge. A boy (the narrator) from a Blackfoot reservation in Alberta drives with his mother to visit his sister, who has moved to Salt Lake City. At the tiny border crossing in Sweetgrass, Montana, a border guard asks the mother to state her citizenship. "Blackfoot," she says. She's denied entry to the United States ("It would have been easier if my mother had just said 'Canadian' and been done with it, but I could see she wasn't going to do that") and sent back to Canada -- to the tiny border crossing in Coutts, a hundred yards away. "Your citizenship?" the Canadian border guard asks. "Blackfoot," the boy's mother replies, and is denied re-entry to Canada. Stuck between borders, mother and son spend several nights sleeping in the car, near the duty-free shop, until they are allowed to cross into the U.S. as a result of media attention. The thematic and literary richness of this story is exhilarating, unsettling the insistent binary of American/Canadian nationalities for the lived reality of Indigenous nationhood. But the story is textured, too: the unspoken reasons for the mother's resistance to her daughter's departure; the daughter's own motives in going. The geography, accurately and evocatively rendered by Donovan, is yet another multi-layered presence, raising a multitude of insights and questions about borders, identity, and the passing on of culture. All this is delivered with a light touch by the narrator, whose perpetual quest for food is realistic and funny. Deirdre F. Baker November/December 2021 p.103 Copyright 2021 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

A family tries to overcome all borders. Laetitia has moved from her reserve in Alberta to Salt Lake City in Utah. When her mother and younger brother try to visit, they run into a problem at the border. The agents at the U.S. booth ask them their citizenship, and the mother answers only "Blackfoot." The agents will accept only either "Canadian" or "American." Turned away, they proceed back past the duty-free store to the Canadian booth, where the same thing happens—again and again. Mother and son are marooned between the borders for days. Readers see this from the unnamed brother's perspective, which flashes back and forth between the past when Laetitia decides to move away and the attempted visit. King, of Cherokee and Greek descent, adapts his text from a previously published short story, laconic text expanded by artwork that captures the vastness of the Albertan prairie sky, with multiple panels showcasing the sky above buildings and natural backdrops. The story highlights both the universal feelings of a family moving apart and a very specific Indigenous experience: The Blackfoot have existed since before the border, and now they are artificially split into two sides, an absurdity captured here with trenchant, cutting wryness. Métis illustrator Donovan's depictions of Blackfoot people are slightly varied, showing those who live on a reserve as well as urban Indigenous who live in cities. Brilliant. (Graphic fiction. 8-adult) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

In this sparsely worded, moving graphic novel adaptation of King's 1993 short story of the same name, the team adeptly captures the dilemma of Native Nations whose homelands were split by political borders. "For the Blackfoot," King (who is of Cherokee/Greek descent) writes in the dedication, "who understand that the border is a figment of someone else's imagination." An unnamed Blackfoot boy from a Canadian reserve recalls his 17-year-old sister, Laetitia's, move to Salt Lake City. Because Laetitia's father is affiliated with Rocky Boy, a Chippewa-Cree tribe in the U.S., Laetitia is free to live in the States. After several years, the boy and his mother drive to visit Laetitia, only to be asked their citizenship at the American border. "Blackfoot," the mother repeats to various guards in the hours they are detained, until they are sent back to Canada—only to face the same tribulations at the Canadian border, thus beginning a days-long loop. Simple pen-and-wash illustrations by Donovan (who is Métis) capture the child's distress as the likelihood of his reunion with Laetitia dwindles. This sobering yet inspiring tale effectively spotlights a Native woman who quietly demands that her voice be heard and her identity recognized. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

School Library Journal Reviews

Gr 6 Up—Laetitia, a young Blackfoot woman living north of the Canadian border, moves to Salt Lake City after growing bored with her life, which is filled with tension between her and her mother. After some time has passed, Laetitia's mother and her little brother, who narrates the story, decide to take a road trip to visit, and so must pass through two border checkpoints: one for the United States and one for Canada. At each checkpoint, Laetitia's mother is asked her citizenship, and at each, she claims her Blackfoot nationality. Barred from entering the United States, Laetitia's mother is sent back to the Canadian border and isn't allowed to pass; she and her son find themselves stuck in the space in between, recognized as citizens of nowhere. King (Cherokee) and Donovan (Métis) create a simple yet powerful story of Indigenous endurance at the convergence of identity, culture, survival, history, and modern politics. Although Laetitia is named, her mother and brother are not, signifying the difference in recognition paid to those who readily accept colonial practices and those who do not. White characters are also identified by their given names. Donovan's steadfast style is easily and immediately recognizable. A natural palette of beige, gold, and similar earthy colors is used alongside a variety of blues depicting the daytime sky and the darkness of night. Strong lines and minimal backgrounds keep the focus on the characters' wide-eyed and expressive faces, working well with the character-driven narrative. Characters identify as white Americans or Canadians, and Blackfoot. VERDICT An important and accessible modern tale about the ongoing lack of recognition by colonizers for the Indigenous communities who continue to exist on their ancestral lands.—Alea Perez, Elmhurst P.L., IL