Flooded by Mariajo Ilustrajo

The city carried on in its usual rhythm going up, going down. 

After all it was just a bit of water.

This is a funny book on one level but it also contains a much deeper social and environmental commentary.  If you work from the title and stretched out front and back covers you won't anticipate the plot or the surprise ending. This is a book to share with younger readers but it will also generate some deep discussion with older groups in your school library.

The blurb does spoil the ending so I am only putting extract here: Flooded is the funny and beautifully illustrated tale of animals who live in a city that is ever so slowly flooding. The flood comes gradually at first. All the animals ignore the obvious and go about their busy lives, disjointed from one another and preoccupied by their own problems. Eventually, the flood water reaches a height that they can no longer ignore and they have to work together to save their city.

Flooded is an allegory of community responsibility. Book Wagon

Stature matters here.  I don’t think I am giving away too much to say that the relative heights of the animals in the book drive much of its humour and tensions. ... For slightly older readers, there is plenty of scope for deeper exploration of the book’s themes. Further discussion will inevitably lead to climate change, environmental activism, the power of collaboration. Just Imagine

This tale of pulling together in times of need is wonderfully illustrated by an exciting newcomer using ink and graphite and digitally coloured. The text is kept to a minimum allowing the wealth of funny details in each scene to do much of the storytelling. Red Reading Hub

Flooded is a reminder to address problems sooner rather than later. It has a clear environmental message, but themes of not procrastinating or ignoring issues, and working together, can apply to many other situations as well. Kids' Book Review

Mariajo Ilustrajo is a Spanish Illustrator based in the UK. See some pages from Flooded here. Mariajo Ilustratjo will be an illustrator to watch. She is sure to give us some memorable books in the future now that we have seen Flooded which is her first published book. 

The little bit of water was becoming a huge problem and it wasn't going away. Where was the water coming from? 

And what could they do about it?