Aaron Bagley – illustratör

Reacting against the accelerating pace of modern life and too-much-information technology, young urban dwellers are carving out a new space, one brilliantly surveyed in "United States of Americana". Here we find barbers who instruct men to unplug the Norelco and try their (shaky) hand at shaving with a straight razor; manufacturers of high-end leather goods that outsource to the Amish rather than to India; DJs who rely on wax cylinders instead of digital files; restaurants where wild boar appears on the bill of fare (and the walls); and, work wear that once saved the lives of turn-of-the-century Alaskan miners, now reinterpreted for the runways of Paris and Milan. This isn't mere nostalgia, but a conscious celebration of community and sustainability."United States of Americana" is the first comprehensive guide to the sounds, sights, tastes, and colorful characters that populate this new old-fashioned world, with topics including: the rise and evolution of alt-country music and the Americana genre (Fleet Foxes, Wilco, the Decemberists, and T-Bone Burnett) and the legends of country, blues, gospel and folk (Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Hank Williams, Leadbelly); American work wear and heritage clothing and footwear like Red Wing Boots, Pendleton, Filson, and Carhartt; prohibition and pre-prohibition era cocktails (Old Fashioned, Gin Fizz, Sidecar) and the speakeasy renaissance; nose-to-tail butchering and raising backyard chickens; straight razor shaving and old-fashioned barber shops; burlesque and circuses; the resurgence of the vinyl LP; home canning, pickling and preserving; and, the D.I.Y. handmade crafts movement (knitting, needlepoint, soap making).

A middle schooler’s plan to fit in with her new friends by writing herself a fake love letter backfires spectacularly in this funny and all-too-relatable graphic novel perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and the Berrybrook Middle School series.Jackie and Milo have been best friends since they were born. Whether they’re reading comic books in their tree house hideout, playing video games, or spying on their neighbors using walkie talkies and code names, it’s always been the two of them versus the world. But in middle school, things are changing. Milo joins the soccer team and starts hanging out with a new crew. Jackie gets taken under the wing of Adelle, who wants to give her a total makeover and find her a crush. Suddenly, it seems like there are certain acceptable ways to be a girl or a boy, and Jackie starts to feel like everything about her is wrong. In an effort to get Adelle and her new friends off her back, Jackie sends herself an anonymous love letter. But her plan backfires, and soon Jackie’s secret admirer is all anybody at school can talk about. Now she’s wondering: Dear Jackie, how are you going to get out of this?