Pinball by John Chad - OPTIONAL

Pinball: A Graphic History of the Silver Ball by John Chad, 182 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. NONFICTION. First Second (Roaring Book Press), 2022. $25.

Language: PG (1 swear, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Pinball developed over several centuries – perhaps its origins are rooted in lawn games played in ancient Greece! Chad shows the history of pinball from 17th century France to its near-demise in the United States in 1942 to its audience today. Through additions and adaptations, pinball has become the arcade game we know and love today.

I loved every page of this book. The illustrations bring the history of pinball alive, and, intentionally or not, this focused history still shows the developments outside of pinball in the world’s history. Being able to see how even a game is impacted by and impacts the history of countries was amazing to me. Admittedly, this is a very niche subject, but the content is good enough to bring back another wave of pinball fans!

The illustrations made a pronounced effort to depict people of all ages and skin colors. The mature content rating is for depictions of smoking and mentions of illegal activity; the violence rating is for illustrations of guns and mild violence against inanimate objects and video game characters.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen