Published by Get Real Books, Get Real! is the new, graphic novel sequel to the Navigating Our Way animated film, which are both designed to tackle the stigma around the skilled trades. Written by Co-Executive Director Carlos Moreno and Big Picture Learning Co-Founder Elliot Washor, and illustrated by NY Times best-selling author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds and team at FableVision Studios, the stories provoke questions about the often debilitating, one-size-fits-all curriculum in too many public schools today.  

Get Real introduces two new characters—Bella and Xavier—who both love to work with their hands. As Xavier confides to Bella, “My school isn’t asking me who the REAL me is. I’m not even sure my parents know the REAL me. They’re stuck on this idea that I have to go to college to get a REAL job. But that’s not WHO I am—or HOW I want to get to the REAL me...”

Xavier uses his creative skills to show the world what it would mean for school to GET REAL—helping show what interest-based, mentor-supported REAL world learning looks like, with support from student-selected mentors, apprenticeships and alumni networks. And ultimately, we learn that college isn’t the only way to lead a successful life of no/low-debt, home ownership, job satisfaction, while being engaged in the ongoing development of their communities.