Wonderland

Well, got a new title in yesterday. Actually, someone else ordered it, but I asked her to. Wonderland by Tommy Kovac. It got good reviews and was recommended for the older end of the youth (not teen) spectrum, so I thought we'd give it a try. The person who ordered was a little unsure of the content, so she asked me to read it. I'm sorry to say I was bored. I'm sure other people would be entertained, but I've always been more of a spandex-fan at heart. At least I could reassure her that the picture that bothered her was the characters de-shrinking, not being de-capitated. The concept is cute (it follows the story of Maryann, the White Rabbit's unseen servant from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland). Since I'm always looking for different content in Graphic Novels, I truly hope the kids enjoy it. Sorry, Mad Hatter fans, it's just not my cup of tea.

Well, I read the Yoko Tsuno book. It was written in the eighties and reads to me a lot like a Nancy Drew book from that era. Some people (presumably) died near the end, but the deaths were not seen. The plot is still sound, but the technology is a bit outdated (magnetic tape computers, for example). I think it will work for the collection, but I'm not going to get any of the others unless a patron REALLY wants them, especially since it's a $12 paperback that won't hold up well. At less than 1/2 an inch thick, 8/12x11 size pages, it's going to get mangled.

New comics/graphic novels:

Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Great stuff! Good for the Captain Underpants crowd, with cleaner humor. Probably also good for Diary of a Wimpy Kid readers. I can't put it out for processing yet, since it doesn't go on sale until July 28. I'll put it on the to-do shelf when I work Saturday, since then it won't be done getting processed until well after then.

7 assorted Peanuts compilations--something some patrons have been asking for. I figure we can't go wrong with the classics.

Yoko Tsuno: The Prey and the Ghost by Roger Leloup. I ordered this because of a web review. I don't have time to read it today, so we'll see. It's a lot skinnier than I thought it would be.

Found some new(ish) superhero stuff that should be fine for kids: Tiny Titans by DC Comics, and Mini-Marvels: Rock, Paper, Scissors from Marvel. Chibi-style superheroes! Whee! So cute.

Edit 7/25/09
: for the record, we only have Tiny Titans in right now. Mini-Marvels are on my to-order list.

Garfield and a New Title

Added more Garfield books to the collections. Actually, I should say I added updated (i.e., colorized) versions of old Garfield titles to the collection. There are so many different Garfield books, I can't keep up. At least I don't have to try too hard, since there is no special chronology to the comic strips the books were made from.

I added a new title to the collection as well: T-Minus: The Race to the Moon. It's a fictionalized account of the Moon landing, just like the title implies, with a focus on two of the thosands of employees at NASA at the time. It's black and white, with lots of text, so I hope it gives some readers a nice challenge. (I don't want to just be stocking the shelves with fluff like Garfield.)