Michael Townsend's Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders (978-0-8037-3308-4)
This is great. The Greek myths as cartoons. The art is colorful, the characters are expressive, and the violence is quite literally "Censored" with a black box and that word over top like a stamp. (The worst gore I saw in a glance through was some blood at the base of Medusa's neck.) I love it. It's a hardcover shelved with Mythology (Dewey 292.13), since that's what it's all about.
Missile Mouse and the Star Crusher by Jake Parker (978-0-545-11714-2)
Here's another good one, which is no surprise since it's been on my "must-buy" list since I read a review. Nice clean art, hardcover binding, good story with an interesting main character. Missile Mouse is an agent of the Galactic Security Agency, and he's got a bit of trouble with his lack of caution. My favorite bit in the whole book is when his boss is complaining that he's "crashed too many ships...endangered the public welfare...and brought too much attention to the GSA." First I see his crashed ship, then the frame pulls back to show that the ship is crashed on the front steps of a library! Missile Mouse is doing the best he can however, and in the end, his willingness to take risks saves the day.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Capstone Box Time
About a month ago I got a pile of books from our semi-regular box of donations/review copies form Capstone and its related imprints that will be going on the shelf. This time around, the graphic novels were:
Clues in the Attic by Cari Meister (My 1st Graphic Novel series, 978-1-4342-1889-6)
Short, sweet, and I thought the twist at the end was cute. Most of the text is in the form of narration, and actually describes the action in the pictures.
Princess Candy: The Green Queen of Mean by Michael Dahl & Scott Nickel (978-1-4342-1893-3)
I know I reviewed a Princess Candy book sometime last year. This is more of the same.
Pecos Bill, Colossal Cowboy, retold by Sean Tulien (978-1-4342-1896-4)
This is a good, simple retelling of the Pecos Bill legend.
Point-Blank Paintball by Scott Ciencin (978-1-4342-1914-5)
This is part of a line called "Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels". It's laid out like a screen from ESPN or another sports channel for the opening and end parts, though the bulk is standard graphics (which aren't bad). The story's message is a little heavy-handed, but the action is good.
Bike Rider: Wheels of Justice by Donnie Lemke (978-1-4342-1892-6)
This is, for those people old enough to remember it, a complete take-off on the old TV series Knight Rider, down to calling the title "tonight's episode", a main character called Michael Cycle, and an AI in the bike call C.A.T.T. I just couldn't get more than a few pages into it. It's one of those "going on the shelf because it's free and I think there's an audience even if I don't like it". I do wish I could articulate why I don't like it better.
In addition to the graphic novels, there were three fiction books worth mentioning: A Superman title, a Batman title, and a Wonder Woman title. Stone Arch has got some nice series going that put these characters into text to encourage new/reluctant readers. I know we already owned some Superman and Batman books, and when I checked, none were on the shelf (a good sign!).
Batman: Robin's First Flight (978-1-4342-1879-7)
Superman: Deep Space Hijack(978-1-4342-1880-3)
Wonder Woman: Trial of the Amazons (978-1-4342-1883-4)
Clues in the Attic by Cari Meister (My 1st Graphic Novel series, 978-1-4342-1889-6)
Short, sweet, and I thought the twist at the end was cute. Most of the text is in the form of narration, and actually describes the action in the pictures.
Princess Candy: The Green Queen of Mean by Michael Dahl & Scott Nickel (978-1-4342-1893-3)
I know I reviewed a Princess Candy book sometime last year. This is more of the same.
Pecos Bill, Colossal Cowboy, retold by Sean Tulien (978-1-4342-1896-4)
This is a good, simple retelling of the Pecos Bill legend.
Point-Blank Paintball by Scott Ciencin (978-1-4342-1914-5)
This is part of a line called "Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels". It's laid out like a screen from ESPN or another sports channel for the opening and end parts, though the bulk is standard graphics (which aren't bad). The story's message is a little heavy-handed, but the action is good.
Bike Rider: Wheels of Justice by Donnie Lemke (978-1-4342-1892-6)
This is, for those people old enough to remember it, a complete take-off on the old TV series Knight Rider, down to calling the title "tonight's episode", a main character called Michael Cycle, and an AI in the bike call C.A.T.T. I just couldn't get more than a few pages into it. It's one of those "going on the shelf because it's free and I think there's an audience even if I don't like it". I do wish I could articulate why I don't like it better.
In addition to the graphic novels, there were three fiction books worth mentioning: A Superman title, a Batman title, and a Wonder Woman title. Stone Arch has got some nice series going that put these characters into text to encourage new/reluctant readers. I know we already owned some Superman and Batman books, and when I checked, none were on the shelf (a good sign!).
Batman: Robin's First Flight (978-1-4342-1879-7)
Superman: Deep Space Hijack(978-1-4342-1880-3)
Wonder Woman: Trial of the Amazons (978-1-4342-1883-4)
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Quick Follow-up to Last Week
Well, my girls gobbled up Babymouse Burns Rubber that night. They already want the next one. I love having readers in my family. My husband is still enjoying Muppet Robin Hood, though one of the girls commented that the art looked funny (something about Gonzo not looking like Gonzo). I pointed out that these aren't photographs, but artistic interpretation. She seemed happy with that answer.
I've got so much stuff on my desk I still haven't gotten to Missile Mouse, but I want to. The Manga Math Mystery was well done. I should get more of them. Sticky Burr was straight-up cute. I will also be looking for more of those, if there are any.
I got the cataloging issue for the Max Finder Mysteries cleared up, with a great deal of help from the Technical Services people. I love those ladies. I glanced at them. They're cute, but not something I want to read all the way through. Still, I hope they do well.
Now, I've got the semi-annual pile of Stone Arch graphic novels to work though. More on those later, since I'm almost out of time right now.
On my desk to read for fun: Chibi Vampire, vol. 9-11. I've read the other 8, and I'm enjoying the series so far. (I've been trying to broaden my horizons in manga, using recommendation from other online sources.)
I've got so much stuff on my desk I still haven't gotten to Missile Mouse, but I want to. The Manga Math Mystery was well done. I should get more of them. Sticky Burr was straight-up cute. I will also be looking for more of those, if there are any.
I got the cataloging issue for the Max Finder Mysteries cleared up, with a great deal of help from the Technical Services people. I love those ladies. I glanced at them. They're cute, but not something I want to read all the way through. Still, I hope they do well.
Now, I've got the semi-annual pile of Stone Arch graphic novels to work though. More on those later, since I'm almost out of time right now.
On my desk to read for fun: Chibi Vampire, vol. 9-11. I've read the other 8, and I'm enjoying the series so far. (I've been trying to broaden my horizons in manga, using recommendation from other online sources.)
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
New Books!
And here I was, complaining about no money for books, and I found five that another librarian ordered last month (thank you!):
Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (978-0-375-96094-9)
It's an evil author, instead of evil librarians, but it's still fun!
Babymouse Burns Rubber (Babymouse #12) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (978-0-375-95713-0)
I'm taking this straight home for my daughters to read.
Muppet Robin Hood by Tim Beedle (978-1-934506-79-0)
The Boom! Studio Muppet magazines have been well reviewed. This is a collection of four of them. The story arc should be obvious from the title. Another one I'm taking home. My husband should get a kick out of it, too.
The next three I'll have to read tomorrow (I have to go home very soon):
Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril by John Lechner (978-0-7636-4580-9)
Manga Math Mysteries #3: The Secret Ghost by Melinda Thielbar (978-0-7613-3855-0)
Missle Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parket (978-0-545-11714-2)
Yay! I can take some titles off my "must-buy" list.
Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta by Jarrett J. Krosoczka (978-0-375-96094-9)
It's an evil author, instead of evil librarians, but it's still fun!
Babymouse Burns Rubber (Babymouse #12) by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm (978-0-375-95713-0)
I'm taking this straight home for my daughters to read.
Muppet Robin Hood by Tim Beedle (978-1-934506-79-0)
The Boom! Studio Muppet magazines have been well reviewed. This is a collection of four of them. The story arc should be obvious from the title. Another one I'm taking home. My husband should get a kick out of it, too.
The next three I'll have to read tomorrow (I have to go home very soon):
Sticky Burr: The Prickly Peril by John Lechner (978-0-7636-4580-9)
Manga Math Mysteries #3: The Secret Ghost by Melinda Thielbar (978-0-7613-3855-0)
Missle Mouse: The Star Crusher by Jake Parket (978-0-545-11714-2)
Yay! I can take some titles off my "must-buy" list.
Max Finder Mystery
We have 2 of the 3 Max Finder Mystery Collected Casebooks (1 and 3). I found this out after I read a review of the first one here: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/540000654/post/1810053181.html?nid=4691
This is a good thing. It means I'm a little ahead of the curve. My rant for the day? Both books are listed in the same record in our catalog. This may sound trivial (and really obscure if one isn't a library employee), but it means someone looking for V.3 is going to see a record for V.1, since that's the cover picture on the record. The other issue is if someone tries to put a hold on one title (i.e., an electronic request for staff to pull the book off the shelf and send it to another library), they might get the wrong one. This actually happened to me recently, when I was trying to get another library's copy of Harold and the Purple Crayon for a program. I got some book based off the Harold TV show instead.
Hopefully my ally in the technical services department will be able to get this fixed with our co-op.
This is a good thing. It means I'm a little ahead of the curve. My rant for the day? Both books are listed in the same record in our catalog. This may sound trivial (and really obscure if one isn't a library employee), but it means someone looking for V.3 is going to see a record for V.1, since that's the cover picture on the record. The other issue is if someone tries to put a hold on one title (i.e., an electronic request for staff to pull the book off the shelf and send it to another library), they might get the wrong one. This actually happened to me recently, when I was trying to get another library's copy of Harold and the Purple Crayon for a program. I got some book based off the Harold TV show instead.
Hopefully my ally in the technical services department will be able to get this fixed with our co-op.
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