Incredibles and Swans

Two new titles to add to the graphic novel section that just came in:

Swans in Space vol. 2 by Lun Lun Yamamoto (978-1-897376-94-2)

The Incredibles: Family Matters by Mark Waid (978-1-934506-83-7, paperback)

I'm just psyched to get the next Swans, since my test reader (my daughter) liked the first one. The Incredibles leaves me psyched as well, since we've gotten several other Incredibles titles from Boom Studios, and I'm enjoyed them all. Good CLEAN superheros stories that don't read like something scripted for the back of a cereal box. So glad I have some money in the budget (this year at least) for a few things.

Whoops.

Summer Reading Program really ate up my time. And, starting next month, we'll be perpetually short a staff member for a few month, between vacations and someone else's maternity leave.

Here's a quick list of new titles added:

City of Spies
Max Finder v.4
Bionicle #8: The Legend of Bara Magna
Black Widow and the Avengers
The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck
a replacement copy of Bakugan Battle Brawlers #1 (cheap binding killed the first)
The Big Adventures of Majoko v.3
Disney's Hero Squad: Ultraheroes Save the Day
Donald Duck and Friends: Double Duck
The Incredibles: City of Incredibles (I actually read that one--fun!)
The Incredibles : Revenge from Below
Lizard Prince v.1 (the second volume is on backorder)
Meet the Muppets (finally! I've been meaning to get that for a long time)
Scooby-Doo in Dead and Let Spy (it's a hardcover the size of a single issue of a comic--should last a long time)
Tiny Tyrant 2: The Lucky Winner (just as funny as the first issue)
Twin Spica 1 (I was crying by the time I finished it--really powerful stuff, I hope the kids can enjoy it)
Wizards of Mickey 1: Mouse Magic

7 of those titles are from Boom! Studios. Since they got the license for Disney properties, they've really been going to town producing quality stuff. Lizard Prince has been on my "when I have money" list for a while. It got bumped up to "ASAP" when I heard that the publisher (CMX) was going under. Black Widow was probably one of the last of the Marvel titles for a while, until they get their supposed new line of kid-friendly titles geared up to graphic novel format (though I have a line on a new Power Pack title...)

I'm sure there are more Pokemon titles coming in from our subscription service, but someone else usually gets to those boxes before I can, so aside from the actual subscription management, I don't really see what comes in when.

Foxtrot

I'm not sure there is any new Foxtrot content being written by Bill Amend. On the good news front, we got a new collection of his old stuff--sort of a "best of" book: Math, Science, and UNIX Underpants: A Themed Foxtrot Collection (9780740791406). Every good nerd joke Amend ever wrote! I got a copy for the branch, too.

Stuff I Got with My Budget

I almost forgot: I added several new titles to the shelves last week! I also replaced a few titles, generally the usual suspects.

The replacements: How Come I'm Always Luigi? (Foxtrot), The 3rd Garfield Treasury, Pokemon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior, and the Garfield Fat Cat 3-Pack Vol. 2.

The new stuff: Amelia Rules 5: The Tweenage Guide to Not Being Unpopular by Jimmy Gownley (9781416986102) I love Amelia. This one had me laughing out loud while skimming it in spots, and then going, "yeah, I've been there" in others. I had to pass it to a co-working before processing, since she's also an Amelia fan.

Fairy Idol Kanon 2 and Fairy Idol Kanon 3 by Mera Hakamada (9781897376904 and 9781897376911) More manga for young readers by Udon Kids. It's not a manga that I'd read for fun (Chibi Vampire is about as shojo/girlie as I can stand) but it's not bad. I know if I gave it to my girls, they'd love it. Fairy Idol 1 is still on backorder.

Ninja Baseball Kyuma 1 and Ninja Baseball Kyuma 2 by Shunshin Maeda (9781897376867 and 9781897376874). This is another Udon Kids title. I should probably read it, since it more of a "boy" title, and might therefore hold my attention (yes, my preferences are showing). However, the day I was dealing with this box of stuff, I forgot and sent it straight to the processing pile.

Stone Rabbit 4: Superhero Stampede by Eric Craddock (9780375858772). I didn't really read this one, since I've read and enjoyed the other Stone Rabbit books.

Edit: I forgot I also got Happy Happy Clover 3 in that shipment. A patron requested it, and the other two are always out, so it's a good thing.

Also, today I got The Adventures of Daniel Boom aka Loud Boy: Grow Up! by D.J. Steinberg (978-0-448-44701-8) It looks fun, nice and irreverent without talking down. So much nicer than Stone Arch "lo-hi" books. I'm going to have to make sure we have the other Daniel Boom titles.

Kit Feeny: On the Move

Kit Feeny: On the Move by Michael Townsend (978-0-375-85614-3)

This was on a recent list of recommended books, so I signed off on it when it came up on the ordering list for last month. I didn't realize it had actually come in until recently. Quick summary of the plot: Kit Feeny's family moves, and he misses his best friend greatly. This book reminds me a lot of a boy-oriented version of Babymouse, especially with all the art being in black, white, and orange (like Babymouse's signature pink) and the book being of a similar size. The humor is a bit cruder, but again, that seems to give it more boy appeal. I'm sure it will do well on our shelves.

One Last Book from the Box and Jack Is Back

Recon Academy: Mixed Signals by Chris Everheart (978-1-4342-1915-2)
Tolerable. I can't figure out what motivates the bad guy, or why the main characters all run around in jumpsuits, however. There was unintentional humor in the use of the phrase "After them, you fools!" on page 53--so cliche I couldn't believe it was being used. The technology aspect was interesting. (I know, no real plot summary, but I can't find the energy).

Calamity Jack by Shannon and Dean Hale (978-1-59990-076-6)
From the pages of Rapunzel's Revenge come the story of Jack, as he and Rapunzel head to the city to make up for some of his past mistakes. He's looking to see his mother again, and discovers things have gone from bad to worse in the time he's been gone. A giant has conned his way into control of the city--the same giant Jack tried to rob some time ago. It was that botched theft that sent him on the run to the West. Rapunzel's influence has caused a desire to reform in Jack, and now he has to make good on his promises... YES!

New Books

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.

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)

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.

Life at the Library, Updated

Whoa--over a month since the last post. If I want to keep current, I'd better try harder to post.

The problem is I haven't bought anything. I've got a nice long list of things to purchase (the most recent issues of Happy, Happy Clover; Calamity Jack; the next Lunch Lady volume; etc.), but my budget is, as my supervisor puts it, "more of an allowance". I have $800 to spend FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. My little hand-written list of titles I want is almost $75 by itself. That $800 isn't just for graphic novels, however. I'm also responsible for maintaining parts of the fiction, nonfiction, and picture book collections. That's not just buying new titles, either. That includes replacing any that go missing or fall apart that are worth replacing (I'm talking about you, Garfield and Foxtrot).

Every month, we mark off titles we'd like from review sources like Booklist and Publisher's Weekly. This month, I'm in charge of making the purchases from those sources. I know a few of the titles I'd like are in those lists (i.e., Missile Mouse), but I think my library's juvenile graphic novel collection isn't going to be growing at quite the same rate this year.

Benny and Penny and Swans in Space

My library got two new titles in today.

Benny and Penny in the Big No-No by Geoffrey Hayes 978-0-9799238-9-0
This is one of the Toon line of books, with a very nice hardcover binding. Benny and Penny are a pair of mouse siblings who play (and bicker) in a realistic way. The "no-no" of the title is going over the fence into a new neighbor's yard without permission. The art has nice details without being too busy. The action is easy to follow. This would be a great book for an advanced kindergartner or first-grader to read on their own. (I'll test that later, once the book has been processed, by handing it to my own first-grader.) The vocabulary is simple without being condescending, and the moral at the end isn't hammered home.

Swans in Space by Lun Lun Yamamoto 978-1-897376-93-5
Finally! After months of trying to get my hands on this book, it arrived. It's a full-color manga that seems to be aimed at girls. I've just started reading it, but so far I'm enjoying. The binding is paper, but it seems like a slightly tougher paper than whatever Viz uses for Pokemon. This is another one I'll run by my daughters once it's processed for circulation. (I'll try to post a plot summary then, too.)

New Books! (Grown-Ups Are Dumb, Sonic, Binky, Robin Hood, Little Mouse)

I had to do the ordering from our review lists for October, and got several graphic novels as a result:

Grown-Ups Are Dumb (No Offense) by Alexa Kitchen 978-142311331-7
She's billed as the world's youngest cartoonist. It's a cute book, although paperback. I don't get a lot of the humor, but this is by a kid for kids so I hope it goes well.

Sonic Select: Book One, various authors compiled by Archie Comics 978-1-879794-29-0
I got this one to add to the various Sonic titles requested. It's all old stuff from the 80s. This art looks more "cleaned up" than other volumes, in that it doesn't look like it was scanned straight out of the comic itself, but re-colored for this book.

Binky, the Space Cat by Ashley Spires 978-1-55453-309-1
I love this. The text, though minimal, is very matter-of-fact that Binky can, in fact, be training in secret to fight aliens (aka, household bugs) and fly off into space. There is litter-box humor, but nothing too gross (what do you expect? He's a cat.)

Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee 978-076364399-7
This is definitely for older kids. People die, and one character has his eyes put out. The art is very dark. I almost gave it to the Teen Librarian for her collection. However, the actual gore is kept to a minimum (the missing eyes, for example, are more dark shadows than gaping sockets), and I feel a need for good Robin Hood retellings in our section of the library.

Little Mouse Gets Ready by Jeff Smith 978-1-935179-01-6
In direct contrast to Outlaw, this is a short, sweet book that could easily slide into the picture book section and not be noticed. It's published by the same company that produced Luke on the Loose (which went into our collection before I started this blog). The art is brown backgrounds with lots of color for Little Mouse's clothes, and the story is very easy to follow. Like I said, cute.

Review: The Weasel Patrol

The Weasel Patrol by Ken Macklin and Lela Dowling (987-0-9790750-8-7)

This just in: The Weasel Patrol is on the loose in space. This is great black and white slapstick. The motto of the Patrol is "Protect. Serve. Run Away." Leroy and his fellow weasels do so with fine form, catching the bad guys every time. (They even have their priorities straight: rescuing the Cheezies is more important than contraband, after all.) When reading this with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, I was trying hard not to laugh and disturb my co-workers. As I said, this is slapstick, so no one gets hurt worse than the Coyote ever did to the Roadrunner. The only problem kids might have is the challenge of the vocabulary, but hey, that's what the dictionary is for.

Quick Mentions: New Books, Continuing Series

Just a quick post:

Got some new stuff last week that I have to give to the processing people: A Little Snow Fairy Sugar 3( 978-1-4139-03546), which is the last volume in the set; The Big Adventures of Majoko 2 (978-1-897376-82-9); The Storm in the Barn by Matthew Phelan (978-0-7636-3618-0); and The Lapis Lazuli Crown 2 (978-1-4012-2121-8), also the last of the series.

I got Sugar to complete the set--I don't really have time or interest in reading it for review. I enjoyed the first Majoko, which is why I got the second. (I really should have my daughter read them.) I'll review Storm another time--it's supposed to be good, so I want to give it enough time to read and absorb properly. Lapis Lazuli was as good as I hoped, though the story felt a little rushed. There's a bit more political intrigue in this issue, but again, no annoying chibi or drawn-out battle scenes. Yay!

Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers #18

Got the lastest BWI shipment in yesterday, and for fun set aside D.A.N.G.E.R. Spells the Hangman (Hardy Boys: Undercover Brother #18 from Papercutz, 978-1-59707-191-1). I was reading it just after reading The 3-2-3 Detective Agency (see previous post), so I was in a mystery mindset.

I can't say it's much better than 3-2-3, unfortunately. I like the art better, though I think 3-2-3 has the advantage of being more attractive for younger readers. All the Hardy Boys are done in a manga style (down to even some funny faces to depict emotions at times). The mystery was more life-threatening (someone is trying to kill spelling bee contestants, not just kidnap). In fact, the opening "teaser" is about preventing the assassination of a young boy at a paintball range. But still, seriously, spelling bee contestants? The denouement read more like a Scooby-D00 cartoon than something written for tweens/teens. Good thing I'm purchasing for elementary/middle school readers then.

Why am I buying these again? Oh yeah, steady series that circulates anyway. Well, I hope the readers are at least looking at other things on the shelf.

Donations Reviews, Round 2

Alice in Wonderland, retold by Martin Powell, illustrated by Daniel Perez 978-1-4342-1585-7
This reads a lot like a Cliff's Notes edition of the book by Lewis Carroll. It would definitely work as something to hand a first- or second-grader. Powell managed to capture some of Lewis's turns of phrase, but like any summary of a larger work, the poetry seems lost. Perez's art is much less eye-searing than Wonderland (which I mentioned in an earlier post), and has echoes of the original art from the Carroll book (especially, I though, in the face of the Duchess). I have no problem putting this on the shelf.

The Emperor's New Clothes, retold by Stephanie True Peters, illustrated by Jeffrey Stewart Timmins 978-1-4342-1595-6
This is a perfectly fine adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson story. The art is done in mostly sepia tones, which I have no problem with, and the action flows well. The people looked a lot like clowns, however, since everyone had round circles on their cheeks and red noses (which, I suppose, is better than the other interpretation for such an appearance). Even more clown-like are the whitened faces. On the cover, the Emperor is shown in his undergarments (modeling the "new clothes"), and I can clearly see the lines of his white face. Due to the similar faces, I had a hard time distinguishing one character from another at a few points.

The Incredible Rockhead by Scott Nickel and C.S. Jennings 978-1-4342-1591-8
I enjoyed this one a lot more than the Zinc Alloy book. From front cover to back, the book is designed to mimic a traditional newsstand comic book, with an issue number on the front and a faux ad on the back. It's still a pretty simple origin story, but it ends with the words "to be continued" which means it could be expanded to a more complex plot. (As I've said before, you don't need a simple plot just because the vocabulary has to be simple.) I even enjoyed the way the vocabulary page and discussion questions were formatted to resemble even more mock-ads. This is something I'll consider getting more of (assuming I have a budget to spend in 2010).

Princess Candy: Sugar Hero by Michael Dahl, illustrated by Jeff Crowther 978-1-4342-1587-1
A superhero book for the girl crowd, since I don't know a single reluctant reader boy who'd pick up a book with "Princess" and a pink-haired girl on the cover. It's another origin book with minimal plot (pain-in-the-rear star student turns out to be cheater). The main character, Halo Nightly, has a non-traditional family structure (she lives with her grandmother, who drives a taxi for a living) which is actually a nice change from the norm. There is no mention of what happened to her parents, but Halo's mysteriously missing Aunt Pandora is the start of the super powers. Another one I'd consider more of.

New Comics

I'm taking a break from the Stone Arch stuff for a few days.

Got a box of stuff in today: 2 replacement Garfields, a new Sonic the Hedgehog book, Wolverine and Power Pack Digest, and more:

Knights of the Lunch Table 2: The Dragon Players by Frank Cammuso (978-0-439-90323-3). Just as excellent as the first Knights. I love this grade-school variant on the King Arthur legend.

The Lapis Lazuli Crown by Natsuna Kawase (978-1-4012-2120-1) It's manga I found recommended in a few blogs as being good for all ages. I'll have to set it aside to read/review.

The Secret Saturdays 1: The Kur Stone adapted from the Cartoon Network show (978-0-345-51694-7). I bought this one mostly for variety to put on the shelf--it's media-based, not exactly a superhero title, and is supposed to be acceptable for all ages. I've never seen the cartoon to judge the adaptation, but it looks a lot like Tokyopop's cina-manga style. I sure hope the binding holds up better than Tokyopop's.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency by Fiona Robinson (978-0-8109-8489-9). Another one I culled from blogs/online reviews that I'm putting aside to read. It's hardcover, which is good for physical staying power. The reviews were mixed: Again, I'm hoping for some variety.

Side note: There are now graphic adaptations of the Geronimo Stilton books (which were pretty visual to being with). We've got some, but they're already in circulation.

I'm back from vacation. Schools start next Tuesday, so things are stepping into high gear around here, with storytimes starting in two weeks.

I've added two copies of Tokyopop's High School Musical/High School Musical 2 Cine-Manga to the collection. I pray the binding will hold up for more than 10 circs each, since those puppies have a list price of almost $10 apiece.

I also came back from vacation to find a pile of donations from Stone Arch press on my desk. They periodically send a box of review copies to our library, which are then divided up by my department head according to our collection development responsiblilites. I got 18 books, 8 of which are graphic novels. I'm going to read them all and try to post reviews of the graphic novels here.

For the record, the Stone Arch imprint seems to cater to libraries and educators. The books are all excellent quality binding, but the list prices are a little steep for the average jane-on-the-street. They also seem to be aimed at the reluctant reader or a reader with difficulties.

2 New Books and a Note

I'm adding two more things: Power Pack Classic from Marvel Comics and Pet Robots by Scott Christian Sava. I like Power Pack, since the main characters are all kids, though they interact with the rest of the Marvel universe (like Spiderman and the X-Men). Classic is a compilation of the original Power Pack stories bound up in a paperback graphic novel format. I think I have some of the originals in my own comic book collection at home. Let's hope the paperback binding holds up.

Pet Robots is by the brilliant author of Cameron and His Dinosaurs, so I have high hopes this will be just as good. (On a side note, the paperback binding seems much sturdier than anything produced by Marvel.)

The Note: I had a young patron in last night asking for our Sonic the Hedgehog books, plus some Sonic titles we don't own. I may have to see about ordering more, since the six I did purchase are all checked out! Excellent!

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.