Monday, January 11, 2010
Happy New Year
Here's a link to some news (and a small bit of discussion) about The Storm in the Barn. Link found via Good Comics for Kids, which I love to use for reviews/recommendations about what to buy for my library.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook
The Secret Science Alliance and the Copycat Crook by Eleanor Davis 978-1-59990-142-8
This was a fun book to read. The main character, Julian, is a classic nerd--when his family moves to a new area, he's so desperate to fit in that he reads books to understand the behavior of his "peers". What he finds, though is that the classic jock and bad girl are more than they seem when they invite him to their secret clubhouse to join them in scientific tinkering. Together, the three of them form the eponymous alliance, dedicated mostly to bringing the ideas in their Invention Notebook to life, but also to getting (gentle) revenge on the bullies at school (like putting blue dye in the chocolate milk Julian knew a bully would predictably steal). The Copycat Crook, in contrast, is an adult scientist with a bad attitude and a severe lack of imagination. How the Alliance defeats him is brilliant--and not something I want to spoil.
I loved all the little details in the illustration. For example, scenes set in the clubhouse are often accompanied by little labels like "peanut butter" "corn chips" and "motor oil" which are all sitting on a counter to be tested by a machine. There are cutaway views of many of the inventions, with the kind of details anyone who's ever enjoyed cutaway illustrations, or DK-style books, from nonfiction would love.
I hope Ms. Davis is planning to write more about these characters. I really want to know what else they get into (and if Ben ever overcomes his testing problem). I also loved the hardcover format--it looks like it will hold up for many circulations, which is good, since I plan on handing it to anyone who seems remotely interested (maybe those too young for Artemis Fowl, but interested in something similar).
This was a fun book to read. The main character, Julian, is a classic nerd--when his family moves to a new area, he's so desperate to fit in that he reads books to understand the behavior of his "peers". What he finds, though is that the classic jock and bad girl are more than they seem when they invite him to their secret clubhouse to join them in scientific tinkering. Together, the three of them form the eponymous alliance, dedicated mostly to bringing the ideas in their Invention Notebook to life, but also to getting (gentle) revenge on the bullies at school (like putting blue dye in the chocolate milk Julian knew a bully would predictably steal). The Copycat Crook, in contrast, is an adult scientist with a bad attitude and a severe lack of imagination. How the Alliance defeats him is brilliant--and not something I want to spoil.
I loved all the little details in the illustration. For example, scenes set in the clubhouse are often accompanied by little labels like "peanut butter" "corn chips" and "motor oil" which are all sitting on a counter to be tested by a machine. There are cutaway views of many of the inventions, with the kind of details anyone who's ever enjoyed cutaway illustrations, or DK-style books, from nonfiction would love.
I hope Ms. Davis is planning to write more about these characters. I really want to know what else they get into (and if Ben ever overcomes his testing problem). I also loved the hardcover format--it looks like it will hold up for many circulations, which is good, since I plan on handing it to anyone who seems remotely interested (maybe those too young for Artemis Fowl, but interested in something similar).
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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.)
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.)
Monday, November 16, 2009
More on Majoko
So I took The Big Adventures of Majoko, Vol. 1 home for my daughters to read. The 9-year-old zipped through it and loved it. The 6-year-old tried. She's getting into reading on her own (heck, she's almost a grade level ahead of her class in reading), but the manga right-to-left format confuses her. So, we're reading it together. I read the longer bits, and use my finger to help her follow the action. I have her read the single-word exclamations and the like. We read two chapters in a half-hour that way. We'll probably read more this Friday, while waiting for her older sister to get out of dance class. It's a fun way to spend some quality time with her.
My older one wants me to get Volume 2 already. She's also curious about Udon's other titles, none of which our library has yet. At least I contacted Udon, and they're written back to say Swans in Space, Vol. 1 should be available from my distributor now. It seems they had some publishing issues. Yay!
My older one wants me to get Volume 2 already. She's also curious about Udon's other titles, none of which our library has yet. At least I contacted Udon, and they're written back to say Swans in Space, Vol. 1 should be available from my distributor now. It seems they had some publishing issues. Yay!
Friday, November 13, 2009
A Rant
I want Swans in Space! I've read nothing but good things about the book. The publisher, Udon Kids, did a great job with The Big Adventures of Majoko (which I'm taking home to share with my daughters tonight). I saw the preview of the book on their site (http://mangaforkids.com/) and I have high hopes for this book. However, I'm not having much luck ordering it. I've tried twice, and my distributor canceled the order both times. I also see no other library in my consortium (consotia?) owns it either.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
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.
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.
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