Daddy Mojo

The Intergalatics, sci-fi mglit with story to sway reluctant readers.

It’s tough to introduce worlds to audiences. What makes a young reader want to explore a new book with unknown characters? In my over simplified mind I view the world of authors as being similar to cartoonists. Assuming that all of the work is done under the same name, the content needs to have enough of the footprint that brought the audience, without being repetitive. I know, there are many adult authors who defy that mantra and flaunt the sheer volume of published or co-authored books. The Intergalactics is the first book in a series by Erik Jon Slangerup. It’s mglit that introduces young readers to aliens, who are surprisingly like us, despite being unique and in fantastical situations.

The Intergalactics, mglit whose characters run with energy and a science-fiction/adventure plot that doesn’t get in the way of audiences enjoying it.

mglit, sci-fi and other cool abbreviations lie in wait

Game of Pets Book 1, hello to your favorite elementary school book series

Children’s books are not automatically guaranteed a sequel. Granted, many, if not all of them, aspire to have a lengthy run, but there are some stories and books that just peter out on the literary vine. This is not something that Game of Pets: The Boy Who Knew Too Much, by Aaron Blabey, has to worry about. Elementary school-age children know Blabey from his work on The Bad Guys. That book series was one of the few that our youngest child would pick up, and has since been made into movies that probably do the same thing to kids in that demographic. Game of Pets is effortless to read. It’s a world-building start to a funny, science-fiction world that ages eight and up will want to explore.

Game of Pets Book 1 removes any barriers elementary school kids have towards reading in this go-to series from the creator of The Bad Guys

All hail pets of doom, and a great elementary-aged book

Have You Seen Axel? is well worth seeing for young readers aged 4-8

We haven’t seen Gordon. Have You Seen Axel? is the sequel to Have You Seen Gordon?. Coincidentally, you can see Axel in the mirrored sunglasses that Gordon is wearing on Have You Seen Axel?. Gordon is a panda. He looks quite dapper and cool on the book’s cover. Have You Seen Axel? is a seek-and-find book. These types of books by their very nature are intended for elementary school-aged students and this one is no exception.

Have You Seen Axel? is a seek-and-find that embraces the premise, then twists it, adds a narrative and ends up with something original and entertaining.

A sequel that makes you want to read the one before it

A to Z: An Animal Alphabet, joins your forever library due to art and size

You pre-k homes or places that cater to kids under second grade know there’s no shortage of alphabet books. Some of them take root because young audiences chew on the board book pages until they’re mush. There are some ABC books that use an established intellectual property to drive the vehicle. A to Z: An Animal Alphabet by Sara Boccaccini Meadows uses an established IP, albeit a niche one, oversized pages and gorgeous art to drive home the 26 letter kids need to learn.

A to Z: An Animal Alphabet shows the very young how to do the 26 building blocks in the vein of the In Our Nature book series.

So good you’ll want to re-learn your ABC’s

Sleepless is fiction that elementary kids want to, and are able to, read

“OK, I’ll read Sleepless; it’s from the author that wrote book our class read”, said our 14-year old. This was the process for us assigning, or him choosing the next book he’d read. Sleepless is by Gordon Korman, an author whose name is synonymous with big kid books in elementary school. I didn’t question the youth as to which Kormon book his class read. Go to any elementary school library, and if it’s a chapter book without illustrations, there’s a good chance he wrote it. He’s the kidlit version of James Patterson, and Sleepless is the first book that I’ve read from Gordon Korman.

What’s surprising about Sleepless is how utterly readable it is. Elementary-aged readers won’t think twice about the chapters because the vocabulary is 100% in their wheelhouse.

I see why this author is the skeleton Key

Dog Days: The Crush and Other Stories, early graphic novel keeps it real

Elementary school-age kids want to read. Girls actively want to read and get it done, whereas boys want to read as long as their friends don’t catch them and the book has that factor. That factor can vary to the water cooler book of the playground to being laden with fart jokes (which also puts it in that first category), or maybe it’s just really funny for those ages. The secret sauce towards getting guys to read is more challenging than it is to get girls to open a book. Dog Days: The Crush and Other Stories is the sort of early reader graphic novel that speaks to younger ages. Pre-k kids through middle school who are looking for a graphic novel that has multiple, short stories in it will grin and enjoy it. It’s loaded with anthropomorphic animals who live in a coast town where everything is chill.

Dog Days: The Crush and Other Stories, a graphic novel for young readers that teaches life lessons in a way that’s not preachy and retains life’s energy and fun.

Soft, real, and earnest lessons through humor

Going to Dragon Con, tips on navigating the fire hose that you’re drinking

I love seeing the social media posts for Dragon Con. It’s a fabulous way to learn about new things that we need to see, tracks that we want to learn more about and things that we didn’t see in person. Having said that, Dragon Con is a fire hose of activity and sights where you can’t possibly catch em all. It’s a fountain of overstimulation and unlike any Con you’ve frequented before. This was our ninth Dragon Con and it still proved to tell new stories; which isn’t an unreasonable thing to mention when you consider 75,000 people attended.

Feeling overwhelmed at Dragon Con? Here are a couple of go-to solutions that helped us discover what’s so great about Labor Day in Atlanta.

Come hither and celebrate fandoms of all

Mac & Cheese: The Origin Story, puns and pop-culture art for young readers

Is Mac & Cheese too clever for its own good? Are there too many jokes per page for children to understand? Do elementary-aged students know more than one cheese pun, and if they don’t, does it matter? My first reaction on Mac & Cheese: The Origin Story was one of sheer joy. It’s a pun-laden book with at least two grins or guffaws on each page. On about half of its pages the laugh-to-page count can increase to five. Illustrated books aren’t usually this funny. They’re normally more lesson-based. Those books are still positively enjoyable, they simply aren’t funny. I realize that some might not consider puns to be a laugh-out-loud medium, but for others they’re the sweet spot in the relationship of jokes and all-age humor.

Mac & Cheese: The Origin Story is the silly, laugh-out-loud, pun-driven tale that the clever kids in lower elementary school have had in their mind’s eye.

Funny on many levels