August 1, 2017 | Page 3 of 3

The Song From Somewhere Else, YA mystery with quality

Books do not come with visual effects. They’re books, consisting of words on paper that take you away, make you think, laugh or care about something without leaving your space. The Song From Somewhere Else is a YA book; but it has a palpable sense of dread, mystery and growing up that creates a layer of fog that surrounds you whilst reading it. It’s important here not to confuse fog with a lack of direction. The book knows where it’s going; it just does a great job of keeping audiences guessing.

Continue reading The Song From Somewhere Else, YA mystery with quality

Creepy Pair of Underwear is an instant children’s classic

I like sequels or second acts when the quality is as good as the first entry or there’s a distinctive hook that said project has that nothing else has captured. Creepy Carrots is one of our children’s favorite books. It’s a classic that will be around for generations and manages to straddle the kid friendly line of scary and mysterious, even though kids know it’s all silly fun. Creepy Pair of Underwear by Aaron Reynolds with illustrations by Peter Brown has the same character as Creepy Carrots, yet isn’t a sequel per se. Rather, Creepy Pair of Underwear is another story featuring Jasper Rabbit that is possibly more entertaining than its already fabulous predecessor.

Continue reading Creepy Pair of Underwear is an instant children’s classic

Crayola invites you to Dandelion’s retirement tour this weekend in Atlanta

Did you hear that Dan D. is retiring? He’s not the lazy guy near the vending machine, well, at least this is not about that Dan D. Dandelion, is in the final stages of the Crayola Crayon Retirement Tour. Yellow, at least this particular shade of yellow, dandelion, is hanging up the paper wrapper. However, he’ll be making a special stop in Atlanta this coming weekend. Not only is he appearing at five metro Atlanta Target stores, he’s bringing some presents.

Continue reading Crayola invites you to Dandelion’s retirement tour this weekend in Atlanta

The Battles of Tolkien, deep end-yet also accessible Middle Earth

The Battles of Tolkien is a fascinating book on many levels. It’s a book about books that ends up making you want to read the books that it’s talking about. Even if you haven’t read The Lord of the Rings you’re almost certain to know a little bit about its mythology. Maybe you saw one of the films and were curious about reading the books, but never got around to it because of cat videos or actual real-life responsibilities. The surprising thing about The Battle of Tolkien is that it is a deep dive into a detailed world; yet, the book is as appealing to non-Tolkien’s as it is to fans.

Continue reading The Battles of Tolkien, deep end-yet also accessible Middle Earth

Best new all ages comics for August 9, 2017

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Let’s talk the best all ages comics that are new this week. This week is packed with many great comics for young readers to choose from. Moreover, there are some fabulous examples of graphic novels that elementary aged kids will laugh out loud to, plus a historical graphic novel for those history kids in middle or high school. Here are five of the best all ages comics or graphic novels that you find in stores this week.

Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis

This is a fun, very silly graphic novel about a girl in second grade who is very crafty. She solves problems by being crafty and happy. The text in Crafty Cat and the Crafty Camp Crisis is fine for second grades to easily read on their own. It’s also great as a read-along book for even younger kids. They’ll laugh at the illustrations, identify other cats as Crafty Cat and be lulled into the love of reading before the first 30 pages.

Spongebob Comics Volume 3, Tales From Haunted Pineapple

Spongebob Comics is one of the best all ages comics that you can get each month. This is the third volume of previously printed stories that are collected in a graphic novel format. Bang for the entertainment buck, this is one of the best deals this week. If you want to jump in on the shallow end of things, Spongebob Comics #71 comes out this week too and retails for 3.99.

Justice League Power Rangers #5 (of 6)

When this mini-series started earlier this year I immediately pegged it as one of the top all age graphic novels of 2017. Then issue #5 kept getting delayed and I forgot about the series. Now, after a slight delay, Justice League Power Rangers is back and ready to finish things out. It manages to blend the two worlds together in such a way that devotees of each will say that they got the upper hand. More impressively, it manages to make those that don’t like the other team cheer for them-and want to see more of them.

The Art of Pokemon Adventures

In those hundreds of cards that your child has is art. A rectangular canvas where kids will hope for an EX, really want a GX, use their imagination and try to catch them all. The Art of Pokemon Adventures is a collection of full-color art from the Pokemon Adventures graphic novel series. This includes sketches, story boards, four pull-out posters and a brand new story. This is 168 pages of Pokemon art that retails for just under $25.

A Castle In England

A Castle In England is an original graphic novel that’s the work of five British comic book artists. It blends real history, with fiction to tell stories about a castle through the ages. The Scotney Castle in Kent is the background for them and the non-fiction elements might just be enough to motivate your young reader to read something real.

Humor

Superhero

Action/science-fiction

Best all ages comics for August 2, 2017

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

What are some of the best all ages comics that came out this week? Well, compared to most weeks it’s a little skinny. However, there are some jamming comic book mini-series, as well as some cool picture/reading books that’ll engage kids in the first through third grades. Where is your closest comic book store? Just type in your zip code into the Comic Book Store Locator and get your comic book grove on.

Adventure Time/Regular Show mini-series

The monthly Regular Show comic book ended and immediately thereafter they announced that this mini-series. Adventure Time Regular Show #1 is what happens when a new villain wants to take over Adventure Time’s Ooo. Jake and Finn go on a quest to see what the problem is and discover Skips from The Regular Show. The comic book version of both of these television shows is tamer than its broadcast brother. For ages 8 and up this is one of the best all ages comics that you’ll find this week. If your child is into either show, simply point them this direction and they’ll be immersed in the comic book for hours.

Disney Manga Tangled

Disney. Manga. Tangled. Books or stories that are told in a manga style are able to break through to readers. This is inspired by the hit Disney film and tells the same story, but is done is that distinctive, beautiful manga style. Ask any middle school librarian how popular manga is and you’ll get an idea of how much your upper elementary through high school student will enjoy this.

Batman & Robin Adventures

We often mention young reader books here and these folks do a great job. Capstone puts out some of the best all color, superhero books for young readers that you’ll find. These are proper books that are reasonable priced and concentrate as much on the words as they do on the illustrations. For grades 1-7 they cover a large audience and each book will target different audiences. They’ll be around 88 pages or so, thus they’re much thicker than the best all ages comics that’ll be in stores.

Surfside Girls

Surfside Girls, The Secret of Danger Point is by Kim Dwinell and is a soft, nuanced, love letter to summer, friendships, scary houses at the end of the street, mysteries and growing up. While the two main characters are girls in a coastal town, they will resonate with anyone and its story is one that has spook factor, but just enough realism to make you second guess that empty house.

Mech Cadet Yu

Think of a younger skewing Pacific Rim as one of the best all ages comics and you’ve got an idea about Mech Cadet Yu. Giant robots coming down from the sky to defend the world from even more terrifying aliens and kids are chosen to protect and defend. It’s brought to us by Greg Pak (Totally Awesome Hulk) and Takeshi Miyazawa (Ms. Marvel). Mech Cadet Yu is a mini-series that might be too much for an 8 year old, but ages 9 and up will want to suit up immediately.

Surfside Girls, kim dwinell, mech cadet yu, pacific rim, greg pak, best all ages comics, comic books, Capstone, young readers, adventure time, regular show, adventure time regular show mini series

This week the best all ages comics include two mini-series (for different demographics) that rock, Surfside Girls and more.

Humor

Superhero

Action/Science-fiction

Mighty Jack and the Goblin King-action, graphic novel with heart

Mighty Jack is back! If-and when they turn this graphic novel series into some films that’ll be the catch phrase for Mighty Jack and The Goblin King. If you’re a fan of Zita The Spacegirl graphic novel series or the first book in this series, Mighty Jack, then you’ve already ordered its sequel, that’s coming out on September 5. Even if you’re not in the loop on this series here’s why it’ll immediately attract your young reader.

Continue reading Mighty Jack and the Goblin King-action, graphic novel with heart

The Golden Lion, the 4th Cleopatra In Space book hooks in readers 8 and up

I’ve wanted to jump into the Cleopatra In Space book series for a while. From the title alone I was intrigued. I’m fascinated by Egypt, its history and love the concept of putting established or known characters into realms where they do not belong. Prior to reading The Golden Lion, the fourth book in the Cleopatra In Space series my major concern was not knowing enough about the characters.

Continue reading The Golden Lion, the 4th Cleopatra In Space book hooks in readers 8 and up