Children's book reviews, all age comic books, Kidlit, mglit, movies, entertainment and parenting
Oh Clifford, we just can’t quit you. Clifford the Big Red Dog is a kid’s best friend for a period of time. To an extent, its intellectual property awareness is much higher than its consumption. Clifford books are a staple in the pre-k and early elementary section of libraries. Seasonal Clifford books are even more popular when said timely occasion happens. Thus, LOVE from Clifford the Big Red Dog (A Mini Valentine’s Day Book) is out and ready to get in the hands of three-year-olds everywhere.
I know Quentin Blake’s illustrations; they were in Mad Magazine. No, they were in some other, more trendy and mature magazine that I can’t remember. Blake’s drawings resonate with audiences for those reasons and more. They have the friendly and affable demeanor of something whimsical and appealing to children, yet operating at a higher, more complex level too. Quentin Blake’s Fantastic Journeys lives somewhere between the world of wordless book, cartoon book, sketches for a Redbull commercial, Sergio Aragones compilation and illustrations from a Roald Dahl book that you forgot the name of.
Herman’s Hermits did more for Henry VIII than most North American schools. I just asked a group of 25 high school juniors if they knew who Henry VII was, and two students raised their hands. They knew that he had many wives, but incorrectly said that he killed all of them. To be fair, when I was a child, if a teacher had said Henry VIII we would’ve echoed it with, Herery the eighth I am, I am. Set against this backdrop is what makes The Six Queens of Henry VIII all the more remarkable. It’s an illustrated book with graphic novel element that manages to entertain audiences in equal measure to its education.
Tsundoku is the Japanese word for buying or collecting books, intending to read them later. In the meantime, they form paper based, scaled down mountains that range in colors and thickness. I use that word as more of an activity, or something I do, rather than an affliction. Ma is a much more subtle Japanese word. It can mean ‘negative space’, untapped potential, or any pause in life that you intentionally do. Ma: The Japanese Secret to Contemplation and Calm is a collection of 18 essays and photographs about the concept of what isn’t there.
The personification on the cover of What’s For Dinner? drives its interest. The morbid curiosity of what could possibly happen helps also. The rabbit is so lightweight that it’s fluttering around like a kite in the wind. The wolf, who is carrying the rabbit by the hand, has a row of white, razor-sharp teeth. In his other hand, there’s a sheet of paper, probably a recipe for how to cook dinner. It’s a moonlit night, and the question of What’s For Dinner? can’t possibly be the long-eared critter. They also look so friendly that they could be my neighbor.
Call Me Moby was entirely unexpected. It has allusions to a story that most high school students won’t read, yet its inspiration is from a classic book. The illustrations in Call Me Moby don’t care about any of that. Its playful cover, with a massive, friendly white whale jumping over a tiny ship, will bring in young audiences as if they were a hungry bass looking at a bloodworm dangling from a hook.
Silly illustrated books need an ending that simultaneously makes young children roll their eyes and yearn for more. Kitty Caterpillar got that memo. This is an illustrated book about a cat with too many legs, her misadventures when curiosity gets the better of her and her short, but eventful quest to find her early elementary school human best friend. Kitty Caterpillar has illustrations that bring home the bacon. When kids engage with the book, they’ll giggle at the story, but be enthralled with the art.
When I was in elementary school I entered a regional writing contest. All of the regional winners were published in a book with a forest green cover that my family kept in their magazine rack for decades. Georgia Public Broadcasting is having their annual PBS KIDS Writers Contest. It’s open for kindergarten through third grade and kids can write fiction, non-fiction, poetry or a graphic novel.
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