Daddy Mojo, Author at Daddy Mojo

It’s Tough to be Tiny, big STEM fun for a wide age range

Treat children as smart as you want them to be. I wish I had the opportunity to dig into books like It’s Tough to be Tiny when I was in elementary school. When I was that age I was always curious about nature, specifically the tiny things that exist in certain biomes. It’s not that I’m implying books of this sort would’ve turned me into a scientist, but their fun, STEM-centered nature might’ve thwarted at least one or two seasons of my wasting time watching Rock of Love. So, let us look at a fun STEM book that provides something for audiences from elementary through middle school.

It’s Tough to be Tiny is a STEM illustrated look at small critters that make up various biomes that’ll interest kids 7-14.

Jump on in, the STEM water is fine

The Umbrella Maker’s Son left us feeling all wet

It’s possible to be too clever or too meta when audiences aren’t ready for it yet. The Umbrella Maker’s Son falls into one, or two of those traps.* The surface of The Umbrella Maker’s Son has a lot going for it that will be attractive to middle school readers. Oscar Buckle is the titular son of an umbrella maker, named after their family and boy does the city ever need umbrellas.** Everything is going well with Buckle and their umbrellas, after all, they’re the best in town and priced appropriately.**** Unfortunately, the city’s other umbrella manufacturer is selling more market share. This causes Oscar to have to quit school and work for his father as an apprentice to learn the family business and ask questions about the competitor.

The Umbrella Maker’s Son is softly paced mglit that meanders its way to a fate that readers can see coming.

Sometimes, less is more

Fann Club: Batman Squad, big laughs in text and art for this all-age winner

Fann Club: Batman Squad is not a story that exists in the multiverse. There also isn’t a typo in the book’s cover. Once you see the cover it’s obvious that it’s a graphic novel intent on making elementary school-age readers and up laugh, which it succeeds at very quickly. Our sometimes surly 13-year-old picked up Fann Club: Batman Squad, plopped himself on the sofa, and proceeded to read it. This is worth noting because he’s an avid reader, but mainly sticks to mglit. “This is from the Catwad guy, isn’t it?”, he asked. Yeah, some readers might know Jim Benton from that, but they also might recognize his work from the Dear Dumb Diary book series, Franny K. Stein books, Victor Shmud or his cartooning work. For me, the most entertaining was Attack of the Stuff, which was criminally ignored and still is by most elementary school libraries that I visit. Fann Club: Batman Squad is a Jim Benton book because it’s his style, set against the background of a young boy who knows everything about Batman.

Fann Club: Batman Squad is an original graphic novel that aims at elementary school ages, but covers ages eight and up.

Proof that great IP can cross demographics and still entertain.

Far Out! uses UFOs as cover for a deeper story

Imagine that I’m going to tell you a story about pizza. This pizza starts out in a kitchen, it’s dirtier than most places to cook that you’ve seen, but it gets the job done. The person who works in this kitchen is quite the character. They’ve also got a family who is going through some challenging times that are firmly in the vein of realistic fiction. Having said all of that, is my story more about the pizza, the family, or the place where it’s cooked? Far Out! is mglit that has a similar problem. Its cover hooks you with the 1960s-styled couple of teenagers who are sitting on a wall at night. The girl is using a magnifying glass to examine a rock and the boy is looking towards the sky, presumably for UFOs.

Far Out! is mglit with a deeper story that readers who like to read will enjoy, but uses UFOs to bait the hook.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, really

NASCAR 75 Years bristles with life and the speed of the sport

NASCAR 75 is a coffee table book that does exactly what well-crafted books in that category should do. Imagine a topic that you have no interest in, yet you pick up that thick, curiously oversized book when you’re at a friend’s house and become immersed in the topic that’s front and center. It’s a book that’s bathed in full-color photographs, hundreds of text blurbs explaining their relevance, and chapters that hold your hand as it explains why untold numbers of people find this topic fascinating. NASCAR 75 Years is the hardcover, coffee table book that does all of that.

NASCAR 75 Years is a coffee table book in the true sense of the word. It satisfies fans in its deep-dive stories and documentation, but also serves as an introduction for the masses.

NAscar 75 years does is soup to nut racing for fans and the masses

Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms delivers the sophomore goods

Oh Lia Park, you continue to defy our expectations. Your freshman book, Lia Park and the Missing Jewel, had all of the markings for rote, by-the-numbers mglit, until I actually read it. The stereotypical place where I thought your book should be categorized was replaced with variety, a great heel, and a breathlessly fun pace. Now the second book in the series, Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms, opens with Lia’s summer coming to an end and her attendance at the International Magic School about to commence. Hey, look, another book about teen kids at a magic school, where do I sign up to read this one? Yet again, author Jenna Yoon spins a tale that takes staple elements and situations, and turns it into an mglit read that will satisfy fans of the genre and beyond.

Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms stares at the sophomore book curse and happily dances past it with humor, action and quality world building.

Lia Park, going all Empire strikes back in an mglit way

The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie wills itself into your bookshelf

When the first book in The One and Only Sparkella series came out I was not a fan. Because it’s written by Channing Tatum I placed the book in the category of ‘published due to his fame’ and not on the merits of the book. Well, here we are three books into the series and I find myself eating a large plate of crow. The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie is cut from the same template as the first two books which ran with energy and color.

The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie is a charming book about being a good friend, telling the truth and bringing others into the fold.

Year after year, MomoCon just gets better

MomoCon 2023 is in the books and it marks the seventh time that we’ve attended with our children. They’re 13 and 11 now and the difference in how they’ve engaged with the con is dramatic and has kept up with the times. I’ll explain more about that in a moment, but one of the first things out of mouth, when I tell teachers or parents about MomoCon, is that it truly is an all-ages con.

MomoCon just gets better as our children get older. They’re able to dig into the anime or manga booths, watch wrestling, video game competitions and view the stunning cosplay.

Momocon is to be marked on your calendar every year