Children's book reviews, all age comic books, Kidlit, mglit, movies, entertainment and parenting
Author: Daddy Mojo
Daddy Mojo is a blog written by Trey Burley, a stay at home dad, fanboy, husband and father. At Daddy Mojo we'll chat about home improvement, giveaways, family, children and poop culture. You can find out more about us at http://about.me/TreyBurley
Even before I had children I was reading Zits. Back then I enjoyed reading it because teenager Jeremy’s slacker behavior was something that I could relate to from my recent past. It was the late 90s and I was somewhere after college, but before getting a proper job and light-years away from maturing. While that last one is still in question, I’m still a fan of Zits, but for an entirely new litany of reasons that all revolve around children. They’re my children, as well as my nieces and nephews. The latter two I’ve seen go through or are going through their teenage years. The oldest of my children are knocking on the doors of teenage-dom and that makes Zit funny on a whole new level. The latest Zits collection, Screetime is out now and succeeds regardless of where you are in life, as long as you’re older than nine.
Hello to age diversity and graphic novels this week! In all age comic books, there is generally a wide range of readers who would be great fits for anything and this week is a testament to that. That is especially true if there’s an elementary school reader who is looking for a great graphic novel to latch onto. Those emerging readers have their pick of the litter including Clifford the Big Red Dog The Movie Graphic Novel, Arlo & Pips King of the Birds, Dolphin Girl Trouble in Paradise, Gabby & Gator and many more. That last graphic novel is by James Birks of the great Bird & Squirrel graphic novel series. That series is a go-to for any elementary school reader, so keep an eye out for his new book. It’s also worth noting that the fourth book in the very popular Mr. Wolf’s Class by Aron Nels Steinke is out this week. Field Trip is elementary reading fun that also gives kids confidence because they can read the graphic novel by themselves.
If it’s middle or high school comic (drama) you want, then check out Zits, Screentime. This latest treasury of the classic comic strip captures teenage angst meeting parental frustration at its best. This strip is celebrating its 23rd anniversary and 16-year-old Jeremy is just as normal as any actual teen. Because of this, it’s a strip that can be enjoyed by middle school readers all the way through moms and dads.
There are some all age comic books out this week too. The Amazing Spider-Man #49 is out and it’s a big issue. Clocking in a $9.99 this is landmark #850 if you’re following to the legacy, lineage of the series. The Rise of Ultraman #2 of 5 will be great for those left-of-center kids looking for something cool. Sonic the Hedgehog Bad Guys #1 of 4 and Star Wars Adventures #1 will both be great for readers aged 8 and up who are looking for a great comic that their friends are reading. For all of the all age comic books this week just jump past the logo.
Is losing one’s tooth a time to panic or a rite of passage? How someone answers that might depend on how old they are and whether or not they’re a vampire. I mean, what if the very definition of what embodies you (or at least, what you think embodies you) were to change? In I Love My Fangs! the specific change that’s being referenced is one that every adult experienced 20 times. The first couple of times might have been traumatic, but after that, it was all gravy and tooth fairy expectations.
Alien Superstar was one of the best middle-school books of 2019. It crackled with humor, action, and a carefree vibe that ages 9 and up want to experience. Buddy Burger is the titular alien in the book. He’s escaped his home planet because there was an uprising happening that wasn’t bringing the best of the planet to the forefront. His grandmother put him in a ship and sent him to Earth where he crashed onto the backlot of a theme park that also does television production. From here his actual alien form allowed him to be the perfect ‘costumed’ performer on a hit show. It also helped that his costume, Zane Tracy, which is his human form, is a very cute teenage boy. In Alien Superstar Lights, Camera, Danger! Buddy is back and elements from his past are here too. Are they on his side or have they been an evil squadron?
The Scary Book is a delightfully, age-appropriate scary-silly book with pop-up elements. As an adult, I loved reading this. If my kids were young enough to enjoy the fact that I was reading a book to them, they’d love this. What’s surprising about The Scary Book is the creatures really do have an edge, despite all of its silliness. All but one of the animals has a mouth that’s printed on folded cardboard paper that folds out. This gives the illusion that the animal’s mouths are much bigger than they actually are, much like those folded pages in the back of Mad Magazine do.
One of our favorite books from 2019 was Creepy and True Mummies Exposed! Certainly, a major part of my initial curiosity in that book was the fact that I’ve loved mummies, the science of them, cultures that perfected them, and the ghoulish specter that exists inside my imagination of seeing them. The layout and presentation that book was perfect because it blended science, travel, adventure, and imagination into one package that was great for middle school readers and up. Author Kerrie Logan Hollihan dives into the series again with Creepy and True Ghosts Unveiled! It has the same presentation that I loved in the first book but looks at a topic that is difficult to actually prove.
“It’s like a poetry book about animals, mountains and the things that live in the mountains”, our 10-year-old said when he read World of Wonder Mountains. Well, to an extent he is correct in that upper-elementary school overview. The first page he turned to was one of the more poetic pages. It’s about the snow lion and spotlights her massive paws as they maw the snowy crags in some of the impossibly high mountains. It could be viewed as poetry. You could also see it as a snippet into what happens in that spot, at that particular moment to that certain animal.
Until a couple of years ago, I easily confused a mnemonic device with onomatopoeias. Shortly after doing this I’d flip flop my stance on both of them and reminisce about Johnny Mnemonic, the lovably cheesy film from 1995. Fun fact: that film takes place in 2021. After teaching onomatopoeias to a handful of Chinese students online, as well as incorporating that into my science lessons at school-BAM, I’ll never forget what they are. Sounds All Around takes a global look at these words that sound like what they are, and in turn, has created an entirely new genre of graphic novels.
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