Daddy Mojo, Author at Daddy Mojo

All age comic books for September 30

This week in all age comic books has two of the best releases that we’ve seen this year. Each of them is very different and will attract a reader. First up is Investigators, Take the Plunge which is the second book in this series by John Patrick Green. This graphic novel is hilarious, well written, jammed with action, and has jokes that will work for elementary school readers and way up. My wife loved the book. I loved the book and readers ages 8 and up looking something akin to Dog Man need to read this. Investigators, Take the Plunge follows two alligators who try to solve a crime that’s laden with puns, visual gags, and jokes that work for young kids and different ones that skew just a bit older.

My Pencil and Me is by Sara Varon. It’s an illustrated book that breaks the third wall for young readers. This could be a read-along book for those aged five and up. It centers on a writer who’s having trouble writing. Her pencil starts talking to her and the creative insanity grows tenfold from there. The illustrations are great for young ages and feature all manner of animals playing baseball or engaging in the story of the pencil and Varon. This is a great, good-night book that will remain in your forever bookshelf. It’s a shorter book than Varon usually writes. Her previous books like New Shoes have been good but had a softer sense of humor. My Pencil and Me is humor that’s front and center that will make adults laugh and kids want to read (and laugh).

In comic books this week check out My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #90, Star Wars Adventures Battle Wars #5 of 5, or Stranger Things Science Camp #1 of 4. That last title will be appropriate for those mid-middle school students who have seen the show. For all of this week’s comic books just check out the books after the link.

All age comic books, come get some

Lola Benko Treasure Hunter, grounded action for middle school

Lola Benko, Treasure Hunter will feel familiar, but it’s a character and story that is new to you. On the cover, we see a teen-aged-girl who is exploring a giant cavern-esque area with two friends. She’s carrying a headlight with a massive head, like the one that only construction engineers or professional spelunkers would use. The cover’s font could easily be mistaken for entry into the National Treasure film franchise. In addition to that, there are several things within the story that older readers will recognize as influences for the story. However, Lola Benko Treasure Hunter is aimed at readers aged nine through middle school and they might not know or even catch those references.

Lola Benko Treasure Hunter is a middle grade action book that has more of a relationship backbone than its readers might care for.

Middle grade readers will enjoy it, but it might feel familiar too

Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge, DC graphic magic for girls 8-12

Certain books know their core audience and dedicate itself to entertaining them. Granted some siblings or those readers who might be older or younger could stumble on the book, but they’ll be the outliers. Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge is one of those books. If you’re a girl reader who is between eight and twelve then this is your jam. Its compact size, pop culture sensibilities, fast-paced story and age appropriate art make this a go-to book for girls who want in on the graphic novel action.

Lois Lane and the Friendship Challenge, an original graphic novel aimed squarely at girls 8-12 with more friendship than power, but speaks to its readers.

Sign-Elementary girls looking for a graphic novel-sign

If You Go With Your Goat to Vote, a happy 411 on voting for kids

Some Christmas music is great in July. Those are the great songs that succeed as being well crafted, played and seasonally timeless without relying on smaltz or stations that have airtime to fill after Thanksgiving. Children’s books that revolve around a certain theme or time of year are like that also. If You Go with Your Goat to Vote shares that in common in that it’s a great book that emerging readers can enjoy any time; even during those periods when people aren’t frothing at the social media mouth about candidate A or B. In other words, it doesn’t have to be an election year for your reader to enjoy this book.

If You Go with Your Goat is a happy, great good-night book about animals, their babies and voting in elections.

Get out the goat-and the vote. This is full non-partisan greatness for ages 3-7

Cat Ninja has the prrrower to be your child’s favorite graphic novel

Someplace between Captain Underpants, Dog Man, Phineas & Ferb and Teen Titans GO! is Cat Ninja. It has the must-read & elementary school watercooler vibe of the first, the heart of the second, and the madcap humor and action of the third. Granted, it could be said that any of those initial titles have a degree of all of those characteristics. We’re merely putting them in the rank that our children have unofficially ranked them. It’s all of those characteristics and more. Cat Ninja is more, because it manages to be familiar, all the while being something that’s entirely original, relevant, and has fabulous colors, but more on that in a moment.

Cat Ninja sits alongside Dog Man, Investigators and Captain Underpants

Fox & Rabbit: Make Believe is elementary confidence and fun

Brothers and sisters don’t just exist in living beings. There are some books that have their perfect pair. It’s those books that are similar, but not identical, and have the right things in common that fans of either book want to see. If your elementary school reader is not hip to Mr. Wolf’s Class they are missing out. It’s an original graphic novel series on Graphix that is entertaining, builds the reader’s confidence, is on a level that they can easily understand, and doesn’t talk down to them. Fox & Rabbit: Make Believe is the second book in this series by Beth Ferry with illustrations by Gergely Dudas and will strike the same chord of interest in those first through third-grade readers.

If your elementary-aged reader is looking for a great read try this

Jonas Hanway’s Umbrella, makes non-fiction fun for early elementary

Without Jonas Hanway, The Umbrella Academy might not exist and Britons would’ve possibly continued letting the rain soak them since 1750. Jonas Hanway’s Scurrilous, Scandalous, Shockingly Sensational Umbrella is the sort of stranger than life, non-fiction illustrated book that young readers will love if they give it a chance. The last part of that phrase is key because the book ticks off all of the blocks needed for it to be ridiculously engaging and entertaining for ages six through ten.

A story of public shaming and the dry man who was right

All age comic books for September 23

Happy new comic book day, if you’re DC Comics you’ll be celebrating on Tuesday, everyone else will have their new books delivered to stores on Wednesday. If you have a young to mid-elementary aged reader they’ll need to check out Fox & Rabbit: Make Believe. This is an original, hardback graphic novel by Beth Ferry with illustrations by Gergely Dudas. It’s a graphic novel that uses warmth, friendship and the imagination that a kid can relate in a book with distinct chapters, but is also loaded with pictures. Call it comfort food for the young, reluctant reader’s heart. Those six through eight-year-olds that are told that they must read, but are knee-deep in graphic novels need to look at this series.

In all age comic books, Looney Tunes #256, Sonic the Hedgehog #32, and Mega Man: Fully Charged #2 are all out this week. A trade paperback that’s worth checking out, Power Rangers Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is out this week and completely awesome. The comic books in the mini-series had their distribution thrown out of whack by the virus. Because of that, people who would’ve enjoyed this mini-series either didn’t know or couldn’t find the comic books. This is an action-based mini-series that’s great for upper elementary and older. It perfectly captures the identity of each team and puts their respective foibles in each other’s paths too.

All age comic books have issues