Children's book reviews, all age comic books, Kidlit, mglit, movies, entertainment and parenting
Be Yourself and Other Bad Advice is a very helpful, readable, relatable book with a bit of a subtitle problem. Problem might not be the most accurate word. Limiting comes to mind, but specific could also be used, and specific isn’t bad per se. A Teen Girl’s Guide to Unlearning the Rules is the subtitle and immediately identifies the book’s target audience. That subtitle will almost certainly rule out all but the most read-hearty boys.
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.
Stop me if you’ve heard this one, but my kid’s cell phone is driving me crazy. As a teacher I know the struggle. The answers seem easy. Take the phone away, but it’s how they socialize. Limit their cell phone time, but they might need it for school work. If they don’t learn how to deal with it now, then they’ll be even worse when they’re out of the house. The quandary of how to deal with it, simply from the perspective of an adult is challenging. Do Not Disturb: How to Say No to Your Phone is for middle or high school kids who want to know more about the problem. But, I don’t have a problem, and it’s entirely possible that you don’t, but just for the sake of discussing it, let’s kick the topic around.
The other day, during lunch I was on the school’s walking path with a math teacher. A student asked them when was the last time they used the math they learned in high school. It’s a fair question. This person, an accredited math teacher with just a hint of irony in their voice, said, “The last time I used this math in the real world was in high school.”I’ve had some students posit the same type of question to me when we start reading Shakespeare. “Why are we reading Shakespeare? Nobody talks like this anymore.” That too is a fair question, and here is what I tell my momentarily frustrated ELA friends, an answer which also assists in the math conundrum my co-worker had.
For the better part of a year I’ve been teaching high school literature. For non-teachers, people who teach literature have access to large closets of books from which to choose for their classes. Sometimes they can dig into engaging books of their choosing, and other times the departments might decide on The Crucible. It’s like the wardrobe from Narnia, but it leads to a kingdom of knowledge or pain, depending on your perspective. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is in those closets. Realistically, it’s almost certainly reserved for the AP classes. However, somewhere I like to think there’s a rogue literature class, probably helmed by Mr. Escalante from Stand and Deliver. They’re being rewarded by the patient, well-told dread and gothic stench that also has romantic sensibilities.
Don Quixote charges at the windmill, raging at the fact that people don’t read enough. “This is actually good”, said a ninth-grade student of mine today as they were thinking about the two-page article they’d read. Granted, I had just spoken to them about their less-than-stellar grades and they were probably trying to placate me, but I’ll take it as a win. This all leads to Rebellion 1776. This is historical fiction that cooks at a slow boil, but is bubbling over the sides of the pot before you realize it.
There are certain markers that define cultural zeitgeists. A Minecraft Movie is one of those instances. As a video game launched in 2011 it has a built-in fan base of millions of kids. Some of them will be knee-deep in their appreciation and fandom, others are about enter it and some stopped playing it in lieu of other games. Our family has two kids in the Minecraft interest world, both of whom had different reactions to A Minecraft Movie.
What if Team America: World Police had a graphic novel baby with The Far Side. All you’d have to do is give it a British accent, colorize it, sprinkle in more dark humor with climate change references and you’ve got Hi, Earth. It’s a bitingly funny graphic novel that will reward comic strip fans who thought they’d never see another series with revolving characters in disparate situations that are able to make you belly laugh in four panels. That’s a mouthful and if it’s too much then know that Hi, Earth is from the two that brought the very funny webcomics, War and Peas to your inbox.
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