I should be working right now. Instead, I got sucked into the black hole that sometimes whirls around me which is Big Nate. In this case, it’s the 23rd installment of Lincoln Peirce’s instantly funny comic strip series. Big Nate The Gerbil Ate My Homework collects strips that were originally published in newspapers from February 16, 2016, through September 6, 2016. I should be working, but like only eating one potato chip or only watching one cat video I’m failing miserably at only reading a couple of Big Nate comic strips.
ABC for Me: ABC What Can I Be? is the sort of book that kids and adults reading to three to six-year-old small people will cherish for a period of time. This is when kids are learning about jobs, where mom or dad go when they earn money, and what it is exactly that people call them there. It’s also an oversized-ABC book that’s printed on thicker than average cardboard paper. This isn’t board book thickness, but ABC What Can I Be? isn’t aimed at those crawlers. Instead, it’s a bright, happy, intelligent book that’s geared towards emerging readers who know some of the alphabet, but also want to have fun learning more.
Have you ever been to an incredible restaurant, but then hesitated to go back? You think that it surely can’t be as good as the first time; they probably changed chefs or the servers have all become surly jerks who doing something on Tik Tok with your food. You want to try something new from the place, but have reservations because things let you down. I was like that with Investigators, which was the first book in the graphic novel series by John Patrick Green. The second book in the series, Investigators Take the Plunge does not disappoint. It doesn’t go all Empire Strikes Back on audiences, but it introduces some new characters and produces almost the same amount of laughs.
There is something very familiar about Just Beyond the Very, Very Far North. It’s a calm, soothing vibe that readers might not have felt since the last time they saw Duane. He’s a polar bear who lives in the very, very far north where the days can be short if they exist at all, and the nights can be endless. But during the warmer couple of weeks, it’ll be just the opposite. Duane has a lot in common with another easy-going bear in that he’s got some friends that hang out with him too. Aside from his friends, it’s the tone of Just Beyond the Very, Very Far North that will softly hook in readers who are eight and older.
This week in all age comic books is for those who have been screaming for graphic novels. There are seven new all age graphic novels that are great for elementary aged readers. There are slightly fewer graphic novels that are out for middle school readers. But the fact that there are great options this week for pre-k geeklings is awesome and something to be celebrated.
Spider-Man fans of all ages and versions should yell out also. The Amazing Spider-Man Threats and Menaces volume 8 is out and collects issues 37-42 of this great monthly series for middle school readers. Mile Morales: Spider-Man #18 is out for that same age and if your reader is even younger then Miles Morales Spider-Man Little Golden Book hits stores also.
New comic book day is every Wednesday unless you’re looking for something from DC Comics. In that case, they arrive in stores every Tuesday. This week from DC Comics has DC Superhero Girls: Midterms and DC Justice League Christmas Heroes. The former is great for middle school readers and the later is perfect for pre-k through lower elementary emerging readers. For a look at all of this week’s all age comic books just scoot on past the image.
Celebrate the weird, embrace the relentlessly happy and color outside of the lines. That sounds like an alternate catchphrase from The Magic School Bus. In reality, it’s a phrase that perfectly embodies When Pencil Met The Markers. When Pencil Met The Markers manages to hit all of these hallmarks in an illustrated book that could’ve been as effective as a peach marker trying to write on a polyurethaned table. Instead, the book delivers a joyous story that any kid will enjoy.
Do Not Go In There! is an illustrated book that looks at the two types of people. Some see the glass half full and those who see it as half empty. It’s a world made up of people who see possibilities and others who see reasons why something shouldn’t be done. Morton and Bogart are the two creatures that toss about the pros and cons in the book. They’re best friends, but like most best friends they don’t see eye to eye on everything.
2020 is a year that will be remembered for many different things. Absolutely every aspect of life has been disrupted to some degree. Have you been to the store and seen all of the candy that’s being marketed with Minions: The Rise of Gru on them? While that film will see daylight in the summer of 2021, there’s a fat chance that all of that candy will be around then. Books are something else that’s been put off or feel displaced during these COVID times. In theory, All Welcome Here by James Preller with illustrations by Mary GranPre could be like that, but let’s re-examine our classrooms for this back to school tale.
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