If Our Favorite Day of the Year were an advertisement it was be from Benetton circa 1985. Their ads were culturally inclusive far ahead of today’s standard. I remember their ads from that time period as really breaking the barrier in that they reflected numerous skin tones in them. The clothes were standard and not really something that I wore, but the ads grabbed your attention from the get go. Our Favorite Day of the Year has that same vibe, but looks at a modern-day classroom and how this kid’s favorite day will be different than that kid’s.
The base theme of Time To Roar has everything that parents could want in a message-oriented illustrated book. The book can be viewed at as a pre-K look at sticking up for yourself or a cause you believe in. Time To Roar could also be seen as a not so subtle allegory about deforestation and how it impacts the animals. Unfortunately for most young readers the book tries each story arc with equal enthusiasm, which in turn makes the book preachy and as predictable as an action movie from the 80’s staring Chuck Norris.
It’s new comic book day again and this week is settling into a nice groove. There’s a great variety of all age comic books and new graphic novels that will entertain readers in upper elementary school. First up, we missed highlighting Peanuts The Gang’s All Here when it was released a couple weeks ago. The virus and its effects on publishing are still reverberating. Because of that some releases were delayed, while others are sliding under the radar. These Peanuts books from Andrews McMeel are awesome. They’re new strips that seamlessly inhabit the soul and spirit of the classic characters. If your kids love Peanuts and are tired of looking through your collection, then check out The Gang’s All Here so that they can have new stories of their own.
In all age comic books there are two of the go-to releases for any reader who is six or older and in elementary school. Sonic The Hedgehog #30 is on IDW Publishing and is full of action and humor that these ages want. This comic is always a hit with elementary school libraries and will probably take off more with individual readers now that the movie was such a hit. Scooby Doo Where Are You #105 is from DC Comics and is consistently awesome. The movie, on the other hand, was forced and had grander visions of a shared Hanna-Barbera Universe. Its focus on that angle let to a jokeless affair that made audiences yearn for a box of Scooby snacks.
Other notable all age comic books or graphic novels this week include a couple cool Transformers comic books for middle school, a Haunted Mansion graphic novel for upper elementary and up plus, Spider-Woman and a vintage Spider-Man re-release. The entire list is just below the graphic.
In the late 80’s I didn’t watch much television. I was aware of what cultural touchstones were out there and one of the largest was certainly the TGI-Fridays block of programming that was on ABC. It was equal, if not superior to the Must-See-TV era where Thursday night belonged to NBC. From 1989 to 1997 it was one of the largest cultural juggernauts on the planet that created a classic character and was go-to family viewing for a generation or two of kids. Family Matters was one of the lead television shows and every single season is available on disc or to stream at home.
Frannie and Pepper are two best friends. It’s a tough animal world out there and these two rabbits make the best of it. Frannie is outgoing and loves to be the center of attention while Pepper is a bit more introverted. Pepper is more the planner, while Frannie is doing improvisational songs or dancing in the street. It’s the Odd Couple for pre-K through early elementary school kids and It’s Showtime! is all about their show.
Because I teach ESL to Chinese students the mid-Autumn Festival has been in our vocabulary for many years. Moon Messenger is an illustrated book by Wei Jie, with art by Xia Xinxin that tells the story of what most of my students say is their second favorite festival. Essentially, the Mid-Autumn Festival family and is centered on the full moon at the time. There is also a large component of the holiday where you eat moon cakes. Moon cakes are kind of like mochi, which is a bean paste that some people love and others can tolerate it if it has some fruit on it. Chinese snacks aside, the book is about one child’s desire to see his father, who’s on a business trip and how the full moon plays a part in it.
Our children, in no way shape or form want to actively talk about emotions. Both of our boys can sense an upcoming talk on emotions or feelings from a mile away. And for two kids who don’t want to talk about emotions, they sure get emotional when it needs to be discussed. Granted, part of that stems from the fact that talking about your feelings could lead some kids to question their strengths or magnify their faults. That’s the beauty of Superhero Playbook by Randall Lotowycz with illustrations by Tim Palin. It looks at a myriad of superheroes, as well as their superpowers and presents it in a way that kids aged nine and up can learn from.
This week in all age comic books has lots of great graphic novels that will appeal to a wide variety of readers. If you have a (mainly) girl reader who likes humor then The Magical Adventures Pheobe and Her Unicorn is a must-read series. That graphic novel comes out this week and is hilarious. It’ll mainly skew towards girl readers, but those boys that pick it up will laugh just as much as the girls. To that end, the boys have a new graphic novel from Ben 10: The Creature From Serenity Shore that is loaded with the same elementary-aged monster fun that the show has.
In comic books, check out My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic #89, The Amazing Spider-Man #46 and a couple others. We did pick up Transformers My Little Pony: Friendship in Disguise last week and absolutely loved it! It’s funny, loaded with ‘in’ jokes for Transformers and MLP fans and appropriate for ages 8 and up. Those younger fans might need some help reading it though. Below is a list of all age comic books this week. If you need to find your closest comic book store just check out comic book store locator.
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