Welcome to Morningtown is exactly where our seven year old is now. By that I do not mean that prefers the morning. It’s just the opposite as he’s not exactly captain chipper in the AM. However, Welcome to Morningtown is exactly where our seven year old is in regards to his reading level. The book is aimed at ages 4-8 who; depending on their age, want a lovely illustrated book that they can read by themselves, a good-night book by an adult or somewhere in-between.
A used car or a library book that you see at the book barn is new to you if you don’t already have it. The ‘new to you’ philosophy is one that we adhere to wholeheartedly. That’s one reason why streaming is popular in our house. If we missed something the first time then that’s an excellent way to get caught up on quality. Enter, Big Nate Hug It Out!, a collection of strips from the dependable comic strip by Lincoln Peirce.
Tyna of the Lake is the kind of book that will confound and amaze young readers. The art style is lovingly drawn and presented on a huge storied canvas. The illustrations convey the grandiose scale of the monsters, their uniqueness and the magic of the world that lives under the lake. Tyna of the Lake is a Russian folktale that has all of the classic elements you’ve witnessed in other stories; but weaves them together in a way that’s surprising and ends like a Seinfeld episode-which is back at the beginning.
The Darkdeep was one of our favorite books of 2018. Imagine a world where a sequel to Back to the Future or The Matrix isn’t known yet. Doc Brown or Neo are about to fly off into the sky that’s either a great ending or a great jumping off point for the next movie. The Darkdeep ended like that for us. And just like Back to the Future 2 (which we consider to be an excellent movie, there, we said it) and The Matrix 2 (not so much….), The Beast takes the setup from The Darkdeep and extends it into a world in which monsters live among us.
Professor Astro Cat is the bestselling book series that aims, and wildly succeeds, in explaining potentially complex issues that kids are curious about. The combination of beautifully simple art by Ben Newman and just detailed enough explanations by Dr. Dominic Walliman add up to an entry level education that kids will want to read. Professor Astro Cat’s Stargazing continues the excellence that their previous books have laid out, but this time takes young readers to the stars.
Dog Man is a publishing behemoth. Not only do the books sell millions of copies, they’re read, re-read, shared, dog-eared, suffer broken spines and can usually only be spotted in elementary school libraries by the empty space that houses it for the five minutes in-between check outs. This is Greek to you unless you have a student in elementary school. We were like that with Captain Underpants. Sure the title is catchy, but we didn’t have a kid who could read yet and oh my gosh have you seen how ridiculously entertaining this book is?! Yeah, that was our reaction when our children first started reading it too.
Dog Man is cut from the same (underwear) cloth. While Dog Man For Whom The Ball Rolls has similar elements to the first six books that made it a go-to for elementary school readers; there are elements that make this book the most mature in the series yet.
Dog Man For Whom The Ball Rolls, deepens the characters and improves the pool
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All age comic books and all age graphic novels. The former are just individual comic books that come out in a monthly or as a mini-series. The later are either an original story that’s out for the first time or a collected series of comic books that encapsulate a story arc from comic books.
This week has some amazing examples of all of them. One of our favorite original graphic novels has a new entry this week. Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy is so much fun for elementary aged reader and (way…) up. Time Trout is their latest adventure and is so fun to read. This is the manic sort of story that will hook in anyone who picks up the book. It’ll make reluctant readers want to read and give those kids who already love reading an excuse to re-read it dozens of times. Elementary school readers will also dig Teen Titans Go!, Catwad-It’s Me, Two and many others.
Middle school readers already have Guts on their radar. The content might be too much for elementary ages, but some in upper elementary will be OK with it. The Red Zone is a great example of a graphic novel as a means of education and entertainment. Granted, the true story of an earthquake isn’t entertaining, but kids might have difficulty processing massive scale disasters. This graphic novel opens a window to that experience.
In the podcast we’ll chat about those things plus Magnificent Ms. Marvel, Archie vs. Predator 2 and more.
Catwad, It’s Me Two, E, M, H
Guts, UE, M, H
Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy: The Trout, E, M, H
Superhero
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #12, UE, M Magnificent Ms. Marvel #7 UE, M, H Mighty Morphin Power Rangers vol 9, TBP, UE, M, H Teen Titans Go! #36, E, M True Believers Hulk Professor Hulk, Action/Science-fiction Archie vs. Predator 2, #2 of 5, UE, M, H Red Zone volume 1 Earthquake Story, UE, M, H Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures Chapter Book, E Steven Universe Harmony, UE, M, H Steven Universe #23, UE, M, H Tea Dragon Festival, UE, M World of Reading Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes & Villains
“But we don’t dress up”, I need a button that says that when our neighbors ask us about Dragon Con. As a family, Dragon Con gets more and more entertaining every year we go. Dragon Con happens in Atlanta over Labor Day every year. It is also family friendly. Our neighbors give us a side-eye when we say that also. All one needs to do is walk around downtown Atlanta when Dragon Con is happening and you’ll see hundreds of children accompanying their parents. This is a massively fun time for kids and families who have the right mindset.
By the right mindset I mean, be OK with crowds. Over 85,000 people attended Dragon Con in 2019. It’s crowded everywhere you go. What’s amazing is that, despite its massive size and crowd the lines are constantly moving. Another mind boggling fact is that the vast majority of people you’ll encounter are chilled out.
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