Daddy Mojo

Steven Universe: Season 2, giveaway and Garnet galore

Our house alternates between their favorite show on Cartoon Network. We Bare Bears and Ben 10 are always mentioned. If our kids were slightly older then Steven Universe would be one of their favorites. This show is smart, beautifully animated, has some great songs and provides the off kilter science-fiction that our two loved about Adventure Time. Season two of Steven Universe has 22 episodes of this Emmy nominated and critically acclaimed series that are as smart as they are funny.

Season Two of Steven Universe also introduces fans to gem leader, Garnet. To further make fans of the show go over the moon each package includes an exclusive Garnet fusion keychain. The DVD also includes never-before-seen animatics from episodes like “The Answer”, “Sworn to the Sword”, and “We Need to Talk” among others.

There are also two music albums available for sale from season 2, Steven Universe: Volume 2 Soundtrack and Steven Universe: Karaoke.

We’re giving away Season 2 Steven Universe on DVD. To enter win just RT this or leave a comment below. This giveaway ends on June 7 at 12:00 PM.

Steven Universe: Season 2, giveaway and Garnet galore – https://t.co/fwP4r37DiX, #giveaway, #StevenUniverse, #CartoonNetwork pic.twitter.com/ST2Fw1ii8h
— Daddy Mojo (@Daddymojo) May 24, 2019

But wait, there’s more. Also in this giveaway is Season 1 Steven Universe! Wha?! Yes, you’ll win Season 1 and Season 2 of Steven Universe on DVD. They’re sold separately, we’re just giving them away together because it’s the end of school and the kids are making us do things that don’t make much sense.

Marvel Alpha Block is letter learning fun for the MCU set

It’s quite shocking that this is the first book featuring characters from Marvel Comics to help teach the A, B, C’s. Granted there might be others, but the Abrams Block Books are our favorite. From the first time we saw Alpha Block when our now 9 year-old was learning the alphabet; to when his brother read Dino Block two years later, this series has never disappointed us. Moreover, the quality of this series stands out so much that we still have all of the books and they’ve held up nicely.

The difference in construction is what makes these block books so sturdy. They’re square books that fit nicely in small hands and the spine is about three times as thick as an individual page. This is a strong series of books that have been through two children and countless visits to elementary schools when I was the guest reader.

Marvel AlphaBlock has select heroes from the MCU taking center stage as they present letters of the alphabet. A is for Ant-Man.V is for Valkyrie. S is for Spider-Man and so on. Of course, there are many heroes that share letters in the alphabet, what about them?

The final two pages of the book are gatefold and open up to show approximately 50 more characters from the MCU that are shown in Marvel Alpha Block. Essentially, it’s a Where’s Marvel Waldo that invites younger readers to go back again and find each character. I say ‘younger readers’ with air quotes because even those who have mastered the alphabet will be sucked into the book quicker than a Peter Quill dance off irritates Gamora.

This is a great, entertaining book that ages 18 months and older will love. The colors bring everything over the rainbow and the characters are those that will make up their entertainment for decades to come.

The Life of Dad, escapes the trap that catches its competitors

The thing about being a dad and having ‘daddy’ in our business name, as well as, writing about books is that we get all manner of book pitches about paternal instincts. More often than not, as a book, they tend to fall short of being entertaining unless you happen to be a diehard fan of said athlete or entertainer. The Life of Dad is a book that collects very short snippets from interviews that have been conducted on the LOD podcast.

This is not a dad advice book. That is the type of book that soured us on the genre. The Life of Dad brings it back home and uses an economy of words as its greatest strength.

The Life of Dad seems to know that another ‘advice’ book isn’t needed. Instead what is presented are 12 chapters with dozens, upon dozens of dads briefly chatting about things that they’ve learned, didn’t know, have come to love and a takeaway that each opining dad has to offer. However, this is not an advice book.

To understand this, one almost has to listen to the LOD podcast. In that podcast they’ve interviewed more than 300 fathers who work in entertainment, pop culture, sports, music or any other field to where they’re known on some level. Case in point is that I knew all of the dads associated with comedy, literature or comic books in The Life of Dad, yet I had to read the brief 2-3 paragraph introduction to most of the athletes to remind myself of who they were.

These introductions are not pompous, tell-people-how-great-you-are PR pieces. They’re relatable, quick and make readers know that, despite the successes in their respective fields they’re just a dad. Again, this is not an advice book. At times the line between story and advice can get blurred, yes, but the book never has a preachy tone.

If anything, each dad who is highlighted in the book has too brief of a time in the spotlight. However, if it were any longer than wit, brevity and enjoyment of the stories would suffer. Initially we thought of The Life of Dad as a really superior toilet book because each dad story that’s told takes about :90 to two-minutes to read. Truth be told that’s where The Life of Dad started out in our house. However, after a day a funny thing started to happen. The Life of Dad left the bathroom and came into the bedroom. The length of the stories were still the same, it’s just that we started reading six or seven stories at a time.

The Life of Dad transcends other ‘dad’ books by having so many dads to talk about. There are many subjects and each one is given the perfect amount of time. Plus, some of the guys in this book have their own book on sports, parenting, music, entertainment or politics that give you the chance to do a deep dive into their life.

Ultimately what’s so surprising about The Life of Dad is how it turns a topic that I couldn’t see any of my dad friends reading about, into a topic I can see them reading about. It’s a cliché to say that The Life of Dad is a great Father’s Day gift, but it’s a great gift. It’s much at home in the waiting room of a doctor or dentist office as it is moving between the bathroom and the night stand.

All age comic books for May 22

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New comic book day is just around the corner and with that brings about two dozen great all age comic books that are fun (and appropriate!) for readers as young as 6. Granted, some of them might be better off for those upper elementary school kids, but that’s why we put the comics here. Over in the podcast we’ll chat about Looney Tunes, The Avant Guards, the X-Men, Spider-Man and much more. For now lets look at three comic books that will entertain readers 6 and up.

Sonic the Hedgehog, #17

The older readers might just have to get that Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer behind them. Younger Sonic the Hedgehog fans are still very much into the comic book from IDW Publishing, and for good reason. This is a great monthly comic book that kids in elementary school absolutely love. The reading and vocabulary might be too much for those younger elementary students, but those who are 9 and older should be able to read it and thoroughly enjoy the action that it has to offer. Now, about that movie trailer, those teeth and the cliched, hammy performance of Jim Carrey……..

Hilda and the Nowhere Space

Hilda is amazing. The graphic novels are great and the way that Luke Pearson’s character segued into a Netflix show is a case study in how to handle a fan property in the 100% correct manner. The show is fabulous and builds on the Trollberg stories in a way that brings new fans to the franchise without distilling the content for established fans. Hilda and the Nowhere Space is a tie in novel to the Netflix series that gets ages 9 and up reading about their favorite blue-haired heroine who is under 12.

William the Last Fight and Flight #3

William the Last Flight and Fight is a beautifully illustrated mini-series that’s middle-Earth, with just a touch of evil. Ages 9 and up will love the action and its story will touch those older readers who know that the story could be so much darker and graphic, but it’s not. That is one of the qualities that make Stranger Things so entertaining. The story takes front seat so that the characters can shine, allowing lots of action, but tamping down any graphic elements. However, the story and art are so fabulous that older readers hardly notice. Check out William the Last Fight and Flight if you want a great, under the radar, action comic books for those 9 and older.

Humor

Superhero Scooby

Action/Science-fiction

All age comic books for May 15

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Happy new comic book day! This week has some different all age comic books or graphic novels that will make kids 6 and older want to read. These are the kinds of comics that kids will sneak off into their rooms, lay on their stomach and get lost in words until you wonder where they are. Just earlier tonight I found our 9 year-old doing that thing and it brought a smile to my face to see. In the podcast we’ll chat about Glitch, Teen Titans Go!, Seafoam and more. For now, here are three great new comic books or graphic novels that will hit kids as young as 6.

Glitch by Sarah Graley

Glitch is an original graphic novel by Sarah Graley. It’s technically published by Scholastic, but is done via Graphix, their graphic novel imprint. Graphix, similar to :01 First Second, is one of those publishers that you can almost guarantee that the book will be great and that stereotype is on target with this graphic novel. Izzy is a young girl who can go in and out of her video game whenever she wants. The virtual world is great, but what about things IRL? Glitch is filled with sharp images, great dialogue and action to please any reader who is 8 and up. Our 9 year old read this graphic novel in 90 minutes and promptly asked when the next one was coming out.

Marvel Action Spider-Man

This is the mark of a new storyline in one of the best all age comic books out there now. This is Spider-Man action with the help of Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy. It gets everything about the great all age comic books down perfectly. The action is great and it doesn’t have to amp up the language or bloody up the violence to make it great. Check out this comic book for ages 7 and up and you won’t be disappointed.

Seafoam #1, The Hypnoctopus

Seafoam is an all age comic book about a young girl who travels to a magic beach where there are creatures of all sort. The art in Seafoam is geared to those younger readers aged 6 and up, but has big, camp humor to pull in fans of Powerpuff Girls. For the price of $3.99 and 32 full color pages this is a nice deal that will get the imaginations of early elementary school kids firing.

Superhero Science-fiction/Action

National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 review and giveaway,

We’ve had our copy of National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020 for a couple of weeks. It’s something we meant to write, but every time we open the book up for inspiration we get sucked down the knowledge (or lack thereof) hole. Every year since 2010 this almanac has provided stunning illustrations, deep dive facts and surfaced based knowledge for those who know a little about a lot.

This is the 10^th Anniversary Edition and it’s aged in all the right places. For instance, look at the brown bear on the cover. It’s embossed so that the bear looks like he’s running off of the page. Kids will immediately notice this, touch the 3D bear and start flipping through the book.

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In theory, any age is OK looking through National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020. In practice the book will be best enjoyed by those readers who are 9 and up, but way up, because it’ll be read by adults when not being used by younger readers. The book is great because it manages to have the complex and the simple, with a side of pop culture or puzzles that will entertain kids for hours. It has subject matter that those in middle elementary through high school will be studying.

To celebrate the 10^th Anniversary Edition they’re giving away a GoPro camera, it’s a $315 value and will help deliver the NatGeo-esque photos that you’ve always wanted to take.

We’re also giving away a copy of National Geographic Kids Almanac 2020. It’s a $14.99 value and will provide hours upon hours of entertainment for those 9 or older. Do you have a summer car trip coming up? This book is mandatory so that you can A. Do less screen time and B. Not have them say “are we there yet?” every 10 minutes. To enter our giveaway for the book only just leave a comment below.

Kim Possible: The Movie, it’s actually entertaining for kids 6 and up

“actually” isn’t a word that people want to see associated with a film. More often than not it’s in surprise to a film that’s received bad buzz or low expectations. However, with Kim Possible, we-along with our 9 and 7 year old sons were actually impressed with the film and quite enjoyed it. Neither child was familiar with the characters, while they might have seen the cartoon briefly on Disney XD, it never made it into our regular rotation. Factor in that the animated series stopped running in 2007 it’s understandable why the name isn’t front and center with some the elementary aged audience.

As a show on the Disney Channel it was a massive hit in the early 2000’s. It was funny, had solid writing and great animation. Kim Possible was also the longest running show on Disney Channel, until Phineas and Ferb took over that mantle in 2012. This movie was an original presentation on Disney Channel in 2019 and it has a lot going for it.

We were not fans of the show back in the day. Seeing how the show was presented on television then and seeing this movie now I completely understand how those that grew up, or had fond memories of it will scowl at this film. I would be the same way if they ever do a live-action Phineas and Ferb or make Gilligan’s Island into a feature length film.

Aside from a pneumonic device, Kim Possible is a fun character who is effortless to watch. The characters are immediately evident as to their traits, flaws and habits. Kim Possible in confident, athletic and always game to save the day, while Ron Stoppable is goofier, not as athletic, but provides the team with needed enthusiasm and Mexican food. The supporting cast in Kim Possible is high school and Kim’s first day. She’s used to saving the world from campy villains, but can she handle high school?

As we watched the film our 9 year-old was laughing much more than I thought he would. The laughs were consistent and he really enjoyed the action segments also. Kim Possible has more action in the front end of the film and that certainly assisted his action oriented personality as it progressed. In the middle of the film it’s more about different types of friends and handling high school than dealing with super villains.

His 7 year-old brother didn’t enjoy the film as much, but gamely stuck his head in the room when the action came on again. I even enjoyed the film and it reminded me of the pleasant, non-offensive entertainment that you’ll see on Disney Channel. It’s fun stuff that you might not say that you watch when you’re with your friends, but it’ll be enjoyable when you’re at home.

We received a copy of Kim Possible on DVD. All thoughts are our own.

The Ghost Network establishes a fun A.I science-fiction 3-book series

Middle school kids who like computers more than books can be a tough crowd to convert. They like the puzzle and immediateness of computers or coding and books just don’t offer that thrill. That crowd will really enjoy The Ghost Network. It’s a new series of YA books by I. I. Davidson. Even by her pen name, Gillian Philip has created something that sounds like a password for a deep state organization intent on something sinister and most definitely illegal.

That’s exactly where The Ghost Network picks up. Akane, a gifted hacker is about to something in real life that could be both of those things. Unfortunately, she starts hearing John Laine, a friend of hers who is spilling the beans that her plans have been hacked. This is a quick start to the book that’s in an equally short chapter that offers promise and hope as to what young readers will encounter in the book.

To John’s surprise he’s been accepted into an incredibly exclusive top-secret school for coders. Once he’s there he meets up with Slack, Salame and a couple others who are attending this school that’s in the middle of the Alaskan tundra. As the things escalate, and our students get to know the instructors at the school-they start to think that this might not be the sought after educational experience that they’d hoped. It might actually be closer to the point to say that the school is closer to an incubation tank for something evil on a world-conquering level. Toss is back story of artificial intelligence, a long-lost missing father that might be involved in all of this to some degree and all of the elements exist for a book that will hook upper elementary through middle school.

Our 9 year-old enjoyed the book. I was quite frankly surprised that he could read and follow the story. The target range for The Ghost Network is those readers who are 10-12 years old and it does a very good job and knowing its audience. Those who are older than 13 will see some of the twists coming and want more from their science-fiction books. I was like that when I read The Ghost Network. It was entertaining and very engaging at times, but it’s clearly aimed at those in that age range. The other great thing about the book is that it’s established itself as a nice, neat 3-book series. It’s not going to go on too long and at the pace that The Ghost Network established it’ll hook in readers with ease and have them looking forward to the middle and then finale in the series.