Daddy Mojo

Nelly Takes New York, for starters-then she’ll charm your house

As a reader I’m somewhat wary of books that take place in a stereotypical large, destination type city. The cynical side of me says that they present a slice of life that the majority of people can’t relate to. They won’t have access to the eating choices, places to visit or, for better or worse, the people that they’ll encounter. How can I relate to that?, some might think. You might be thinking that while you look at the cover of Nelly Takes New York, but those thoughts will quickly be mollified. In their place, you’ll have visions of childhood adventures, as well as, a time when imagination and curiosity are your best friend.

Nelly takes new York, Allison Pataki, marya myers, Kristi valiant, big apple, new York, new York city,

The story follows Nelly, a playful 7 year old who lives in the West Village. She’s visiting the bagel truck where she’s greeted by name from Mr. Patel. Nelly tells Mr. Patel that she’s going to visit Union Square today, to which he says in a friendly manner, “the Big Apple is tons of fun”.

She just bought a bagel, yet the bagel salesman just mentioned a Big Apple. This throws young Nelly for a loop so she goes about visiting various New York City attractions asking about ‘the Big Apple’. Of course she visits an apple stand at the farmer’s market, who then says that if she wants to see the Big Apple then she must go to natural history museum.

One thing leads to another and our young heroine is seeing almost every angle of the big city. Her loving dog, Bagel, which leads her to discover even more places until the two meet up again in front of the 9/11 Memorial.

Adults may question how she can traverse huge areas of the city in the blink of an eye, how her dog can continue about the city even though he’s not on a leash, but that’s the cynical side of you. Just pat that side of you on the head, say good boy and remind them to come around when it’s time to pay the cell phone bill.

The art in Nelly Takes New York is one big reason why the book is so charming. The illustrations by Kristi Valiant are realistic, detailed and make you want to visit the Big Apple. The story by Allison Pataki and Marya Myers is great too. It’s approachable for ages 4 and up as they let the illustrations guide them through the urban jungle. There are some sight words for those younger readers. The average 7 year old will probably be able to read it by themselves.

Ultimately, what’s most remarkable about Nelly Takes New York is that it doesn’t make readers jealous that they aren’t there. It’s not a hey-look-as-us we’re better than you book about a certain city. The premise, with the same high quality artwork could easily have taken place in any city, country or locale that kids would be curious about. This book celebrates curiosity and the questions that kids have, while doing so in a large city with a nickname that some younger ones might not understand.

Win a She-Ra prize pack to celebrate Season 2 on Netflix

This looks like She-Ra, but channeled through a Lumberjanes lens with just a hint of anime, I thought as the trailer for Season 2 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power was playing. Little did I know how correct I was. Season 2 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power starts on Netflix on April 26 and Noelle Stevenson is the creator, writer and producer of that show. She was also one of the original co-writers of Lumberjanes and creator of Namona.

Stevenson’s style is very unique and has influenced many of the all age comic books that we review each week. All one has to do is look at an issue of Lumberjanes (one of the best all age comics!) and then look at other comics that will target middle school girls and you’ll see her influence. Now take that, toss in some great 80’s girl power and you’ve got She-Ra .

We’re giving away a She-Ra Season 2 prize pack that includes:

FIVE (5) SHE-RA Activity Sheets
FIVE (5) SHE-RA Hair Ties
FIVE (5) SHE-RA Sticker Sheets
FIVE (5) SHE-RA Temporary Tattoos
FIVE (5) SHE-RA Watercolor Paint Poster

Basically, it’s the go-to supplies for a group of elementary school kids who are having a sleep over. She-Ra is a very entertaining show. It will appeal to girls slightly more than boys. For example, our 9 year old boy declined to watch it. However, his 7 year old brother willingly stepped up and watched some of season 1 with me.

The giveaway will end on May 1 at 9PM. To register, just leave a comment in this blog post or RT this:

Win a She-Ra prize pack to celebrate Season 2 on @Netflix – https://t.co/1oYvpqcuhv, #SheRa, #giveaway pic.twitter.com/BV002aNNOO
— Daddy Mojo (@Daddymojo) April 25, 2019

The show crackles with wit and has a fun vibe that makes She-Ra, its own entity. It doesn’t crib off nostalgia, this is a modern story with humor, action, friendship and science fiction that kids 7 and up will love. Season 2 of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power starts streaming on Netflix on April 26. Plan ahead for the kids to see a couple episodes and if they’re new to Adora or the Horde get caught up on Season 1.

*We received the same giveaway pack that we’re giving away to our readers for our compensation. I don’t suspect that our kids will enjoy it, but I know a group of girls in one of our son’s elementary school classes that will go mental over this.

Avengers: Endgame sticks the landing

Go ahead and watch the trailers for Avengers: Endgame, they won’t give anything major away. It’s amazing for a huge movie to be so self-aware of itself, as well as, the movie genres that its overtly borrowing from. The minor characters or those not even in Avengers: Infinity War, rise up and establish huge sequences that are highly entertaining and actually answer questions. Avengers: Endgame acknowledges every aspect of the characters emotions in their previous MCU film’s and succeeds in the most Meta way possible.

Ant-Man is a major reason for this. It’s no spoiler to say that he’s in the film as he produces some of the biggest laughs from the trailer of him ringing the bell at the Avenger’s front gate. It’s Paul Rudd’s wry jokes, quick timing and fish out of water facial expressions that really assist things.

The pacing of Avengers: Endgame is amazing and not for the reasons you might think. It’s brilliantly paced, but it throws the entire formula and how MCU films are done on their head. Battle, loss, battle, loss, humor and then victory, take those ingredients, shake well and you’ve got a loose description of some average superhero films.

Time travel factors into Avengers: Endgame, but again, it’s not as obvious as you think. This is where Ant-Man and many other Avengers go Meta, full on Meta where they mock time travel films as being ridiculous. They do this at the same time while they’re making a film, about time travel that is possibly the best way that time travel has been dealt with in film.

In Avengers: Infinity War left you feeling betrayed and bummed out, I feel you. Avengers: Endgame more than makes up for any ill feelings that it caused. I see why they played it the way they did, and doing so any other way would’ve cheapened the film, watered down the MCU and made it all disposable. It is also worth noting that the film balance lots of humor with the drama, all the while putting it in a nice bow with stones.

What we’re left with is a 10 year opus that spans more arcs than Lord of the Rings and encapsulates it all in a perfect manner. Granted, they will still make many MCU films, this is not their swan song. However, there is a victory lap feeling about Avengers: Endgame. It respects the fans, adds to the dramatic elements, answers questions that fans have wondered about and plants a couple new seeds to grow on.

If Avengers: Infinity War left you feeling betrayed and bummed out, I feel you. Avengers: Endgame more than makes up for any ill feelings that it caused. I see why they played it the way they did, and doing so any other way would’ve cheapened the film, watered down the MCU and made it all disposable. It is also worth noting that the film balance lots of humor with the drama, all the while putting it in a nice bow with stones.

All age comic books for April 24

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The new all age comic books for the week are nigh and this week speaks just a little bit differently. May the Fourth Be With You is just around the corner, so there are a couple great Star Wars comic books. There is also this indie film called Avengers: Endgame and there are a couple great all age comic books that highlight some of those characters. In the podcast we’ll look at Marvel Action, Galaxy’s Edge (the comic book!), chat a little about Free Comic Book Day on May 4 and more. For now let’s look at three comic books that will interest those in middle schools and up.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, #42

Comic book stunt casting exists. It’s when you put big, well-known superheroes in other series that aren’t doing as well in hopes that their readers will jump over for an issue or two and get hooked. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is from Marvel Comics and one of the best all age comic books that you can pick up on a monthly basis. It’s loaded with comic book action, has a great superhero that is 100% relatable to ages 8 or older, plus she has a big red dinosaur that comes along for the ride. The plots are fabulous, creative and the art is great. There are also lots of superhero crossovers. Almost every issue has a big MCU superhero who is making a guest appearance.

Do not mistake this for a desperate attempt at stunt casting.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is the kind of comic book that needs to be in every elementary school library. It’s wonderfully weird, loaded with action and great for 8 and up.

Unicorn Bowling, Another Phoebe and Her Unicorn Adventure

If you have a kid in elementary school they are probably down with Phoebe and Her Unicorn. These books are hilarious, great for any age north of 8 and will make older readers think of their favorite comic strip. Author Dana Simpson has two original graphic novels staring Phoebe. Unicorn Bowling is a collection of previously released comic strips. Much like Big Nate or (insert your favorite comic strip here) this is a book that have you laughing out loud, grinning and loving every panel of it.

Zero’s Journey, #9

Thou shalt never remake Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. I’m not sure if that’s an actual commandment, but we’d be OK if it were in the Hollywood animation holy place, wherever that’s located. The closest we’ll hopefully ever get is this mini-series from Tokyo Pop, Zero’s Journey. It’s all Zero, Jack Skellington’s dog has gone missing and it’s highly likely that Lock, Stock and Barrel are somehow responsible for putting our ghost canine in Christmas Town.

Humor

Superhero

Action/science-fiction

The Little Rabbit, a dreamy, optimistic bunny tail for spring (and kids 4 & up)

Nicola Killen warms the heart. At least that’s the case with her two most recent children’s illustrated books that we’ve received. The Little Reindeer was a book that we loved due to its old soul, rabbit-hole illustrations and desolate winter vibe. I know that ‘desolate’ isn’t exactly an adjective the springs to mind when one says a great children’s book. The Little Rabbit is the spiritual (and actual) sibling to that book. It shares many of its characteristics, the cut-away pages, two color schemes with the occasional third color to punctuate characters and illustrations that fill up each page.

The little rabbit, young reader, elementary school, young readers, Nicola Killen, the little reindeer

Ollie is the main human character in The Little Rabbit and she’s dressed up in a rabbit costume. She’s got her rain boots on and is waiting for the storm to end while Bunny, her rabbit doll is dressed in a yellow scarf beside her. When the rain ends Ollie carries Bunny out in her basket as the wind blows flower petals past them. As that happens Bunny starts to move her ears, or does she?

What follows is a magical, dream pop of a children’s illustrated book that effortlessly engages pre-K and early elementary school ages. Ollie follows Bunny as she joins in the rabbit hop that the forest bunnies are doing. Distinguished by her yellow scarf, the two are reunited, but still have a couple more adventures to get through in order to get back home.

As their journey in the forest continues we see distinct gold pops in the flower petals that float around some pages. Older readers will alternate between the dreamy illustrations, perfect colors and economy of words as to what they like best about The Little Rabbit. It’s a children’s illustrated book, yet between the well chosen words and the big scope illustrations it tells a big story. Large aspects of the story are filled in with our imagination. We think about what the rabbits are doing when they’re underground and what other animals we could meet during the trip.

Younger readers will also let their imaginations do most of the work with The Little Rabbit Ages 4-8 have a lovey, stuffed doll or action figure that comes to life and does stuff. Those young readers will immediately understand the energy and hidden story that The Little Rabbit is bring out. Every night when we put our 7 YO to bed he tells us about the adventures that his stuffed animals get up to while he’s asleep.

The Little Rabbit gets into that particular spirit that young readers have and put it in a gorgeously illustrated book. The text is such that a second grader will be able to read most of it. Ages much younger than that will love the pictures and marvel at how one page immediately blends into the next. This book is a keeper, it’s one that your kids will want to read and will remain in the children’s library for the next generation.

MomoCon is coming to Atlanta May 23-26-great for families

A con to a kid can be a fabulous and our kid’s favorite one is MomoCon. They’ve been attending MomoCon since they were 4 and 6 years old. As each year has passed they’ve been more eloquently able to say, “When is the next MomoCon?” True to previous years, MomoCon 2019 is right near the end of their school year. I’m not sure if they’re more excited about the end of school or going to MomoCon.

MomoCon is held in Atlanta and is utterly family friendly. There is a massive amount of cosplay and unlike some other cons that you might have attended; these costumes are mostly family friendly. You won’t see any creepy clowns or costumes that don’t leave much to the imagination. Instead you’ll see cosplay that’s inspired from manga, video games and some classic anime characters.

From its parent’s guide, “MomoCon is intended to be an all-ages event”. The art dealers and vendors on the floor don’t sell adult material and the panels that might have language you don’t want kids to hear will be clearly labeled with a warning. Of course, kids won’t even notice these things. I mention them to you because you might have hesitation about taking a kid to a con, much less a huge con that will attract tens of thousands of people on a given day.

For our kids it’s all about the games and MomoCon has over 180,000 sq ft of open gaming. That amount of video game space is among the largest of any convention in the United States. When we go, it’s an area that we could easily spend hours in that space alone. This includes classic video games (hello Robotron!!!), pinball and the latest full size arcade games from Japan. It’s worth noting that all of these games are also OK for the kids, our boys, now 7 and 9 loved going from game to game and trying them out. Yes, all of these games were free, no quarters needed, just a little patience for those more popular games that might have a line.

We also enjoy the gaming area. There is a massive board game area where you can check out almost any board game you want to play. When we sat down I was unsure how to play the game that our boys had requested. I fumbled around for a moment when a MomoCon volunteer sat down beside us, set up the board game for us and played along so that we’d get the hang of it. There are also plenty of LARP events, D&D and other RPGS happening, plus any card game that people are collecting.

And those are just the games. For kids under 10 those things, plus simply walking around and enjoying the costumes will be their entertainment. If you’re a fan of things anime, nerdcore, cosplay, Japan, Disney, cartoons or more then there is a panel for you! These panels will vary as to when they are and younger audiences won’t have the patience to sit through them, but those middle school audiences who want a deeper dive into what interests them will love going to some of them. Obviously, that age will need to have an adult present with them, but those moms and dads can simply sit a couple rows back.

Factor in some cosplay, a photo shoot around every corner, cool people everywhere and you’ve got an amazing time out with the family. This is a con done right for the family. It does have some older elements, but they’re scheduled late at night, so the kids will be home long before then.

Ages 9 and younger are free to MomoCon and prices increase on May 9, so get your badges before that happens. Entrance will vary from $35-$80, depending upon when you order your tickets, how many days you want to go and so forth. It happens May 23-26 in Atlanta at Georgia World Congress Center.

Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster is an elementary school go-to

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Inspector Flytrap approves. For that matter, so do Princess Labelmaker, Emperor Pickeltine, Origami Yoda and many others. Tom Angleberger is the author that lives in your child’s library. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and its series is what your middle school student knows the best. That series of books has sold more than four million copies. The elementary school reader knows Inspector Flytrap and laughed along the way with this very enjoyable series. Now, from the pages of Inspector Flytrap comes Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster. This is the first in a three-book mini-series about a spy who is also a dodo and your first through fourth grade readers will love this book.

Our fourth grade student took the book from my office and promptly misplaced it. Coincidentally, he lost it after he read it, so he was able to tell me that it was great, very funny and much like Inspector Flytrap. I asked him to go into detail about the book and all he could remember was that it was about Didi Dodo and a stolen brownie recipe. “Oh, but you’ll love it”, he reassured me.

Sure enough, after finding the book he was right. Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster is just the sort of book that kids in fist through fourth grade will love. Those on the younger side of that range will need to read it with someone older, but those third graders will be able to breeze through the book and enjoy every moment.

It has the same vibe as Inspector Flytrap and that’s because Angleberger wanted this character to live in the same world as her erstwhile bug eating friend. He’s creating his own elementary school, early chapter book universe where they can cross over, ever so briefly for a cameo, guest spot or assistance solving crimes. There is a little crossover in this book, but for the most part it’s all Didi Dodo, plus Koko Dodo-who is a great baker, Cousin Yuk Yuk, Penguini and a couple others.

The chapters in the book are short enough for struggling readers to read one and feel accomplished. They’re also short enough for. The book is also complimented with illustrations by Jared Chapman. Chapman has a way of drawing characters that perfectly capture the chaos and mayhem that they’re thinking. You’re looking for an angry yak that looks like Slim Pickens mixed with a James Bond villain? No problem he’s in the book and provides horsepower of energy to keep our future spy hero on the run towards success.

Didi Dodo: Future Spy, Recipe for Disaster is great. Kids will reread it a couple of times and then ask when the next one comes out. This is where you can recommend Inspector Flytrap if they’re in elementary school or age them up a bit for the Origami Yoda series. Either way they’ll have a hoot of a time while they wait for the next one.

Master Z, Ip Man Legacy succeeds as a film, not just a martial arts movie

I do love martial arts films. Even when they’re bad, they have entertainment potential for me. It’s some of those films, as well as, James Bond films that require them to be graded on a curve with a caveat. Master Z stems from the Ip Man films, which are entering their fourth incarnation, but have required the “good for a martial arts movie” caveat since the second one. Master Z has a title that belies its quality. This is a grade A martial arts movie that entertains martial arts fans, action movie audiences and might just convince casual movie goers to give these films a chance.

Master Z starts out with our titular character (played by Max Zhang) announcing that he’s giving up the fast-hands-for-hire game and going legit, but not before he’s challenged by an equally fast paced opponent. He’s done some bad things for good reasons, but now Cheung Tin Chi wants to go straight and narrow, spend some time with his son and avoid danger and the police. He opens up a grocery store, but danger, the growing crime scene and a drug underbelly can’t avoid the man who almost beat Ip Man.

Granted, I’m glossing over some of the plot details. Part of that is because martial arts fans know what to expect from these genre films. The other reason is that Master Z swims in some of these tropes, but it also splashes headlong against them.

The women are victims. Yes, there are some weak women in Master Z; but one of the baddest, strongest characters is a woman (the legendary Michelle Yeoh) and there is also a great scene where Liu Yan helps defend her friend against a gang of thugs.

Children as ploys are another tropes in films, not just martial arts films, and this is no exception. However, in Master Z it’s handled quite well and the audience is given just enough exposure to believe that he’s a father who loves his son, without it being child endangerment.

Yeoh is a pleasure to see on screen. She’s speaking her native tongue and crackles in every scene that she’s in. Max Zhang also does a great job balancing the drama of caring for his son, adapting the western nightlife of Bar Street and the eventual villains that make their way in.

There is some stunt casting in Master Z that might not pay off as well as you’d like. Tony Jaa is in the film, but it’s only for a couple sequences. Having said that, he’s still great to see and anytime he can be seen in a quality vehicle, even for a couple of minutes is welcome.

What ties all of this together is the action. The fight sequences are amazing and rarely let up. A great example of this is when I left the screen for: 30 to get a snack and came back in to a full on battle. It was that natural down time in martial arts films where the characters get together, talk about their family and then figure out what to do about the town bad guy. I took a snack break then, but it was a fake out from Master Z that just served up more action.

Master Z is directed by Yuen Woo-Ping, the legendary Hong Kong director who did the action choreography for The Matrix trilogy, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and more. From watching Master Z, even if you haven’t seen his other work, it’s obvious that there’s something different about this film. This is fun. It’s quickly paced, has some great humor and photography that makes you take notice. If you enjoy martial arts films you must put Master Z on your to-be-seen list. If you’re a casual action film fan this is one that you’ll want to check out.

The rating for Master Z is probably PG-13, and it’s a middle PG-13 rating. There are life and death elements, but they’re presented in ways that aren’t graphic. Ages 12 and up should be fine with everything here.