Daddy Mojo

Is Guardians of the Galaxy 2 OK for kids?

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Our 7 year old asked us for a cell phone today. He said he wants it to play games. I told him that’s why he has a Nintendo 3DS. He also asked about seeing Guardians of the Galaxy 2. So, Is Guardians of the Galaxy 2 OK for kids? We saw the film and offer up a spoiler free review of it, plus dig down into how the film got its PG-13 rating.

For adult audiences, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is a whoot. It starts off with a raucous alien fights scene where the guardians have taken on a mercenary role and are protecting the power supply for another gold group of aliens. From there Rocket, Groot, Star Lord and Gamora meet up with Yondu, Nebula. They meet Ego, Matis and are sometimes are vexed by Ayesha, the High Priestess of the Sovereigns, a group of genetically created perfect beings.

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Kid Savage is middle school library mandatory graphic novel

The problem with some kidlit or graphic novels is that there isn’t enough evil. The ‘good’ elements to the story, no matter how engaging, will always be part of a lackluster story if it’s not countered with a great heel. Evil, can take many forms, it can be something that is unknown, mysterious or simply straight up bad, a la Hanibal Letcter. Kid Savage is an original graphic novel from Image Comics that will remind adults of how much fun reading can be. Bonus: Kid Savage is appropriate for ages 8 and up. It has action, mystery, great visuals, a classic soul and characters that every kid will relate to on some level. This will easily be one of the 10 best all age graphic novels of 2017.

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Me?, #ISleepTo get things done and love life #ad

I partnered with Life of Dad and Beautyrest for this campaign, but my opinions are my own. Enjoy it while you can. That’s what many people joking said about sleep before we had children. It was a glib comment for sure, but it was true and more accurate when the kids are younger. Now that our kids are marginally older (see: out of diapers and the crib) our night time sleep habits have somewhat returned to normal. That fact has been brought to the forefront since we started using the Beautyrest Sleeptracker Monitor.

To the new parents I say to them, enjoy those naps and relish that REM sleep. Rapid Eye Movement, I remember an interview from the early 80’s from Michael Stipe when he said that he knew REM made it big time when people stopped asking him what the band’s name stood for. For the first couple of years some parents might also forget what REM stands for.

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New all age comics for May 3, 2017

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Every Wednesday is new comic book day and today we’re taking a look at the new all age comics this week. Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 6 at your local comic book store. This Thursday, May 4 is Star Wars Day, also known as May The Fourth Be With You. That’s a lot going on in the pop culture world this week, but we’ll make sense of it. There are lots of great all age comics that will be given away as part of Free Comic Book Day and we’ll go over those later. For now let’s take a look at five all age comics that might fly under your radar, merit a second look or is a go-to classic.

Pix

Pix, One Weirdest Weekend was re-released earlier this month is probably one of the 10 best graphic novels in 2017. That is unless Pix Too Super for School takes its place. Pix is a character created by Gregg Schigiel that is entirely modern, part pixie princess with all the teen troubles that kids have today. It’s also jammed with action, has timeless art and will appeal to boys or girls aged 8 or up.

The Pink Panther Super Special

The Pink Panther Super Special is a summer one-shot issue that celebrates the pink fellow that kids love. Ages 5 and up will enjoy this comic book, they might need some help with the words, but for the most part this is a wordless wonder that’s heavy on super humor.

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt

Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt is from Tundra Books and a great example of a kid’s first graphic novel. It’s simpler than Captain Underpants and slightly more complex than Sandra Yoon’s books with big art, happy illustrations and large font words. This is manic happiness that will entertain pre-K kids through third grade

Real Friends

Real Friends by Shannon Hale with illustrations by LeUyen Pam is the graphic novel as more than some people think it is. This is a graphic novel that wears its feeling, hearts and emotions in every word and illustration in the book. It’s a story about teens making friends, being mean, discovering themselves, helping others and not repeating bad decisions. The subtitle to the graphic novel is A true story about cool kids and crybabies and it’s the true story about a period of Shannon Hale’s life. She felt called to write this when she saw her children going through the same things that she did. Real Friends is about friends and has moments of kids being cruel, but it’s also imaginative and ultimately hopeful.

5 Worlds, The Sand Warrior

5 Worlds, The Sand Warrior is an original graphic novel from Random House that is a large scale collaborative effort between five authors and illustrators. The book feels incredibly multi-layered because of that when you look at the art. Its different styles help tell the story of foreign worlds, queens, monsters, friends and a mysterious greater goal that is guiding our three heroes. 5 Worlds is a dreamy science fiction story, with a fable twist that will appeal to readers 8 and up.

Graphic novel, all age comics, comic books, free comic book day, new comic book day, Pix, pink panther, the pink panther super special, super narwhal, super narwhal and jelly jolt, real friends, Shannon hale, 5 worlds, 5 worlds the sand warrior,

There are a couple great all age comics out this week, but mainly it’s the graphic novels that get attention with Pix, 5 Worlds, Real Friends and more.

Humor

Superhero

Action/Science Fiction

Shows and films to soothe the 7 year old soul on Netflix

We’re part of the Streamteam for Netflix and were provided compensation for this post. All thoughts are our own. Everybody, even the adults has the capacity to be entertained by the same things that will earnestly make a 7 year old, laugh, be scared and tense up with fun anticipation. Here are some things that entertain our 7 year old, some of which also do the trick for his 5 year old brother. There are some cool animated shows and two stop animations things to watch that will entertain the very wide ages of 7 and up, plus all of these can be seen on Netflix.

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Noodleheads See The Future, folk tales with a Fly Guy twist

Chimichanga. We called our youngest son that once when he did something silly. The name stuck and we still call him chimichanga when he’s being silly or makes a basic mistake. Noodleheads See The Future is an early reader chapter book that uses noodles as the main characters. There’s Mac and Mac who are the main characters, they are actually noodles in body and myth.

It turns out that ‘noodles’ or ‘noodleheads’ have been slang for people who don’t think for generations. It makes sense and I’ve heard the term before, but didn’t realize that it was a worldwide thing. However, in Italy, Turkey, England and beyond people have been referring to fools as noodleheads for a very long time.

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Rugrats-finally on DVD giveaway, 26 years on they age well

Way back in 1991 Rugrats debuted on Nickelodeon. It forever changed television and became one of the go-to cartoons for millennials. Now Rugrats Season 1 and Season 2 are finally available on DVD. Our children had never seen an episode of Rugrats and immediately resonated with the characters.

One difference between Rugrats and some of the shows that they watch now is that Rugrats has heart and emotion. It is certainly a comedy, but it never forgets the family or the struggles that really small children go through. Sure Tommy was a toddler, but the way he communicated and his interpersonal relationships seemed older. That aspect allowed him to connect with viewers who are older, which is rare for shows today. Today’s shows often have characters acting older than what they really are. Actually enjoying a show where older kids are watching a show about babies-and it’s entertaining is rare indeed.

Another bonus is the cost of the Rugrats DVDs. Season 1 has 26 episodes for 316 minutes on two discs at $14.99. Season 2 is spread out over four discs, 657 minutes of content and 56 episodes for $19.99. That is a great bang for the buck when compared to some newer releases that might retail for that same price but only have 6 episodes. If you don’t win then you can purchase them on DVD when they go on sale May 2.

Rugrats on DVD, Season 1 and Season 2

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If My Love Were A Fire Truck, gets dad love and more

In the kid lit book world it’s a thin line between sappy dad love and over the top machismo. Usually it’s the stereotype of a well intentioned dad trying to fix something that goes astray. It’s a close relative to the dumb dad that advertisers used to rely on far too much. If My Love Were A Fire Truck by Luke Reynolds with illustrations by Jeff Mack is children’s book that straddles that line with ease. It shows the father figure in the book doing all manner of activities with his son, albeit in his imagination.

With Father’s Day coming up one expects to see more than a couple children’s books aimed at dads. Some will succeed merely because they cater to dudes, while others will have heart, in addition to being able to be read by moms too.

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