Daddy Mojo

Spy Camp The Graphic Novel, resistance is futile, read and enjoy

Recently I was surprised to find out that Enola Holmes was a series of books before it was a Netflix movie and before it was a graphic novel. To some folks, I realize that fact sets my surprise barometer rather low, akin to the water is wet crowd. For upper elementary, through middle school readers the Spy School series of books by Stuart Gibbs is a bulletproof vehicle for fun, fast-paced reading that helps those ages fall in love with literature. When Spy School The Graphic Novel came out I was less than impressed. As the series of mglit books goes, so goes the graphic novels and Spy Camp The Graphic Novel is upon us. And perhaps it took the Enola Holmes graphic novel to brush off our burs, but Spy Camp The Graphic Novel is an entertaining and fun book.

Spy Camp The Graphic Novel finds its graphic groove as a series and jumps into the same entertainment vibe as the books.

That’s great that you loved the novels, this graphic novel is great now too

The Cat, The Owl And The Fresh Fish, a timeless tale, great art, mixed results

Old school is not a pejorative in some cases. The Cat, The Owl And The Fresh Fish is old school is the right kind of way. It feels like a fable and has the repetition that’s associated with fairy tales. There is also a fresh, unknown quality about the book that lends it to feeling as if it’s been passed down from a generation. However, there’s one aspect of it that could divide some readers or their audience.

The Cat The Owl And The Fresh Fish has all of the elements of a classic fable, but its use of cursive might belie its timeless intentions.

Great art…..but that cursive tho…….

I Am Coco, a graphic novel that makes the improbable, probable

Make me interested in a quasi-graphic novel about a fashion designer. I Am Coco, The Life of Coco Chanel by Isabel Pin politely, says “Hold my glass of wine.” I Am Coco is an excellent of example of how the medium of a graphic novel is able to tell a story to an otherwise unapproachable audience. It’s not that I’m a fashion snob. It’s just that the only thing I knew about Coco Chanel is that it’s a perfume presented via esoteric voiceovers and dreamy visuals where it’s always windy and people are having grand adventures in foreign vistas with exotic animals by their feet. In reality, the story of Coco Chanel is much more about an entrepreneur who was creating her own path during a time when many of the world’s greats were making their mark.

I Am Coco, The Life of Coco Chanel is a graphic novel that looks at the icon’s life in a way that makes non-fashion folks interested.

Hold my glass of wine

Harry Potter: The Exhibition in Atlanta, a wizarding time for all

You give Muggles a bad name, that’s the way the Bon Jovi song goes, isn’t it? I’ve seen one Harry Potter film and that was the one with the giant snake. I haven’t read any of the books, but I do enjoy a good time and theme park experience. Packed away with all of this Hogwarts lack of trivia I decided to check out Harry Potter: The Exhibition. Harry Potter: The Exhibition in Atlanta is happening in the peach state until April 16. It’s a traveling collection of movie memorabilia, costumes, and an interactive rabbit hole of all things from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

There be dragons here….and a couple of Muggles

Ready-To-Read Super Gross, baits the STEM hook for 2^nd and 3^rd graders

Teach a child a foreign language and the first things that they’ll remember is the profanity, slang or pickup lines. In other news: kids who only study one year of Spanish make the world’s worst interpreters. As a testament to that, it’s been more than 25 years and I can still say “you’re very cute” in Norwegian. The gross facts from reference books, those strange blurbs about animals that they’ll never see are always the first ones to get read. How-To-Read Super Gross is a book series that leans into that tendency and gives it a big, yucky hug. What’s In Your Body? is the big font combination of photographs and illustrations and witty dialogue that emerging readers crave.

Ready-To-Read Super Gross, What’s in Your Body? perfectly sets up and answers STEM things that first through third graders want to read and talk about.

TAstey STEm for ages 5 and up

Outside Chance stands a high probability of enjoyment for ages 11 and up

Outside Chance, as in, there’s an outside chance that it’ll rain on Saturday. Don’t Doubt The Rainbow, as in the book that’s written by Anthony Kessel. It only sounds like the taunting catchphrase for a cereal company that’s helmed by a magically delicious leprechaun. Don’t Doubt The Rainbow, Outside Chance is the second book in this series that’s very smart. The pacing, levels of description, and plot elements that go into Outside Chance seem to make it more on par with YA, than mglit, but does it really and why does it matter?

Outside Chance, the second book in the Don’t Doubt The Rainbow series is smart YA that also satisfies mglit fans with action, mystery and realistic fiction.

Smart ya does not mean that it’s not highly enjoyable

The Sublime Ms. Stacks, a divisive drag show drama in a library

The only way that The Sublime Ms. Stacks could be more polarizing is if each book came with a lightning rod. There is no gray area on this illustrated book. It’s a book that can be admired for its forthright thinking but will also leave many wondering how it could be so tone-deaf. The Sublime Ms. Stacks will leave most readers wondering why the book exists, while a couple of them will say that it didn’t come onto the scene soon enough.

The Sublime Ms. Stacks preaches to the choir, whichever one you’re on, and will fire up the other side, which might be the point.

Why ask why, it’ll speak to the choir-both sides of them

A Bucket of Questions, a curious illustrated book you didn’t know you need

We started out one of our recent YouTube videos by stating something along the lines of “getting kids to ask the question is the important part about discovery and loving STEM.” In theory, if you’re going by a book’s title, A Bucket of Questions is an illustrated look at some questions that the elementary school audience has. What are hot dogs made of? and What’s at the bottom of the ocean? are just a couple of the questions that are posed to young audiences. The punch line to the book is alluded to in its full title, A Bucket of Questions almost answered by Tim Fite. ‘almost answered’ is not the sort of qualifier that one would use with a STEM, Q & A, or factoid book, and once you thumb through it you’ll know why it’s there.

A Bucket of Questions is not a reference book. Instead, it’s a silly, absurd illustrated book that’s intent on having fun and encouraging kids to ask questions.

Seeking the ministry of silly walks are you?