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Review! The Lunch Witch by Deb Lucke

8 Feb

lunchwitchThe Lunch Witch #1

By Deb Lucke

Series: The Lunch Witch (Book 1)

180 pages – ages 7+

Will be published by Papercutz on March 17, 2015

Synopsis- Grunhilda the Black Heart is a witch. She is a mean witch, too. But no one really believes in magic anymore, so she needs to find a job. After her job as a fake witch failed (she turned the boss into poop), she needed to find a new job. Grunhilda finds an ad looking for a school lunch lady and decided to try it out. And she loves it. The kids hate it. All was well. Well, until a girl who was going to fail the grade figures out that she’s a witch and tries to blackmail Grunhilda into using her witchcraft make her smart. Grunhilda says no. A couple of days later Grunhilda is serving lunch and sees the girl who’s been held back, standing in line. When the girl says that she’ll always be stupid, something resonates within Grunhilda from when she was in witch training. Can a witch have a change of heart?

What I Liked- The overall tone of the story is very serious (language and pictures), but there is some great humor in this one. The humor and illustrations have an edge to them. The story is packed with “dry” humor (like the school lunch lady ad says “Good cooks need not apply”). The illustrations have a dark-creepy feel to them. I like how the book shows the gradual change in Grunhilda from a mean witch to a nice(ish) lady. The pages had an interesting look to them, like a kind of old-time wearing. I like how Grunhilda and the girl change each other over the course of the story. I also like how the ending has you wondering if Grunhilda really did have a change of  heart. At 180 pages, this graphic novel has enough room to pack a great story into its pages. It looks like this will be an interesting series.

I give this book four out of five bookworms.fourbooks

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All Hallows Eve – Comic Novellas by David Eveleigh

20 Oct

 

Helllllooooo blogosphere! First off I get to announce that Kevin Springer author and member of The Middle Grade Mafia won the 3 signed book trilogy Double Vision by F.T. Bradley! WOO HOO! Congratulations Mr. Springer – I will be emailing you to get the address of where you want your books sent! Want to learn more about this series?  Check out the interview I did with Linc Baker – the main character from the series HERE.

Double Vision front coverCode Name 711--cover(1)Double Vision The Alias Men hi-res coverMy favorite Halloween Heroine is back in all new adventures! The All Hallows Eve comic/novella series has comic style action and adventure in it, but they are novellas, not comic books. Each book has a great message in it and Eve is a very cool female super hero. Check them out this Halloween!

All Hevedeadallows Eve: The Land Of The Dead

Series: All Hallows Eve, Book #10

By David Eveleigh

Published by Smashwords on July 20, 2014
Ebook –  11,210 words

SUMMARY – [From Smashwords]

“Join our beloved heroine All Hallows Eve as she journeys into the Afterlife itself to rescue a friend who has lost the will to live.”

WHAT I THOUGHT – This was a great short story. It has the perfect amount of confusion in it. It kept me on the edge of my seat all throughout the book. I like how Eve helps Samantha, her best friend who was driven insane by the evil Fantomas (one of Eve’s greatest villains from an earlier book), out when she needs it. The Tailless Black Sow was an interesting villain. It is a giant pig… that doesn’t have a tail. (Duh.)😉 This is a very creative story set in the 50-6o’s time period, which lends itself to the comic part of the story, and all of the superhero stuff. Mr. Eveleigh has written another great story. I like that at the beginning of the chapters have little cartoon images that sum up what happens in the chapter. The story is fun to read and appropriate for younger kids. All Hallows Eve is a great series for reluctant readers and perfect for this time of year.

I give this book five out of five bookworms!fivebooks

evevillainAll Hallows Eve: I, Villain

Series: All Hallows Eve, Book 11

By David Eveleigh

Published by  Smashwords on Oct. 10, 2014
Ebook –  8,710 words

SUMMARY – [From Smashwords]

“All Hallows Eve faces off against her deadliest enemy yet… You! That’s right, in this tale of madness, suspense and adventure, you are the villain! Equipped with a secret lair, evil powers, an army of robots and a diabolical superweapon, will you succeed in finishing off our beloved heroine once and for all?”

WHAT I THOUGHT – This Eve story is perhaps one of my favorites! Mr. Eveleigh has written this story with a wonderful perspective. In it, YOU are the villain, and YOU are facing All Hallows Eve, who is ruining YOUR evil plan. It is never revealed what your name is, though (a nice point, if I do say so myself). It almost reminds me of a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book – you do this, you did that, etc. – but it isn’t a choose-your-own – it’s a cool story that twists you into a character. The story is fun to read and it’s kind of cool to be the bad guy. The illustrations scattered throughout the book are as good as I always expect in the Eve books. Eve is a great superheroine that both boys and girls will love.

I give this book five out of five bookworms!fivebooks

Want to learn more? Check out Mr. Eveleigh’s author page and his other books on Smashwords – click HERE!

Here’s a BONUS Mr. Eveleigh made up for Halloween! Make your own comic-style mask! Happy Hauntings!😀

The Big Giveaway

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Bad Kitty – Drawn to Trouble by Nick Bruel

3 Feb

WOO!!! 2-hour school delay AGAIN!!!  SNOW DAY!!!

Let’s celebrate with something bad… Bad Kitty, that is!😀

drawntotraoubleBad Kitty – Drawn to Trouble

By Nick Bruel

128 pages – ages 7+

Published by Roaring Brook Press on January 7. 2014

Bad Kitty is back! But, this time, she’s not alone! Her creator, Nick Bruel, is right in the plot! With the (unwilling) help of Kitty, Mr. Bruel tells us readers how to write a good story . The reader learns about protagonists, setting, plot, conflict, foreshadowing and much more in a fun-filled way. The is that Kitty needs to go on a diet of turnips, because she’s gained a LOT of weight recently (thanks to Mr. Bruel and his trusty paint brush). But, the thing is, Kitty doesn’t even LIKE turnips. And, Puppy is eating all of her food. Plus, the giant octopuses outside the house (generously provided by Mr. Bruel) keep Kitty from running away.

This is a hilarious addition to the Bad Kitty series. In fact, I think this is my new favorite (sorry Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray) because of all the information it gives about writing a book. Mr. Bruel’s humor is awesome. I love that the antagonist in the story is a turnip.🙂 Mr. Bruel wrote a great book that teaches kids all about writing and made it a totally enjoyable story. The idea of the author/illustrator and character interacting is very cool (even though Bad Kitty is NOT impressed by it). I like how Mr. Bruel adds comments from his editor, “Neal”, on little sticky notes “stuck” to the pages reminding him of things he shouldn’t be doing in the story. There is also a handy glossary in the back of the book with the definitions of the parts of the story Mr. Bruel  goes over (and a recipe for roasted turnips hee hee😆 ). I think kids of all ages will enjoy this book for the hilarious story and learn something along the way!

I give this book 5 out of 5 bookworms!fivebooks

To learn more about Mr. Bruel and his other books, visit his website, HERE.

Like Bad Kitty Books on Facebook HERE.

Check out a preview at Macmillan Publishers HERE.

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Multicultural Children’s Book Day: Celebrating Diversity in Children’s Literature!

21 Jan

I am participating in Multicultural Children’s Book Day, which takes place on January 27th!

MCCBDI am a kid who loves to learn about different cultures and countries. I am trying to learn different languages too. I guess I try to find books like these so I never really thought about there not being that many out there. That’s why when I had a chance to participate in Multicultural Children’s Book Day, I signed up! The event is co-hosted by Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom and Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book/Audrey Press.

Here is the mission of the day –

“Despite census data that shows 37% of the US population consists of people of color, only 10% of children’s books published have diversity content. Using the Multicultural Children’s Book Day, Mia and Valarie are on a mission to change all of that. Their mission is to not only raise awareness for the kid’s books that celebrate diversity, but to get more of these types of books into classrooms and libraries. Another goal of this exciting event is create a compilation of books and favorite reads that will provide not only a new reading list for the winter, but also a way to expose brilliant books to families, teachers, and libraries.”

I have been highlighting some great multicultural books this week, but I was sent two AWESOME books from Barefoot Books to specially review for MCCBD. Barefoot Books has a bunch of great multicultural books in their catalog, make sure to check them out. PLUS Barefoot books is hosting a giveaway on the 27th. Please like them on Facebook by clicking HERE and on the 27th see how to enter to win!

Now onto the reviews!

odysseusThe Adventures of Odysseus

127 pages – ages 8+

Retold by Daniel Morden and Hugh Lupton

Illustrated by Christina Balit

Published by Barefoot Books August 1, 2010

The Greek king of Ithaca, Odysseus, was called upon to fight against Troy in the Trojan War. After the war, Odysseus and his soldiers sailed for Ithaca. But, when they moor at a strange island, and blind the giant cyclops Polyphemus, Odysseus shouts his name during bloating to the monster about who blinded it. The cyclops curses Odysseus and his crew. Polyphemus’ father, the god of the sea, Poseidon, then makes it extremely trying for Odysseus and his crew. Most of the crew die. Will Odysseus and his men every see home again?

This is a great re-telling of the Odyssey by the blind poet, Homer. I love how this abridged version of the Odyssey is pretty simple, but very informative and perfect for the age it is written for.  In this book, kids learn more about the Ancient Greek culture through the fabulous illustrations and the enlightening text. The illustrations are awesome –

AdventuresOfOdysseus_PB_2

Isn’t that gorgeous?

They have a collage-y look, don’t they? I think this is a great re-telling of the Odyssey and kids will earn a lot from it!

Now onto my second book (Barefoot Books actually set this one to me as a birthday present, but I think it goes really well with MCCBD too so I am also reviewing it!😀 ) –

littleleapforward_pb_wLittle Leap Forward – A Boy in Beijing

By Guo Yue and Clare Farrow

Illustrated by Helen Cann

128 pages – ages 10+

Published by Barefoot Books March 1, 2011

Little Leap Forward is a young boy living in Early Communist China. He and his friends have a pretty happy life. They fly homemade paper kites and play by the nearby river. They seem like they have a life that any kid would have. That is, until soldiers come and change everything! The soldiers want to get rid of “Old China” by burning and wrecking anything that reminds people of the way they used to live and to prepare for “New China”.

This is a great nonfiction autobiography that was written by Little Leap Forward himself! I learned a lot about China in this time period. Little Leap Forward (in the book) is a nice young boy who cares about nature and what is going on around him. I think I would enjoy meeting him.  The illustrations are beautiful and well-done. They help me see the story better. Here, look at this –

LittleLeapForward_HC1

Is that not magnificent? I love how they have a warm-ish feeling to them. There is an afterward in the book about what happened to the author after the story ends. It really added to the completeness of the story. I totally enjoyed learning about China during this time period. I haven’t read any other stories set in this time period.

I give both of these books 5 out of 5 bookworms! fivebooks

A special shout-out to the awesome sponsors for this event –  Wisdom Tales Press, Lee & LowBooks, Chronicle Books, and Susan Daniel Fayad, author of My Grandfather’sMasbaha.

A SUPER BIG SHOUT-OUT to the co-creators of the Multicultural Children’s Book Day: Celebrating Diversity in Children’s Literature event Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom and Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book/Audrey Press.

PLUS!! One of the day’s sponsors Wisdom Tales Press is giving away a complete set of their books for MCCBD! Click HERE to go THERE and see how to enter!

PLUS!!! I got a 2 hour school delay today because it is so cold WOO! Okay that really doesn’t have anything to do with MCCBD but I am happy about it!🙂

Please visit the other participating blog post for this important celebration. You can find a list of the posts/bloggers right below!

2GirlsLostInaBook · 365 Days of Motherhood · A Bilingual Baby · A Simple Life, Really? · Africa to America · After School Smarty Pants · All Done Monkey · Andi’s Kids Books · Anita Brown Bag  · Austin Gilkeson · Barbara Ann Mojica ·  Books My Kids Read · Bottom Shelf Books · Cats Eat Dogs · Chasing The Donkey · Children’s Book-a-Day Almanac · Children’s Books Heal · Church o Books · CitizenBeta · Crafty Moms Share · Discovering The World Through My Son’s Eyes · Early Words · Flowering Minds · Franticmommy · Gathering Books · GEO Librarian · Gladys Barbieri · Going in Circles · Growing Book by Book · iGame Mom · I’m Not The Nanny · InCulture Parent · Itsy Bitsy Mom ·Just Children’s Books– Kid World Citizen · Kristi’s Book Nook · Mama Lady Books · Mama Smiles · Mission Read · Mother Daughter Book Reviews · Mrs AOk · MrsTeeLoveLifeLaughter · Ms. Yingling Reads · Multicultural Kids Blog · One Sweet World · Open Wide The World · P is for Preschooler · Rapenzel Dreams · School4Boys · Sharon the Librarian · Spanish Playground · Sprout’s Bookshelf · Squishable Baby · Stanley and Katrina · Teach Mama · The Art of Home Education · The Brain Lair · The Educators’ Spin On It · The Family-Ship Experience · The Yellow Door Paperie · This Kid Reviews Books  · Trishap’s Books · Unconventional Librarian · Vicki Arnold · We3Three · World for Learning · Wrapped in Foil 

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The Night Riders by Mark Furie

11 Dec

Before I get to ANYTHING today, I get to announce the winner of the I Funny and I Funnier books by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein! WOO!

ifunnyIEvenFunnierHC

The winner is –

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(chosen randomly from a hat by my sister) JOANNA MARPLE! YAY!

 

I will be emailing you Miss Marple to get your mailing address so the publisher can send you your books!🙂

Thank you all for entering and stay tuned for other great give-aways! 

 

ALSO – before I get to today’s review, if you missed what I was cooking over at Jama’s Alphabet Soup, click HERE to go check it out!😀

thenightriders

The Night Riders

Written and Illustrated by Mark Furie

48 pages – ages 4+

Published by McSweeney’s McMullens on August 7, 2012

A frog sets out on a journey at night with his friend rat on his bike. As they peddle down the road, they make new friends (a bat and a dragon-like reptile). Their journey takes them to unusual places like an underground lair and a deserted town. The friends have lots of fun, and even have to escape a creepy crab-monster.

The Night Riders is a wordless story that I enjoyed. The story told by the pictures is about friendship and a night-time adventure. The illustrations are very detailed and give the reader a lot to look at. I think the book is great for kids with a lot of imagination. I thought the story told by the pictures isn’t always straight forward so you have to really pay attention it (I had to explain some of it to my little sister Josie). The frog is a great character, with a lot of emotion shown in his face. The rat friend is very cute too. The details in each panel are fun to search out. I also wanted to mention that this book has a great feel to it. It is an unusual size (10″x6″) and the paper feels like artwork paper. This is all a nice touch by the publisher. The funky-cool world created by Mr. Furie in The Night Riders is one I think kids with a big imagination will love .

I give this book 4 out of 5 bookworm.fourbooks

You can see an interview with the author and see interior images from the book at the McSweeney’s website HERE.

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Papercutz Comics With Great Girl Main Characters

7 Oct

The thing I like most about the graphic novel publisher, Papercutz. is that they have a huge variety of comics that are appropriate for kids. I noticed how Papercutz has a bunch of graphic novels with female main characters. I thought about this because my sister, Josie was excited when Papercutz published the Thea Stilton series.  She loves their Geronimo Stilton series but was especially excited to see the series featuring his awesome sister! Since Josie got so excited to see this comic with girl main characters, I decided to point out some of the great girl-main character series Papercutz has. (Click on any of the titles to go to the Papercutz website to learn more about it.)

Thea Stilton: Five girl-mice, Nicky, Paulina, Colette, Pamela, & Violet, call themselves the “Thea Sisters” after the famous reporter Thea Stilton, who writes stories about them. The Thea Sisters solve problems and they help everyone out on Whale Island. The girls attend college at  Mouseford Academy and are always finding great mysteries to solve!

thea

I am a huge fantasy fan and I really enjoy the Sybil the Backpack Fairy series. It’s funny I never really thought about it having a girl main character, I just like the series.😉

Sybil the Backpack Fairy: Nina is finding middle school pretty tough. She gets picked on a lot. Her mom doesn’t have a lot of time to listen. All of a sudden a fairy shows up in Nina’s backpack! The fairy, named Sybil, helps to make her life fun, and easier. The two friends share troubles and adventures in our world and the magical world where Sybil comes from.

sybil

Ernest & Rebecca is another series Josie and I really like. The covers look like the series would be for really young kids, but the stories are written well for kids 6-12.

Ernest & Rebecca: Rebecca is a little girl that is 6 & 1/2 years old, not a munchkin, with a weak immune system. Ernest is a microbe (germ) who happens to be as big as Rebecca and also her companion who makes her better. They have a lot of fun together and get into a lot of mischief.

ernest_cvrBig1-235x300

Papercutz also has new Nancy Drew mysteries in comic form. All kids love a good mystery and Nancy Drew is a classic!

nancydrew

Papercutz also has a Nancy Drew series meant for younger kids, Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew. Josie especially likes this series.

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew: Nancy Drew is “young” in this series, and she and her two friends solve mysteries. This comic book takes place in modern times.

nancydrewclue

There is a new Nancy Drew series too called Nancy Drew Diaries, but I haven’t read that one…yet.😉

There are also more girl themed comics like Disney Fairies (Josie’s favorite),

disneyfairies

and Dance Class, which I have reviewed on my site before (click HERE). Even though it  has a very “girly” theme, I really like Dance Class because of the stories and how funny they are.

danceclass

Dance Class: Three girls, Julie, Alia, and Lucie, are best friends, and they love to dance. They take ballet, and a bunch of other dance types. This series also takes a look at their lives outside of dance school. This is a really funny series!

There is also a new series called Stardoll that I haven’t read. but the Papercutz description says “Meet Claire Leo… she, along with her new friends Ashley, Kaya, Ruby and Sue-Ni, attends the Los Angeles High School of Fashion and Design (FAD) and hopes to make her dreams come true.” It says the series is based on the Stardoll website which is an online dress-up game for girls, and no, I haven’t played it…😉

stardoll

If you are looking for some great comics that happen to have girl-main characters, I hope you check these out!

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ZiTS: Chillax by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman

16 Sep

chillaxZiTS: Chillax

by Jerry Scott

Illustrated by Jim Borgman

256 pages – ages 8+

Publisheb by HarperTeen on May 21, 2013

Jeremy felt helpless that his friend(Tim)’s mom got cancer. Jeremy and his friends were finally going to  get to go to an epic rock concert without any parents (the band they want to see is called Gingivitis) but Tim is donating bone marrow for his mom on that night. Jeremy and his best friends Hector, Pierce, Sara (Jeremy’s girlfriend) and Dijon (Sara’s BFF) try to figure out how to help Tim. Sara and Dijon decide to go with Tim to the hospital when he donated the marrow, Pierce shaves his head in support, Jeremy and Hector hatch a plan of their own to try to help out.

When I first got this book, I was thinking it would be a compilation (that’s my new word for today – thank you Mr. Thesaurus🙂 ) of Zits comic strips. I love reading Zits in the newspaper! This isn’t a bunch of comics, it’s a middle grade novel! Very cool. The novel has a bunch of great black and white illustrations throughout it. I think that Mr. Scott and Mr. Borgman did a great job changing their comic strip into an MG book. I also liked that besides lots of comic strip humor, the book had a story. It tells about how Jeremy has to deal with his girlfriend and how he wants to get to the rock concert but it also has the serious part to the plot about his friend’s mom having cancer. It made the story believable for me. It is kind of like real life. I also liked that I learned more about the characters in the Zits comic than I get just reading the strip.

I give “ZiTS: Chillax” 5 out of 5 bookworms!fivebooks

To learn more, please visit the Zits official website HERE!

Check out the trailer!

WAIT!!!

Before you go – I am SO excited to say that the next stop on  The Adventures of Tomato and Pea blog tour is over at Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog!!! Please check it out for an interview with me and a chance to win a copy of my book! :D Plus Ms. Hill is doing a Q&A with me and commentors! So if you have a question for me ask away! I will answer them when I get home from school today!🙂 Click HERE to go THERE!

 

T&P1BLOGTOURBANNER

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All Hallows Eve Vs. Fantômas Books 1 and 2 by David Eveleigh

29 Apr

allhallowsevefantomAll Hallows Eve Vs. Fantômas Book I: The Spectre Of Crime

By David Eveleigh

Published: Oct. 22, 2012

Words: 10,525 – ages 9+

All Hallows Eve is a comic book super-heroine that I love reading about (check out my review of All Hallows Eve HERE and All Hallows Eve Face the Music HERE).  The books in the Fantômas series are written like a serial adventure, so you have to wait for the next book to continue the story. The books are actually novellas, not typical comic books, but they are packed with lots of comic book action. I am reviewing the first two in the series, because that’s all there is so far.

In All Hallows Eve Vs. Fantômas: The Spectre of Crime, Eve was being attacked by a tough voodoo doll-like villain named Zepingles, only to learn it was a diversion after she defeated it. When Eve got to the scene of the true crime she finds out that  the evil Fantômas has attacked Professor Steiner to get blueprints for a special machine that Fantômas wants for evil purposes. Fantômas is the legendary super-villain who always wins. Eve has never been up against such a powerful enemy!

**Just a cool note – the character Fantômas was a very popular French comic book super villain from back in the early 1900s and Mr. Eveleigh brought him back.🙂

English: A poster for the first Fantomas film,...

English: A poster for the first Fantomas film, Fantômas (1913) by Louis Feuillade, produced by Gaumont studios. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

allhallowsevefantom2All Hallows Eve Vs. Fantomas Book II: The Woman In White

By David Eveleigh

Published: Feb. 08, 2013

Words: 17,581 – ages 9+

When Eve and her best friend Samantha take a young girl (the granddaughter of Professor Steiner) Trick-or-Treating, they visit a house. Well, not just any house but THE BEST  place for a Trick-or-Treater to go to on Halloween! Mrs. Calderon A.K.A. Mrs. Cauldron goes over-the-top every year for Halloween!!! When the friends get there, THEY are the ones tricked, not treated! Fantômas shows up at that house and what’s worse, the kids find out Mrs. Cauldron isn’t the real Mrs. Cauldron! The real Mrs. Cauldron is being held captive by Fantômas. The imposter hypnotized the kids so that they couldn’t open their eyes or move a muscle.  That isn’t even the surprise! The surprise is… Mrs. Calderon, A.K.A. Mrs. Cauldron, A.K.A. the Woman In White is literally Eve’s evil twin! AND, the adventure isn’t over yet!!!

I think Eve is an awesome superhero. It’s cool that she’s a teen-girl superhero because there aren’t a lot of them (the Cassidy Jones series is another one of my favorite series with a teen-girl superhero). The series is written well for kids because there’s no bad language and the violence in it is comic book style and mild. The action described in the stories is exciting and the plot is also exciting and unpredictable (I never saw the evil twin sister thing coming!). I like that in book 2 of the series Mr. Eveleigh has a strong message about saying no to drugs and how bad drugs are. It is a good message for kids.  The fact that the books are pretty short and very exciting makes them great for kids who may be reluctant readers.

Five out of five book worms for the All Hallows Eve Vs. Fantômas series! fivebooks

You can find the All Hallows Eve books at Barnes and Noble (HERE) and Smashwords (HERE).

Check out what Eve thinks of me:😉

For Erik

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When Sam Sets Sail by LeAnn Beck PLUS Three Stooges Classic Comics

13 Mar

HI THERE!

Today I am doing two reviews!😀

samsetsailWhen Sam Sets Sail

By LeAnn Beck

38 pages – ages 6+

Published by CreateSpace on June 14, 2012

When Sam set sail the sea was fine, but after a terrible storm came by, things turned for the worse. Sea monsters surfaced and stirred the waters up! What will Sam and his crew do?!?

This unique, illustrate your own adventure is a lot of fun. The story is told in rhyme and has a twist ending that will make you giggle. The pages are meant to be illustrated by the reader. They look like old scrolls –

samsetsI think that’s pretty cool. The story is cute and the rhyme s pretty good. The story definitely gives ideas for some cool drawings. I think any kid (boy or girl) would like to illustrate this adventure.

Four out of five bookworms for this illustrate your own adventure book! fourbooks

NOW – Who’s ready for some silliness?

Nuk nuk nuk HEY Moe!

3stogesThe Best of The Three Stooges volume 2

By Norman Maurer, Joe Messerli and Pete Alvarado

192 pages – ages 7+

Published by Papercutz on January 15, 2013

I am a huge fan of old comics (the artwork is great) and I also LOVE the Three Stooges. I was happy to see that Papercutz put out another volume of a collection of the original Three Stooge comics (originally published from 1954-1972). From making deliveries to boxing to working as lifeguards, the Stooges do it all… badly! As a bonus there is also an interview with author Norman Maurer and comic book artist Joe Kubert (who started drawing comics professionally at age 11!!). This is a book I will read over and over again!

Five out of five for this funny collection! fivebooks

English: Publicity photo for The Three Stooges...

English: Publicity photo for The Three Stooges short subject Disorder in the Court. Copyright Columbia Pictures, 1936. Used to illustrate film being described. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Two Great Graphic Novel Series from Papercutz

10 Dec

Today I am reviewing two comic book/graphic novel series from Papercutz, a great graphic novel publisher. I really like that Papercutz has a huge selection of comics and that they make comics for every age group. Check out all the titles they have at their website by clicking HERE. As you may know, I really like comics and graphic novels and I think they are a great way to get kids into reading.

The first series combines one of my favorite things – LEGOs with another of my favorite things – READING!

ninjagobanner

The Papercutz LEGO Ninjago books are based on Ninjago (LEGO ninja warriors)  toys (and there is a LEGO game called Spinjitsu that you can play). The graphic novel series has 7 volumes so far. The story starts in book 1. Kai (the red ninja)’s sister, Nya, was kidnapped by Lord Garmadon, so Kai joined a team of ninjas led by Sensei Wu: Cole (black ninja), Jay (blue ninja) and Zane (white ninja). Together they gather the four golden weapons of Spinjitsu (their martial art). They get the weapons and go to stop Lord Garmadon… or will they?!?

The adventure continues through the other books. The story plots are connected and they are super fun to read (you don’t have to like LEGOs to love these graphic novels). The art work is really great! Here is an example from the Papercutz website.

Ninjago_Interior_P1.indd

The books are written well for younger kids. There is a lot of excitement, good vs. evil and super ninja action! There is also a lot of humor mixed into the stories. I think that makes it even better.

I think this LEGO based graphic novel series would be a great gift for any kid who loves LEGOs AND it gets them into reading! I’d recommend this series to kids 5+.

I give the Ninjago Comic books 5 out of 5 bookworms! fivebooks

The next series I want to tell you about is called “Dance Class.”

**I know you are saying, “Erik, isn’t this a series for girls?” Answer: Yes it is, but I like the stories anyway.😉

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The main idea of the series is the main characters, Julie, Alia, and Lucie, LOVE to dance. They are also friends and go to school together. The girls practice, compete and try to be the best dancer.  This also means that sometimes there is some trouble like when a cute boy is made the lead in Romeo and Juliet and all the girls want to be Juliet! The girls have usual teenage issues that they deal with too (school, parents, boys).

There are four books in the series so far –

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I think this is a great series. Julie, Alia and Lucie are nice girls that love dance and do it well. I like how they work hard to get what they want. I do like seeing perseverance in characters. Sometimes a character can be a bit mean to another one and there’s some jealousy (like if one girl gets picked for a part that another one wanted), but it adds to the story plot.  There is a ton of humor in the books. The illustrations are great and also add to the humor of the books –

I recommend this series to kids 10+ because it seems to be meant for a little older kid. I think girls (and some boys😉 ) would love these books!

I give the Dance Class series 4 out of 5 bookworms. fourbooks

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