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Review! The Lunch Witch by Deb Lucke

The 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.

Tags: bibliophile, book review, bookworm, deb lucke, graphic novel, papercutz, the lunch witch, this kid reviews books

Comments 20 Comments
Categories Age 6-9, Comics / Graphic Novels

Dinosaurs #1 In The Beginning by Plumeri and Bloz

1 May

Dinosaurs: In The Beginning
by Plumeri and Bloz
56 pages – age 6+
Published by Papercutz on January 7, 2014
Summary-

Publisher’s series summary: “Think you know everything there is to know about dinosaurs? Think again! In this brand new series, kid dinos show us what their lives were like in short, funny, teeth-gnashing bursts of prehistoric mayhem. DINOSAURS is your guided tour through the rough-and-tumble world of the mightiest beasts to ever walk the earth!“

In the first book of the series, the reader is introduced to all sorts of dinosaurs and in a very silly way, you learn how they looked, hunted, and fought. There is also some information on how it is thought the dinosaurs became extinct and some about fossils too.

What I thought- I love it when books mix humor with learning. This book does that – plus it is a comic so that gets bonus points from me. 🙂 I think kids can learn a lot from comics. I liked that the dinosaurs were story characters and that their actions in the story is a funny way of telling us what the dinosaurs were really like. The artwork in the comic is great –

There is a paleontologist character too, Indino Jones. He adds even more humor to the story. There are some scary dinosaur fights and some dinosaur blood (and also some butt and poop jokes) but there isn’t anything too over the top for younger readers. Some younger kids may have problems with the some of the words in the book like the dinosaur’s names, but the pictures can help those kids know what action is going on in the story. I think this will be a great series!

Five out of five bookworms!

Check out the Papercutz Dinosaurs page (click HERE). There is more information on the series and also resources for teachers!

Tags: bibliophile, book review, bookworm, comic books, dinosaurs in the beginning, papercutz

Comments 22 Comments
Categories Age 6-9

Papercutz Classics Illustrated – The Sea Wolf by Jack London

30 Apr

Papercutz Classics Illustrated – The Sea Wolf
By Jack London
Adapted by Riff Reb’s
Series: Classics Illustrated Deluxe (Book 11)
144 pages – ages 12+
Published by Papercutz on April 1, 2014

Summary – In an unfortunate accident, the gentleman, Humphrey van Weyden, gets washed overboard while traveling on a ferry. The sailors of the Ghost, a sea hunting ship, pull Humphrey from the sea. Humphrey believes that he is saved but the captain of the ship, Wolf Larsen forces Humphrey to be the new cabin-boy on his ship (one of his other crew members just died and he needed a replacement). Humphrey is held captive and forced into a hard and terrifying life at sea. When a castaway lady named Maud Brewster ends up on the boat, the two rely on each other and escape together. But, the Sea Wolf is still out there…

What I thought – WOW – this was a great story! I think the Papercutz Classics Illustrated series is a great way to get kids to read classics and see what awesome stories the classics have. The illustrations in this adaptation makes the reader totally involved in the story. You can feel the mood of the whole book from them – dark, creepy, cold…

The character Wolf Larsen is terrifying! I think he is now one of my top favorite literary villains. The description of the brutal life on the ship was vivid and the illustrations made it even more so. At 144 pages this is no comic book, it is a graphic novel and you get a great story. I have not read the original Sea Wolf. I have read Jack London’s White Fang and there is violence in Jack London books. The publisher rates this book as 8+ but I think because of the violence this book is good for kids 12+. As I said I never read the full version of the book, so I can’t tell how close the adaptation is to the real thing. I can say that the story kept me reading. I read it straight through, no stops. I am sure, after reading this adaptation, I will pick up the full version of the book one day.

Four out of five bookworms for The Classics Illustrated Sea Wolf!

To learn more about the Classic Illustrated series, visit the Papercutz website HERE.

Like Papercutz on Facebook HERE.

Tags: bibliophile, bookworm, childrens books, graphic novel, jack london, papercutz, the sea-wolf

Comments 16 Comments
Categories Age 12+

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.

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.

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

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.

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),

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.

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… 😉

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

Tags: dance class, nancy drew, papercutz, rebecca and ernest, sybil the backpack fairy, thea stilton

Comments 20 Comments
Categories Comics / Graphic Novels

UBFP Article for July and the WINNER of the Schoolies books!

15 Jul

I’M BACK FROM CAMPING!!! I caught a bass and read a bajillion books! 😉 No, really, I did. 😉

First, I wanted to share the article I wrote for the Upper Bucks Free Press (the newspaper I write for) for the July issue! The online version was published. To see the online version of the newspaper, click HERE (see page 14).

Read to the bottom to see the winner of the set of Schoolies that I was giving away!

I hope you like the article! 🙂

Graphic Novels Bring Classics to Life for Young People

Move over Spiderman, there are new comic book characters in town! Many classic books are being turned into comic books to try to get kids into reading classics. No matter what your opinion is on classics as comics, these books are very popular with kids. One of my favorite series is the Classic Illustrated Series published by Papercutz. Papercutz Marketing Director, Jesse Post, let me ask him some questions about this series.

Erik: People might worry that publishing classic literature as graphic novels will discourage kids from reading the actual book. How does Papercutz see the role of their Classics Illustrated Graphic Novels in helping get kids into classic literature?

Jesse Post: We think it’s actually the opposite! [W]e’ve heard a lot of enthusiastic praise from teachers and librarians about the series, especially our CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED DELUXE books that have more pages and are even closer to the experience of reading the original books. I think a lot of the time, kids might think that these old books are boring or too hard to read, but they don’t realize that there are some wild adventures in the classics! The Three Musketeers has sword-fighting and rescues, Tom Sawyer has a search for buried treasure in a haunted house, Treasure Island has all the suspense and excitement of any modern middle-grade or YA book for boys. It’s easier for kids to get into these stories as comics, and we think that once they realize what they’ve been missing they’ll look for the original books, and maybe even some other classic books that haven’t been turned into comics just yet.

Erik: I agree, classic books have a ton of action! How true to the story is the comic book adaptation of the classic?

Jesse Post: It can vary, but our DELUXE line is very true to the original books, so much so that the comics can sometimes have as many pages as the originals! Our regular CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED line is a bit slimmer (around 56 pages each) so those just aim to cover the main plot points and themes of the originals, with only the most important character developments and twists and turns. I would say any adaptation, whether it’s a comic book, a movie, or a TV show, can’t offer the exact same experience as the original, but the best adaptations are authentic even if they’re a little shorter or less detailed.

Erik: I like how you try to stay close to the original story. I’ve noticed that the illustration style can be pretty different between the books. How do you pick an illustrator or illustration style to fit the classic?

Jesse Post: All of our CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED books are either reprints from an earlier series or translated from books that were originally published in France, so we don’t usually have any input into the story development. We do pick the books we publish very carefully, though, and the main thing we look for in an artists’ style is a certain liveliness to the characters (we want the characters to feel real to readers) and a strong ability to tell a story in pictures. Comics artists have to do a lot more than draw well — they have to use facial expressions, scenery, color, and many other things to convey important parts of the story. When you read comics you “read” the pictures as well as the words, and this is especially important in a classic novel adaptation.

Erik: Comic art is very important to the story! How do you choose which stories to illustrate?

Jesse Post: We look mainly for books that are very popular (like Around the World in 80 Days, A Christmas Carol, and Call of the Wild) and very good (but that’s usually all of them — if they weren’t good they wouldn’t be classics!). Another factor is age-appropriateness. Because we’re a kids’ publisher we want to make sure the subject matter isn’t too advanced or complex. We’ve experimented with some adaptations of more complicated classics for adults like The Jungle and Wuthering Heights, but the straight-ahead children’s classics like Wind In the Willows and Tom Sawyer are much more popular. But most of all we just look for an excellent adaptation, one that’s true to the original with beautiful artwork. If we do that right, our readers will be happy, and that makes us happy!

Erik: To learn more about the Papercutz Classics Illustrated series, visit www.papercutz.com.

For more on books and reading, visit my website http://www.thiskidreviewsbooks.com!

Now to announce the winner of the Schoolies books!

The Winner Is…

ME!

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

😉

Okay, seriously, the winner is…

Miss AMY who thought “collection looks like a lot of fun and covers such an important topic for new students.” I will be emailing you to get your address and the publisher will be sending you your books! WOO!

Tags: bibliophile, book review, bookworm, Ellen Crimi-Trent, graphic novels, papercutz, schoolies

Comments 21 Comments
Categories Newspaper Columns, Other Stuff Related to Books and Reading

The Smurf Anthology #1 by Peyo

1 Jul

The Smurfs Anthology #1

By Peyo and Yvan Delporte

Illustrated by Peyo

192 pages – ages 8+

Anthology Published by Papercutz June 25, 2013

Have you ever heard of the Smurfs? Well, the Smurfs are mythical creatures that are rarely seen. They are little blue men living in the mushrooms of a forest. The Smurfs were first created in a comic called Johan & Peewit where they made an appearance. The Smurfs got their own comic and have been around for 50 years now! This Anthology of Smurf stories from Papercutz are the original stories in order (plus the book, Johan & Peewit #9, where the Smurfs are introduced)! There are 6 translated (they were originally in French) stories/books in all (The Purple Smurfs, The Flying Smurf, The Smurf King, etc.). Papercutz has created a great Smurf collection of stories! In The Purple Smurfs, an evil Bzz fly starts a plague of evil purple Smurfs, in the Smurf King, the Smurfs accidentally elect a tyrant to lead them while Papa Smurf is gone, and much more!

“The Purple Smurfs” was originally called “The Black Smurfs” in French, referring to the Black Death or Bubonic Plague.

These were really great stories. I hadn’t read them before even though I am a fan of the Smurfs (I have read more modern stories). I also like the bonus “Johan and Peewit” story. I like how the Smurfs are in that book too and how Papa Smurf is the only Smurf that speaks Smurf and English. It is neat to see the history of how the Smurfs came about. I also like the artwork and how the Smurfs are drawn slightly different from what I’ve seen – they are more like gnomes and all look the same (except Papa Smurf). The colors were magnifique! I like the editor’s notes in the book and how they tell about how ideas came and things that had happened to make certain things the way they are now. I think this anthology is a must-read for Smurf Fans and young readers.

and now my review in Smurf –

These were really good smurfs. I hadn’t smurfed them before even though I am a fan of the Smurfs (I have read more modern smurfs). I also like the bonus “Johan and Peewit” smurf. I like how the Smurfs are in that smurf too (and how Papa Smurf is the only Smurf that speaks Smurf and Smurf, but the Smurfs are smurfed slightly different too – they are more like gnomes and all look the same(except Papa Smurf)). The colors were smurf! I like the editor’s smurfs in the book and how they smurf about how smurfs came and things that had happened to make certain smurfs the way they are now. I think this Smurf-ology is a smurf for Smurf Fans and young smurfers.

I give the Smurf Smurf-ology 5 out of 5 smurfs!

Book 2 on the anthology series comes out in November 2013. I can’t wait to read it!

For more Smurfs, check out the Papercutz website HERE.

Tags: bibliophile, book review, bookworm, graphic novel, literature, papercutz, peyo, smurf anthology, smurfs, this kid reviews books

Comments 21 Comments
Categories Age 6-9, Good Books

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

13 Mar

HI THERE!

Today I am doing two reviews! 😀

When 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 –

I 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!

NOW – Who’s ready for some silliness?

Nuk nuk nuk HEY Moe!

The 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!

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)

Tags: bibliophile, bookworm, comics, LeAnn Beck, papercutz, three stooges, when sam sets sail

Comments 45 Comments
Categories Age 6-9, Age 9+, Comics / Graphic Novels

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!

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!

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. 😉

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 –

danceclassbanner

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.

Tags: bibliophile, book review, books, comic books, dance class, LEGO, lego ninjago, papercutz

Comments 25 Comments
Categories Age 12+, Age 6-9, Comics / Graphic Novels

Christmas Book Reviews!

26 Nov

The Very Fairy Princess – A Fairy Merry Christmas

By Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

Illustrated by Christine Davenier

32 pages – ages 4+

Published by LB Kids on October 16, 2012

Gerry (the fairy princess) doesn’t have money to buy gifts for Christmas so she thinks about what each person in her family would like. She then makes a handmade gift for each of them. Her thoughtful gifts really makes Christmas SPARKLE this year!

This was a (very) cute book but I am letting Josie (my little sister) say what she likes about it and rate it because it is her book 🙂

Josie – I like fairy princesses. I like Gerry. She made gifts for her family and that was nice. I read the book by myself. Gerry is pretty.

Josie gives “The Very Fairy Princess – A Fairy Merry Christmas” 5 out of 5 bookworms!

One Little Christmas Tree

By The Curto Family and Rusty Fischer

24 pages – ages 4+

Published by Good Times At Home LLC on August 6, 2012

Alfred the Christmas tree was small. Families pass him by every year when they come to “Carl’s Christmas Tree Farm” looking for the perfect Christmas tree. All the tall trees around him get picked one by one. Alfred wonders if he will ever be chosen and be able to make a family’s Christmas special.

This is a good story that teaches patience to young kids. The illustrations are cute, especially Alfred. I think the book is good for young kids, older kids might want a bit more to the story (like why the boy who picked Alfred was sad). I think the story would make a nice bedtime read-aloud especially for Christmas.

I give this book five out of five bookworms!

To learn more about One Little Christmas Tree, please visit the official website HERE.

The Story of Everdream – Book 1: The Christmas Witch

By Robert L. Welsh

Illustrated by Kalpart

46 pages – ages 7+

Published by Strategic Book Publishing on October 17, 2011

In this fairytale story, Santa Claus comes from a land called Everdream. Everdream is the home to fairies, elves and other magical creatures. Did you know Santa Claus has a sister named Jellis Claus? Well, Jellis is JEALOUS! She doesn’t like children, presents, or Christmas at all. She can’t stand her job helping the elves at Santa’s workshop. Jellis hatches a plan to ruin Christmas but Holly, a little girl from our human world helps the elves and fairies of Everdream save Christmas!

This was a fun picture book! I really like that it tells you about this place called Everdream and Santa’s sister, Jellis. That was an interesting idea about the life of Santa that I never heard before. I liked Holly (the human girl) a lot. She was pretty clever. The story reads like a fairy tale and the illustrations go along with it very nicely.

I give “The Story of Everdream – Book 1: The Christmas Witch” 5 out of 5 bookworms!

Scrooge

Classics Illustrated Deluxe #9: A Christmas Carol and A Remembrance of Mugby

By Charles Dickens

Adapted by Rodolphe

Illustrated by Estelle Meyrand

96 pages – ages 8+

Published by Papercutz (Unabridged edition) on September 18, 2012

Two great Classic Charles Dickens Christmas stories in one AWESOME graphic novel!

You probably have read or saw a movie version of “A Christmas Carol” and Scrooge changes from a…scrooge to a caring, giving person, but have you ever read “Mugby’s Junction”? “A Remembrance of Mugby” is a version of “Mugby’s Junction”. It is a tale about a man searching for a true home. He finds himself in Mugby, a town with railroad tracks going out in all directions. He tries each of the tracks, going to wherever it takes him. Each time he returns to Mugby, vowing to try another track. Both of these Dickens tales are told in this graphic novel.

I must say, I really like “A Christmas Carol” and this graphic novel was really great! I liked the expressions on the faces in the illustrations. In fact, the illustrations added so much more to what was written!

I had not heard of “Mugby’s Junction” before, and was intrigued by what happened in the story. Very, very nice story. I know a lot of parents would want their kids to read the “real” book, but now that I read “A Remembrance of Mugby” in graphic novel form, I want to read the full version!

I give this book 5 out of 5 bookworms!