Time Shifters, by Chris Grine, for Timeslip Tuesday

I picked up the graphic novel Time Shifters, by Chirs Grine (Graphix, May 2017) up at the library a few weeks ago, feeling pleased and proud that I was Planning in Advance for a future timeslip Tuesday.  I finished it about ten minutes ago, which goes to show that planning in advance is not always pointful.  I almost didn't finish Time Shifters, though, because I wasn't sure that there was ever going to be enough time travel in it to justify it getting a Timeslip Tuesday slot.  There is, although not till the very end....

Luke's brother drowned trying to save him, after a group of bullies attacked them, and Luke is caught in a pit of grief for months (passing quickly by in graphic form).  Then one evening there's a "shoomph" and a strange glow outside, and Luke goes to see what it is.  Turns out a Vampire Napoleon, a mummy, and an animate skeleton are crashing around in the woods, and they've just dropped the precious device they're supposed to be looking after into the snow.  Instead of the device, they pick up Luke's flashlight, and Luke ends up with the device...

Which leads to him being kidnapped by another a group of odd characters, who are rescuing him and saving the device.   Now he's on a planet inhabited by sentient giant insects with a robot who was an alternate world's Abe Lincoln, a ghost girl, a dinosaur and the old scientist who made the gadget in the first place.  The trio of bad guys have followed them; their evil master needs the gadget to get domination over the universe.  But the three henchmen are fairly bumbling (and very amusing to the reader!); other threats prove more pressing.

The device was once a time machine, but that function had been deactivated.  In the stress of it's final recharging, though, the time travel component was reactivated, and instead of being taken home to the same night he left, as everyone had been expecting, he arrives back on earth just as the bullies plan their attack.....so yes, time travel.

And this is the sort of time travel where there are consequences, and time lines altered.  Poignant, and bittersweet that the brother is still alive, but that this Luke is now on his own path....

It's a more thought provoking, satisfying book than the cover had lead me to believe.  There is some emotional depth here, that makes for good reading.  And the henchmen really are very amusing!  Give this one to fans of Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke.

There's a two star review on Amazon from someone who  found "the storyline difficult to follow as the dialogue jumped from the good guys to the bad guys."  I am easily confused by graphic novels, but I had no problem at all with the point of view changing here.  The bad guys, after all, were Vampire Napoleon, a skeleton, and a mummy, and the visual clues Helped me.  A little focus, a little concentration....  Since the same Amazon reviewer didn't grasp that the characters had done an  interdimensional jump type thing and not time travel (at no point in our planet's history was there a wild west with sentient bug cowboys), I think her two star review is a pretty unreliable indictor of anything about the book.

Spill Zone, by Scott Westerfeld

If you are a fan of scary sci fi graphic novels for teens, leap to get your hands on Spill Zone, by Scott Westerfeld and Alex Puvilland (FirstSecond, May, 2017).  That being said, I am not such a fan in general, yet I found Westerfeld's first foray into graphic novels utterly gripping.

Three years Addison's home town of Poughkeepsie was the site of an unexplained disaster of cataclysmic proportions.  Though the buildings remain standing, the town is now a spill zone of horribly uncanny manifestations and dangers--those who died in the initial even are now reanimated "meat puppets" (though not flesh-eating zombies) and deadly snares and weirdness can trap the unwary.  Addison's parents were trapped in the Spill Zone, and presumably are dead; her little sister was one of a handful of kids who escaped.  Lexa hasn't spoken since.  Now, three years later, Addison lives on the edge of the zone, making a living by sneaking past the military barriers to take pictures of the bizarre horrors inside (though she draws the line at photographing the former inhabitants). So far her rules have kept her safe...

When a collector of her work makes her a million-dollar offer to recover something from inside the hospital, Addison decides to break her own rules to do the job, and things get even more hellish.  And in the meantime, the Spill Zone has crept into Addison's own home.  Warning--if creepy dolls possessed by demons (?) are not your thing, do not read this book! Vespertine, Lexa's doll, is a creepy character in her own right, with the text bubbles of the graphic novel format perfect for conveying her disturbing thoughts that only Lexa can hear.

The jaggedy flashy-colored art work is beautifully hallucinogenic, and conveys the distortions of reality perfectly.  Addison is a compelling character, and the mystery of the whole disaster is even more compelling!  So if you like nightmares, it should be right up your alley.  A reason I myself liked it is that I'm always a fan of stories about sisters, and the relationship between the two here was a good one.

The only thing I objected to about the book was that it is very much a first book.  There are lots of mysterious plot threads introduced but by no means resolved, and having now been thoroughly hooked, I am anticipatory as heck about the next book!

Here's an interview with Scott Westerfeld at NPR that elaborates a bit more.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The Time Museum, by Matthew Loux

The Time Museum, by Matthew Loux (First Second, February 2017), is a real treat for fans of time travel and fun graphic novels, and especially for those of us who are fans of both!

Delia is a science minded kid, and one day her exploration of the flora and fauna around her home leads her to the discovery of her lifetime--the Earth Time Museum!  It's the museum of Earth's history, both cultural and natural, representing our planet to interstellar visitors.  And its collections are developed through time travel!  Delia's offered the chance to apply for a summer internship at the museum, and can't think of anything she'd rather do than work there...but  a group of other kids, boys and girls from both the past and the future, are also contending for the position.

The kids are tested by being sent on missions of discovery back in time, where they are also asked to repair glitches in the continuum of time--removing things out of place.  It's not the competition with each other that's the complicated part, or even coping with unfamiliar time periods, it's learning to work together that's the real test.  And it's a test that leads to a challenge that no-one expected--confronting a mysterious time traveler who seems up to no good and repairing a rip in time itself.

It's lots of fun--the kids are an interesting bunch, and seeing them learn to get along and trust each other, while competing with each other at the same time, was most interesting.  As were their journey's back in time, visiting dinosaurs, the library of Alexandria, and London in the year 3029! Laugh-out-loud moments are combined with an exiting story that begs for re-reading. 

For some of us, additional re-reading might be helpful in figuring out just what is going on with the bad guy, whose degree of badness remains unclear to me...and it's possible that kids who like thinks clear cut and easy to follow will be not as pleased as kids who go with the flow.  It is also possible that it all makes perfect sense on first reading, as I myself am a tad challenged by graphic novels, because I read the words too quickly to absorb the information in the pictures....

There's a bit of diversity--Delia's room-mate and new friend/competitor is from a future Japan, and a woman who's one of  the museum executives who trains the kids looks African-American.  I wish there'd been a bit more diversity in body type--the girls are all supper skinny, which is a stylist choice I found a bit off putting.  Here's  a picture of the group of them, with Delia on the far left:

But in any event, it's great to see a girl scientist as the main hero of the adventure! Delia's a great role-model for girls interested in history, both the natural and the less natural kind.....I loved seeing her self-confidence in her identity flower.  And I absolutely adored the museum and want to intern there myself.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Artemis: Wild Goddess of the Hunt, by George O'Connor

In his afterword to Artemis: Wild Goddess of the Hunt (First Second, January 31, 2017) , the latest in his graphic novel series about the Olympian gods and goddesses, George O'Connor shares that this was one of his favorites to create.  That enthusiasm shows clearly, and this was by far my favorite of the series to read.

The story of Artemis, strong-minded protector of wild things, is told from multiple points of view, beginning with her mother, Leto's persecution by Hera, and including the sad tale of Niobe whose pride in her children came to a dreadful end, the story of  fierce hunter Atlanta, and that of Orion, her would be lover, as well as others. It's a rich and varied tapestry, with one constant factor--Artemis herself, steadfast in her choice to be free and fierce all her life.  She is not kind, but she is not unsympathetic either; though she's a killer, she's also admirable.  The book is given depth by the emotional heft of Artemis' choices and their consequences.

Although I haven't read the other books in the series recently, the images here seem brighter, which is appropriate for moon-loving Artemis, and they are full of vivid detail and expressiveness.  They
 help make Artemis a more complex character than some of the other Olympians featured in earlier books..

In short, it's a very vivid collection of vignettes that combine into a gripping portrait of one of my own favorite Olympians, and fans of the series will not be disappointed!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Mighty Jack, by Ben Hatke--review and favorite fairy tale blog tour

The moment Mighty Jack, Ben Hatke's newest graphic novel for kids (First Second Sept 2016), arrived in our home, it was being read. Mighty Jack is a reimagining of the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, but this is only the first episode, and my boys and I all agreed that we had only one problem with it--it ended, and we wanted more of the story Right Now!

Jack's mom is working two jobs so that they can keep their house, which means Jack (reluctantly) has to spend his summer looking after his little sister Maddy, who seems to be on the autism spectrum. The magical part of the story starts with the two kids wandering through a flea market.  A strange man offers them a box of strange seeds in exchange for the keys to their mom's car (a nice modern substitution for the cow!), and when Maddy, who doesn't talk, tells Jack to buy the seeds, he hands the keys over.  And Maddy and Jack plant them, and they begin to grow....

And they are magic, and very very dangerous plants result- mud-slinging root vegetable critters, a giant snail, and more!   Fortunately a new friend, Lily, comes to join in the fight; a homeschooled girl with excellent sword skills.  But when Maddy's seriously injured (in the fight against the giant snail), Jack decides the garden has got to go, and sets it alight, and it burns just fine.  But then Jack finds that both Lily and his sister still have seeds, and things get even worse, setting up more adventures to come (because after all the story of Jack and the Beanstalk doesn't all take place in the garden at home.....).

It is a fast, fast read, that goes down like an ice cold coke on a hot day.  Lots of fizzy bubbles of picture and story, combining to make something truly magical.  The magic (which includes a visiting dragon!) and the engaging illustrations aren't all Mighty Jack offers.  It's a warm, heart-tugging story of a family struggling to get through, with the bonds of friendship and family holding things together.  The expressive illustrations convey tons of feeling, and I look forward to paying more attention to them on my next re-readings of the book (I'm a graphic novel gulper, which means I have to go back several times to take the time to actually look at the pictures in detail.....)

Fans of Ben Hatke's previous books will be tremendously tickled to see familiar characters making cameo appearances (look for the girl from Little Robot shopping for parts and tools in the flea market, for instance).  And readers new to Hatke's stories will almost certainly want to seek out his other books. 

Fans of fairy tale retellings will also be tickled by this one, and to celebrate the release of Mighty Jack, First Second has organized a blog tour of fairy tale favorites.

I'm a big fan of fairy tale retellings (I have a list of the one's I've reviewed here).  My own personal favorite fairy tale retelling is Robin McKinley's Beauty, which has everything a romantic young reader could want--lots of books, a castle, beautiful dresses, a lovely garden, and a romance that grows from a solid foundation of friendship.   But for those who loved Might Jack, I'd recommend Ursula Vernon's fairy tale based stories about Harriet, a hamster princess who takes no prisoners. 

These aren't graphic novels, but they are graphic heavy, and so appeal to the text reluctant reader in much the same way as a graphic novel does, and they are funny and cute as all get out! The first book, Harriet the Invincible, is a Sleeping Beauty reimagining, and in the second, Of Mice and Magic, Harriet tackles the mystery of the twelve dancing princesses.  I recommend them almost as enthusiastically as I recommend Ben Hatke's books (which is saying a lot).

Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour:

     Miss Print, 9/26

Teen Lit Rocks, 9/27

Kid Lit Frenzy, 9/29

Librarians’ Quest, 9/30

YA Bibliophile, 10/3

Ex Libris Kate, 10/4

The Book Rat, 10/5

Love Is Not a Triangle, 10/6

The Reading Nook, 10/7

and thanks, First Second, for the review copy of Mighty Jack!

Bera the One-Headed Troll, by Eric Orchard

Bera the One-Headed Troll, by Eric Orchard, is another charming graphic novel for the young (nine to elevenish) from First Second Books (August 2016).

Bera is content with her simple life on an isolated island, growing pumpkins for the king, with Winslowe, her owl friend, for conversational company.  But her peaceful existence is upended when a human baby is washed up to the island.  Bera saves the baby from unpleasant mermaids, and then has to figure out what to do with it.  When the malignant witch Cloote arrives looking for the lost child, with definitely evil intentions toward it, Bera decides the baby needs a hero to save it.  So she and Winslowe set out to find a legendary hero....braving many magical dangers during their journey.  When the first hero fails, they try another...and then another....fortunately they have a band of hedgehog mages on their side to help them through the magical perils.  And fortunately at the end, Bera realizes the baby doesn't necessarily need a hero to save it, just someone to look after it lovingly, and it just so happens that Bera's island is under the king's own protection.

It's a vivid and engrossing story, and the illustrations bring the dangerous adventures and the strange magical creatures to life most beautifully!  The details of all the characters and the fantastical landscape might well inspire young artists, and the moral of the story (that passing the buck to heroes is often more trouble than simply taking on responsibility oneself), though understated (the book isn't didactic) is one that all young readers will have to learn eventually....

 Though Bera might be somewhat monstrous in appearance, she's a loveable protagonist whose determination and warm heart maker her a heroine to cheer for.  Winslowe is a great owl sidekick, and of course magical hedghogs add value to any story. 

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

Scarlett: A Star on the Run, by Susan Schade and Jon Buller

Scarlett: A Star on the Run, by Susan Schade and Jon Buller (Papercutz, November 2015), is a graphic novel/text story hybrid of great charm, that I have been meaning to write about for ages (I got a copy at last fall's Kidlitcon down in Baltimore courtesy of the publisher, and enjoyed it very much).

Scarlett is a cat who is a movie star.  Her success on the big screen is not just because she's a good actress, but is the result of experimental animal tinkering.  She and her co-star animals can talk, and think, and be bored by reality tv shows.  They are also prisoners, shut up every night.  But one cold snowy evening a window blows open, and Scarlett heads out to explore for the first time.  Fortunately for Scarlett, before she freezes to death she finds shelter in the cabin of a grumpy old man.   And there she makes a new home for herself.  Soon she's joined by one of her co-stars, a friendly dog, and together they enjoy being just ordinary folks.

But the movie producer, who engineered Scarlett and co., of course wants them back.  And another co-star, the dog who plays the villains in the movies, shows up and makes things unpleasant. And on top of that, the old man falls ill, and it's up to Scarlett to keep up the appearance that everything is just fine in his shack so that no one bothers them.  That means using his credit cards to pay the grocery bills, and Scarlett, being a fastidious cat, takes it upon herself to clean and refurbish the whole house.

But fortunately an ally is close at hand. Erin, the girl next door, has been observing the animals, and figures out their secrets.  She's able to help them find a happy ending, where they no longer are hunted fugitives worried about being dragged back to a movie-production prison....

It's a charming story, and I enjoyed it lots (quite possibly because one of my own favorite things to read about is old houses being cleaned out and fixed up, and seeing a cat and a dog working together to do so was very entertaining).  The art is charming too, as is the relationship that builds between the animals and the grumpy man.

Part of the story is told in graphic novel panels, and a somewhat larger part is straight narrative from Scarlett's point of view.  As a result, I think this is one that would be great for an adult to read alongside an emergent reader child--the child could read the short bits of text in the graphic panels, and the adult could tackle that smaller fonted narration, which is not aimed particularly at young readers.  That makes it also good for middle grade and up readers (especially animal lovers), who enjoy fun graphic heavy stories to read on their own!

Cleopatra in Space Book Three: Secret of the Time Tablets, by Mike Maihack

Cleopatra (yes, the original Cleopatra) travelled from Egypt to a far off future in space, where she was greeted by sentient cats, plunged into future-tech military training, and found out she was prophesized to defeat an utterly evil space tyrant warlord, Octavian.  Secret of the Time Tablets (Scholastic, April 2016) the third book in the series, fills in a lot of the story, strengthening the narrative arc.  There's plenty of action-filled adventure (or possibly adventure-filled action), and plenty of difficult choices to be made, and dangers with real consequences to be faced.  Cleo's friends, Antony and Akila, both have nicely satisfying roles to play, and Cleo is just as impetuous and determined as ever.  The story arc of finding the fabled Time Tablets holds things together plot-wise, and the illustrations bring it all to life. 

The time travel aspect is addressed rather more than it was in book 2.  Now that Cleo knows the truth about the prophecy she's supposed to fulfill, and now she's able to use the Tablets to return home, she has to decide where her loyalties lie.....

So basically, lots of fun, with some more serious stuff on the side.

Note on diversity--Cleo is of course North African, although being from the Ptolemaic dynasty, she's on the pale side of dark skin.  Antony, who's clearly a dark-skinned kid, adds diversity, and there is also now a kid with a disability--an arm lost (I think lost, but possibly just damaged horribly badly) during a skirmish and replaced with a high tech prosthetic.

Here's what I'm worried about--now that light has finally dawned in my dim little mind viz Antony and Octavian being characters in the original story of Cleopatra (some of us are slower than others), it's hard to imagine a happy ending...I am imagining Space Asps.  I am also unsure what exactly happened to the character that Octavian zapps near the end of the book, disappearing him with a "blazz" of energy and a "fwish" of dust, and I hope fwishing doesn't have permanent consequences....

Just about any graphic novel reading kid will love these books.  The ones who will really like this series--kids who think cats should be in charge.  There was good cat page-time in this installment!

Space Dumplins, by Craig Thompson

Why I am reviewing Space Dumplins, by Craig Thompson (GRAPHIX , August 25, 2015, middle grade graphic novel), today (after having it in the house for months):

The Amelia Bloomer Project list was announced yesterday, and as usual it is a great collection of books celebrating girls and women whose lives and choices give us feminist role models.  I was home sick and feverish yesterday when I read the list, and that might be why when, feeling better today (though still poorly), I tidied a pile of books (as one does) and I saw in the pile Space Dumplins, and thought I remembered seeing it on the Amelia Bloomer Project list.  I think my mind had conflated Interstellar Cinderella and Dumplin', which are in fact on the A.B. list.  But in any event, before I realized that it isn't in fact on the A.B. list, I was inspired by my mistake to sit down and finally read Space Dumplins, and did not, in my reading of it, find it lacking in feminism....much in the same way that Zita the Space Girl was an A.B. listed book back in the day. 

So in any event, there will never be a better time than today for me to actually review it, so here I go:

Violet and her mom and dad are a close-knit family, not well off (they live in the intergalactic equivelant of a trailer park) but very loving.  Except that, as is so often the case, the financial thing has made things a bit tense between Violet's parents.  Then her dad, a big tattooed guy who lets Violet drive his space truck equivalent, goes off on a longer term job than usual (he is a harvester of space whale poop, which powers this civilization).  And her mom, a fashion designer, gets a promotion that takes her and Violet up to one of the more elite nodes of residence, a high-falutin space station. 

And then her dad goes missing. 

Violet's mom makes all the calls she can, but no one is interested in helping her (her husband isn't important enough).  So Violet sets off to do the rescuing herself, getting her own space motorbike equivalent in working order and heading off on her father's trail, with two mostly stalwart comrades-a sentient chicken boy and an orphaned alien boy.   Turns out her father's ship has been swallowed by a space whaler, and turns out the rich and powerful were doing some questionable whale experimentation....and then it all turns out alright, yay!  (that was me leaving out lots of plot particulars--this is a longish graphic novel, and there are lots of particulars that add to the story and the world-building).

So--this is the only book for middle grade readers, graphic novel or otherwise, that is clearly about a working class kid in space.  Violet doesn't have the material trappings of the rich girls at the school on the space node where her mother's new job is, and she doesn't get into the school either, because her father's past as a somewhat delinquent youth showed up in the background check.  Her mother is hired for the fashion job on the space station because she'll be able to supply the folksy edge that "her people" (the ones living outside the space stations) have.   And I think it is feminist in the Amelia Bloomer list criteria sense, in as much as Violet has many mechanical and technological skills that are still unfortunately coded as male in our society, and uses them to save her dad.

The illustrations are complex and detail rich, depicting a sort of mad almost steampunk welter of technology, helping carry the story along nicely.

In short, it's easy to recommend Space Dumplins to any fans of Zita the Space Girl, or to any young reader whose looking for wild and whacky adventure in space.  Kirkus agrees with me on this one (I just checked), saying almost exactly the same things:

"Thompson's art is wild and busy, with overcrowded, unconventional panel structures. The worldbuilding is a strikingly imaginative pastiche that seamlessly blends biblical references, poop jokes, and social satire. Fans of Ben Hatke's Zita the Spacegirl series should gravitate to this offering.
A weird and wonderful intergalactic tale."

And when Kirkus and I agree, they are almost always right, so there you go (although there weren't exactly "poop jokes" so much as running (as it were) references to space whale diarrhea, so don't be put off by Kirkus' suggestion that there's lots of potty humor).

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher at BEA (I think).

Oddly Normal, a graphic novel by Otis Frampton, with giveaway!

Oddly Normal, by Otis Frampton (Image Comics, March 2015)

Oddly Normal is a ten-year-old girl with pointed ears and green hair, the daughter of  a half-witch.  Oddly's mother came from Fignation, a world of magic, to investigate our world, fell in love with an ordinary human, and stayed.  Oddly has been subjected to taunts all her life, but they still hurt, and when her clueless parents are surprised no one has come to her tenth birthday party, she snaps, and wishes with all the force of her being that they would just disappear!  And they do, much to Oddly's surprise--she's never had any magical abilities before. 

Furtuantly, her aunt from Fignation shows up for the party, and takes Oddly home with her to Fignation.  At first, seeing all the weird variety of Fignation's inhabitants, Oddly thinks her new middle school might finally be a place where she herself isn't so odd after all.  But being a kid from ordinary Earth isn't a ticket to popularity, and things are just as bad, if not worse--at least on Earth she wasn't hunted by a vampire boy's slavering hounds!

The illustrations are vivid and full of peculiar and monstrous details, many of them amusing, and Oddly is a relatable young heroine for those who feel that they don't belong, or whose parents don't understand them.  Fantasy fans will be pleased by the wide variety of Fignation's unusual denizens, and bookish readers will be tickled by the sprinkling of literary references.

In short, young graphic fantasy fans of ten or so will find much to appreciate!

This is the first book of a series, and ends somewhat abruptly, with no resolution to Oddly's troubles. Fortunately for fans of Oddly's fish out of water adventures, the second book (shown at right in the picture at the top of this post) comes out November 5, with volume three coming shortly thereafter.

If you'd like to win a copy of Oddly Normal volume 1, just leave a comment by midnight next Saturday, Oct. 24!

Here are the other stops on the Oddly Normal blog tour:

Monday, October 12: Guest post, Log Cabin Library

Tuesday, October 13: Interview and review, Kdub's Geekspot

Wednesday, October 14: Guest post and giveaway, A Library Mama

 

Thursday, October 15: Interview, review, and giveaway, The Book Monsters

 

Friday, October 16: Interview, Outright Geekery

 

 

Fable Comic Blog Tour, starring James Kochalka and ‘The Fox and the Grapes’

Welcome the  Fable Comics blog tour!  This book is the third in a series, following in the footsteps of Nursery Rhyme Comics and Fairy Tale Comics, Fable Comics is an anthology in which brilliant cartoonists were each assigned one of Aesop's Fables to reimagine in their own particular style.  The result is a smorgasbord of 28 little edifying (?) tidbits of story with bright (or dark, as the case may be) illustrations that is tons of fun!  Because each story is in a different style, it keeps things fresh and interesting.  Parents who care deeply about raising culturally (for a given value of culture) literate children might well want to seek this out for its friendly rendition of the fables; comic-loving readers of all ages will appreciate the stories as entertaining comics (they are both suitable for the young, and appealing to the old).

Chris Duffy, the editor, kicked off the blog tour yesterday at School Library Journal; that interview is a great place to learn more about the book as a whole.  Each subsequent day of the tour will feature a different artist and their fable.  It's my pleasure to welcome here today James Kochalka, whose fable assignment was "The Fox and the Grapes."  That's the one where the fox wants grapes that are out of reach, can't get them, and goes off in a huff of "they probably weren't any good anyway/I didn't really want them."  James Kochalka has a number of books under his belt, some for grown ups and some for kids, his most recent work for kids being the Glorkian Warrior series (the first book of which is The Glorkian Warrior Delivers a Pizza).  He did a really bang up job with his fable, and I enjoyed it lots!

Here are my questions for James, in purple (to go with the grape theme), with his answers in black (not deliberately meant to echo the frustration and negative energy of the fox).

Did you get to pick the story yourself, or were you assigned it? Were you familiar with it enough to start your own version of the top of your head, or did you read up on all the various incarnations of it?  (I just was reading up on it myself, and was interested to find that it is, according to one academic, a model of "adaptive preference formation..."

Chris Duffy, the editor, assigned the story to me.  I didn’t do any research at all, I just went entirely on my own memory of the classic Fox and the Grapes story.  I know I must’ve read a few versions when I was a kid, but I didn’t try to look them up.  I just went from memory.

Also, I find the Fox and the Grapes story-equivalents popping up in real life all the time, in my own reactions to things and others' reactions to things.  That’s why it’s a great story… it’s “true” in a human sense.

I did have to do a little research on grape vines, so that I could draw them right.

Was this your first fox?  (not because it looks like a "first fox" but because maybe it was your first fox, and you were glad to finally have the opportunity to draw a fox.....)

I’ve tried a couple times in my life to draw foxes, but this is the first fox that I ever drew that I was happy with.  I’m definitely looking forward to drawing more foxes.  I have an idea for a character called Banana Fox… I even wrote a theme song for him.

Did you find it hard to work with a pre-set text?  How did you go about making it your own story? (I appreciate that you did your best to help the fox get the grapes by giving him a jet pack.  Was the jet pack in your mind from the beginning, or was did the idea come to you en route?) Was it more "work" than creating something all your own from scratch?

It was easy, really easy, and a joy to write and draw.  I just used my vague memories of the story, and started drawing.  Really, all I ever start with when I begin writing a story are these sorts of vague feelings, so it felt exactly like writing one of my own stories.

 I didn’t feel at all like I was adapting an existing story. I knew that Chris Duffy wanted me to go full Kochalka-style on it.  If I had to do a straight retelling of the story, it would’ve felt more like a “job.”  But being free to do what I wanted, I felt energized.

I threw the jetpack in there because I knew it would be exciting… I’m pretty sure it was an impulsive decision.

I am impressed that you are the First Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont.  How did this come about?  Do you get to keep the title for life, or are there other cartoonists in Vermont trying desperately to push you aside?

I am no longer the current Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont, but I will always be the FIRST Cartoonist Laureate of Vermont.  Ed Koren, the great New York cartoonist famous for drawing fuzzy monsters at cocktail parties, is the current Laureate.  I’ve loved his stuff since I was a kid.  We have many other cartoonists in Vermont worthy of the title, so I expect we’ll see more in the future.  It’s a 3 year appointment.

I have a photographer friend who wanted to be named the Photographer Laureate… there currently is no such thing… and he was asking me like, how do you make it happen?  But the truth is, you don’t go out campaigning to be honored, it just doesn’t work like that.  It just falls into your lap.

How did it happen for me?  Well, I guess the Center For Cartoon Studies nominated me and then the state legislature made it official.  It wasn’t a huge deal at the time, but it’s become more important since that first day.  It’s the best part of my “bio.”

Vermont is a cool state!

Do foxes actually like grapes?

Probably?  But I hear that grapes are poison to some dogs, so maybe they’re poison to foxes too.  But I have no idea for real… I haven’t researched it at all.  I’ve seen dogs eat grapes and they didn’t even get sick or anything.  I bet foxes LOVE them.  And jetpacks too.

Thank you so much, James Kochalka! 

Here's a list of all the stops on the blog tour, which also serves as a list of all the contributors and their fables.

And thank you, First Second, for the review copy of Fable Comics!

Little Robot, by Ben Hatke

Little Robot, by Ben Hatke (First Second, Sept. 2015), is a lovely graphic novel for the young (1st or 2nd grade) reader, that can, like all of Ben Hatke's books, be enjoyed by older readers too.

A little girl, still in her white nightie, climbs out her bedroom window.  She's too little to be one of the kids getting on the school bus, so she heads out to explore.  In the junkyard she finds a tool belt, which she dons, and her lonely path takes her on to the edge of a stream.  There, in a cardboard box in the water, she finds a robot!  Now she has a companion, and she and the little robot explore nature together.

But the Big Factory of Robots has noticed little Robot is gone, and a scary bot is sent out to find and retrieve him.  And the little robot himself isn't sure about his own situation; he misses the company of others like himself.

When the scary bot seizes little Robot and takes him back to the factory, the girl follows....and with tons of gumption, she saves her friend. 

The nearly wordless story is an utterly charming story of ingenuity, friendship, and pluck!  I love Ben Hatke's art--his characters, whether robot or girl, all have such endearing personalities (unless they are scary hunter robots!), and this story is a particularly satisfying one for any kid who wants a best friend.  The little girl is also a great role model for anyone who's wanted to be a maker and a tinkerer with tools!  Her skills with a wrench and her confidence in her abilities are what makes the happy ending as happy as it is.  It's a good book to give emergent readers, to give them the habit of turning pages and becoming immersed in a story, without the possible stress having to read words might bring! 

What makes this book stand out (apart from the great pictures, great story, and appealing protagonists) is that the little girl is not only a kid of color, but she's from a family that isn't economically advantaged--she lives in a mobile home park, and the grown-ups in her life aren't helicopter parents lavishing her with round-the-clock attention and material possessions.  (The only thing that negatively impacted my enjoyment of the story was my very deep maternal concern that the little girl was going to end up with tetanus from wandering around the junkyard in bare feet, although I realize that the target audience won't share this anxiety).  But in any event, it's lovely to see the possibilities of fantasy adventure expanded to include kids like her!

Here's the starred Kirkus review.

disclaimer:  signed copy received at Book Expo America, but I was so excited to be meeting Ben Hatke and Gina Gagliano from First Second that I became overcome, and like a derp I left my signed copy behind at the signing desk.  Gina was kind enough to mail it on to me.  Thank you so much, Gina!

Two fun Adventures in Cartooning tales--Sleepless Knight and Gryphons Aren't So Great

Adventures In Cartooning, by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost introduced Edward the Horse and the knight who is his companion in adventure.  Now Edward and the knight have their own stories, stand-alone graphic novels for the young.  Sleepless Knight and Gryphons  Aren't so Great are top notch books to offer the 5 to 8 year old whose just getting going with the fun of graphic novel reading!

In Sleepless Knight (FirstSecond, April 2015)  Edward and the knight head off on a camping trip.  But though the knight's teddy bear was carefully packed, when bed time comes, it can't be found.  A helpful bunny tells the knight where bear is....but the bear in question isn't stuffed!  All ends well, though, with Edward bringing out his ukulele to sing with the bear and bunny by the campfire, while the knight snoozes with the real teddy.

In Gryphons Aren't So Great (FirstSecond Sept 15 2015), the knight finds a Gryphon who's willing to fly her around.  Poor Edward is left earthbound while the knight whoops it up in the sky.  But gryphons aren't reliable, and Edward has to make a daring leap to save the knight when things go wrong.   And the knight realizes that she'd been thoughtless, and she and Edward decide that jumping into the moat from the castle towers is great fun they can have together.  (You can get a sneak peak here at FirstSecond).

So nice, simple stories little kids can relate too, told in simple language and told with really  charming pictures of great kid friendliness.  Don't expect much instruction in cartooning--the inside front and back covers have instructions on how to draw the characters, but that it.  Do expect young readers to be charmed (I was!), and to look forward to more about Edward and the knight!

NB:  I had defaulted to assuming the knight was male, since gender was never specified, but the publisher's blurb makes it clear that the knight is actually "she." 

Here's my 2010 review of The Adventures in Cartooning Activity Book--I still think Edward is my favorite graphic novel horse ever!

disclaimer: review copies received from the publisher

The Last of the Sandwalkers, by Jay Hosler

The Last of the Sandwalkers, by Jay Hosler (First Second, April 2015) is more than just a graphic novel about beetles having adventures, although the story is in fact about beetles on a quest. 

It is also about:

- science! The crew of beetles, lead by young scientist/inventor Lucy (a great character!), are on a quest for knowledge--what lies outside their beetle city? Are there any other life forms out there past the desert sands?  (answer--yes!)  Lucy is a lovely young scientist role model, always wondering, thinking, dreaming, observing, and keeping good notes.

--family, friendship, and loyalty.  There are not that many graphic novels that address adoption; this one does, as Lucy and her sibling (a huge Goliath beetle, who has a lot more too him than just  his bulk), are both adopted.  Her parents also are important characters in the story, and loyalty to family (defined flexibly) is a central value of this group of beetles.

--determination.  The many vicissitudes of the journey into the wild beyond, which is indeed populated by all manner of creatures, many of whom would like to eat the beetles, do not squelch Lucy and company.  They are not whiners; they may be cast down at times, but they persevere. 

--the wrongness of letting authoritarian theocracies distort scientific truths.  Lucy's society is shaped by a myth that knowledge is dangerous, and that a divinity will punish those who transgress, and those in power falsify evidence and history to keep this the status quo.  Lucy's challenge to this story is a clear threat that must be stopped, as ruthlessly as needs be (there is a villainous villain, more dangerous than any natural threat!).

--beetles!  I have never been anti-beetle, but I am much more pro-beetle now.  Hosler is an entomologist, and incorporates a lot of information about beetles into this story, in a learning is fun kind of way.  I enjoyed the notes at the back lots too.  The book, however, will not make anyone more pro-spider than they already are. 

My one problem was that I had a hard time getting the hang of which beetle was who, but I am not a good graphic novel reader, cause of preferring to read the words fast rather than look at the pictures.

If you have a child who is repulsed by beetles, this might be a bit much, but if you have a young naturalist 10-14 years old (or so), do offer this one!  It also works well for generic graphic novel reading 9th grader (mine has read it twice, and it is a long book of 296 pages, so that is saying something...).  There is some disturbing insect on insect violence, that might distress the sensitive younger reader....

I found Last of the Sandwalkers engrossing myself, but I can't help but prefer Hosler's first graphic novel, the lovely and tear-jerking Clan Apis, which I reviewed long long ago in my first year of blogging--it was simpler in story and pictures, and therefore a better fit for my eyes (although my eyes were so teary the whole thing was just a blur by the end of it).  Also I like bees more than beetles.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword, by Mike Maihack, for Timeslip Tuesday

Today is the release day for The Thief and the Sword, by Mike Maihack (Scholastic), the second graphic novel installment of Cleopatra's adventures far from her home in ancient Egypt.  In the first book, young Cleopatra triggered a time travel device that sent her off to a galaxy far in the future, where civilization is threatened by an evil megalomaniac, wise cats are part of the governing council, and where Cleopatra's arrival, and her role as savior of the galaxy, were predicted in an ancient prophecy!

The first book, Target Practice,  is tremendously exciting--not only does it set the lovely story in motion, but there's also Adventure in which  Cleo goes off to an alien planet to recover an ancient artifact, a fabled sword, fighting off aliens and robots in the process.   The Thief and the Sword is something of a falling back and regrouping story.   We see Cleo navigating her new reality of school (some things, like Algebra, transcend space and time), and making progress on becoming friends with, and learning about, her young classmates.   For instance, she goes to a school dance for the first time....And I like this slower sort of stuff, so there were no complaints from me (too many panels showing fighting and my eyes get confused--I am a weak graphic novel reader/looker), though my older son found it a bit too slow for his taste.

But all is not peaceful in Cleo's new world (even setting aside the constant threat of universal destruction).  A young thief, a boy named Antony, is hired by the evil megalomaniac to steal the sword Cleo had recovered, and since this particular sword is involved in the prophecy about Cleo saving the galaxy, it must be found again!  So Cleo, her friends, and a wise cat professor set off into space to track it down....and book two ends with a cliff hanger that promises lots of action to come!

This series just cries out to be given to fans of Zita the Space Girl, by Ben Hatke--Zita is perhaps more lovable, and her motivations are different, but Cleo is also a charming heroine to root for--headstrong, plucky, struggling to figure out who she is and what she wants, and cute as a button!  And the world building of Cleopatra in Space is lovely too--I adore the talking cats.  And the addition of Antony promises lots of new character interest--he has lots of potential!

The time travel element of the plot is more overtly addressed here, and an explanation for how it worked, and what might happen if the bad guy got a hold of the mechanism, are part of the story.  Cleo also has more of a chance to think about her circumstances, adding a touch of depth to the story (not much more than a touch--Cleo is not the most deeply introspective heroine, being more liable to pull out her stun-gun than quietly think things through!).

This is a nicely multicultural series-- Cleo is somewhat pink-washed on the cover of this installment, which is too bad, but inside her skin tone is definitely browner than many of her peers, and Antony, also shown on the cover, is brown-skinned (ostensibly he's a bad guy in this book, but I bet that changes!).

In any event, my boys and I are looking forward to Book 3 with enthusiasm and conviction!

Disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Ares, Bringer of War, by George O'Connor

Ares, Bringer of War, by George O'Connor (First Second, January 2015), is the most recent in his graphic novel series about the Olympian gods.   Ares is the god of war, and O'Connor makes it clear just what sort of bloody violence most delights him.  In contrast to Athena, whose purview is strategy, strong defense, and rational decision-making in conflict, Ares is the god of slaughter in battle.   And what better venue in which to showcase his blood-loving nature than the Trojan War?

The war has been dragging on for years, and the gods and goddesses are personally invested, so much so that even Aphrodite visits the battleground and is wounded.   At last Zeus declares that no Olympian shall venture into the field of conflict.  But as the war progress, and first Hector and then Achilles are slain, the conflict among the gods and goddesses rages even more fiercely....with mortals paying the price.

Ares is the least sympathetic of the Olympians...but the Trojan War, especially as portrayed here, gives many of the immortals a chance to show their worst, most interfering, most partisan sides.   It is a maelstrom of violence and arrogance--just the sort of thing Areas loves. And George O'Connor's art shows it all beautifully.

It's a book that requires some previous knowledge of the gods and the Trojan War in order to make sense of things; there are many characters, and many backstories.    O'Connor's previous books, each focusing on a different deity, have provided much of this background information--this is a series best read in order.   And readers who have read the Iliad will be familiar with much of the material (and that being said, this is just the sort of supplemental book I'd offer anyone studying the Iliad in school!  Especially those who learn best with pictures....all the different names get confusing, and it helps to see the story shown as well as told).

In short, readers who thrill to battle will find this installment very worthwhile.

disclaimer: review copy received for the publisher for review as part of the Ares blog tour.

El Deafo, by Cece Bell, or why assuming that an 11-year-old boy wants only "books for 11 year old boys" is kind of pointless

I have an 11-year-old son who is fan of fantasy--a Ranger's Apprentice, Percy Jackson, kind of reader.  Which is just fine--it means that a lot of the middle grade fantasy books I get end up in his room, a help viz shelf space.   So what is his favorite book so far this year? A graphic novel about a rabbit girl who is quite a bit younger than him, and deaf, that isn't fantasy at all except for the rabbit ears.

I had been reading El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Harry N. Abrams, Sept. 2014), for my own reading pleasure, which was considerable--it is a deeply absorbingly warm and relatable book for anyone who has felt different and wanted friends.   And the story of how little rabbit child Cece coped with being especially different after losing her hearing, and how she found her way in the world of school and friends is great and the narrative voice is just right as is the pacing etc etc.  In short, I liked it lots.

And there it was on the sofa (cunningly left there as child book bait), and my son saw it, and picked it up, assuming it's fantasy (flying rabbit girl on the cover) and read the back, criticizing apparent redundancy in the summary: "This funny....memoir about growing up hearing impaired is also an unforgettable book about growing up" and then commented on the weirdness of the rabbit children....but then he started to read.

There are few things that I love to see more than one of my children reading a book they love.  This particular child sits up straighter when he's loving a book, holding it gently but firmly with both hands--you can just see Active Engagement pouring out of him.   Emotions flicker across his face.  He no longer hears external sounds.  He is Reading.

So he finished in a single sitting.  "We are keeping this one," he said. "I love it."

"It is a library book," I said.

[deep dismay]

"But we can buy our own copy."

"Yes!"

So yeah, don't assume 11 year old boys won't read books about little rabbit girls; 6th grade boys worry about friendships too, and being different, and growing up. And 11-year-old boys can be full as all get out with empathy for kids who aren't like them--look at the success of Wonder.   And in these things they are just like rabbit girls, deaf or not.

The Shadow Hero, by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew

The Shadow Hero, by Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew (First Second, July 15, 2014, YA) is a graphic novel about a boy who becomes a superhero... Green Turtle, the first Asian American superhero!

During the Golden Age of superhero comics, the 1940s, the Green Turtle burst onto the scene to fight for China against the invading Japanese.   Created by Chu Hing, a Chinese American cartoonist, it's probable he too was intended by his creator to be Chinese, though his face was never shown clearly enough to be certain.  He didn't burst with any success--there are just five issues about his adventures, and there were no clues about his origins.

Now we have that backstory.   In The Shadow Hero, Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew tell of how Hank, a boy born to Chinese immigrant parents becomes an unlikely and at first unwilling hero, pushed by his mother and assisted by the great Turtle Spirit of China.   When his gentle shopkeeper father is killed by the Chinese mafia, Hank is determined to get revenge...and so the Green Turtle bursts onto the scene!

It's a story of much more than superhero adventures--it's historical fiction, as well, creating a vivid picture (lots of pictures, actually, cause of it being a graphic novel), of life in a Chinese community in California before WW II.   And it's a coming of age story of the classic sort--a boy compelled to grow up and embrace challenges he never particularly wanted.   And it's the sum of these parts, resulting in an exciting, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant story, with a lovely little twist right at the end that brings the themes of immigration and identity into zesty focus!


And as a bonus, there's an appendix in which the story of the original Green Turtle is thoughtfully explained, and the first issue of his adventures is reproduced (complete with an advertisement urging the "fellers" to send away for a ju-jitsu course...).

Short answer:  Mind-broadening and entertaining, with an appealing hero and great artwork.

Note on age:  it's very much YA in terms of theme, and there's the expected violence (distressing at times, though not gorey).   So not one for the little kid running around in a cape, but more for readers of 12 and up, who might still have their capes but don't wear them in public anymore.

Cleopatra in Space, Book 1: Target Practice, by Mike Maihack, for Timeslip Tuesday (I loved it)

Cleopatra in Space, Book 1: Target Practice, a hundred and seventy page full color graphic novel suitable for young and less young by Mike Maihack (GRAPHIX, April 29, 2014).

Me, showing once again why I am not a professional reviewer:  Oh my gosh,  this was a such a fun book! I loved loved loved it!

Me, struggling to reign in my (utterly justifiable) enthusiasm:

Book 1 of Ceopatra in Space--Target Practice--gets the series off to a flying start.   Cleopatra (yes, that Cleopatra) is an ordinary Egyptian princess, more or less--she's not a model of courtly decorum, being much fonder of slingshot practice than she is of submitting to her education, and indeed ordinary princesses might not habitually dose their tutor's tea with soporific chamomile.   But her expectations of one day assuming royal obligations (though she's by no means anxious to do so) are ordinary enough.

But then!  Exploring the hidden chambers behind a mysterious door, Cleo activates a portal that whisks her far into the future, and far into space.   She finds herself in a galaxy in danger from a villainous enemy that has seized all but fraction of learning amassed during the millennia that have passed since her own time.  And she finds herself hailed as the savior of the Nile Galaxy, whose coming was foretold in a prophecy.

Cleo has doubts.  Lots of doubts.  But the sentient cats who govern the Nile Galaxy are determined to make sure she will fulfill the saving part of things.

But first, she must go to school.  Fortunately for Cleo, the horror of more algebra is off-set by new friends, and by combat practice...and when Cleo is sent on her first quest (on her utterly awesome space-travelling sphinx motorbike), it's the later that come in handy....

Cleo is great, the sentient cats are great, the premise is great, the story is great, and the art is great.  It is a great book and WHY do I have to wait till next April for the sequel??????  I want more now.

A must for fans of Zita the Spacegirl and Astronaut Academy.

A must for those who want books with strong girl characters to offer young readers of any gender, and, Cleo being a brown girl of ancient Egypt, a great diverse read!  (it isn't as clear on the cover that Cleo has darker skin,  but it does inside).

A must for cat lovers!

Here's a preview.

Dragon Girl: the Secret Valley, by Jeff Weigel -- great graphic novel fantasy fun!

If you have on hand a nine or ten year old girl who loves mythical creatures, RUN to get a hold of Dragon Girl: The Secret Valley, by Jeff Weigel (Andrews McMeel Publishing, June 3, 2014, 192 pages) .   The baby dragons she'll meet here will make her heart absolutely melt.  If you have any other sort of kid around who loves graphic novels (including, in my case, a 13 year old boy), you can also move very briskly indeed to put it into their hands.   And I myself loved it.

Dragon Girl tells how a girl named Alanna finds a dragon hatching ground, becoming the surrogate mother to one of the baby dragons after the mother is killed by a knight, Sir Cedric, who's determined to rid the world of the "scourge" of dragonkind.    Alanna loves the time she spends with her new dragon friends, befriending other hatchlings through dancing and playing, while wearing a dragon disguise she made herself to keep them from becoming too trusting of humans.  This is a wise thing for her to have done (though it doesn't work on her special dragon friend, who loves her in human form too!).   Because when Alanna's older brother spills the beans about the baby dragons to Sir Cedric (because of wanting more of a life than his home village offers), Cedric is filled with fighterly determination to kill them all....and then, when he sees that the eggs are veined with silver, greed comes into play too.

When a grown-up dragon arrives at the hatching ground to take the babies off down a tunnel to the secret valley of the dragons, Alanna's dragon costume is so convincing that she's carried off with the hatchlings.  Cedric and Alanna's brother follow, and find a world full of dragons (and lots of silver, which sets Cedric's greedy heart afire!).  There they meet a young woman named Margolyn, who studies dragons from her steampunkish airship, who helps them foil Cedric's nefarious plans.

nice bonus:  it's Alanna's cleverness that gets Sir Cedric in the end--yay for smart girls!

It is lovely, charming, exciting and moving, and great fun all around!  The illustrations, in black and white, do an excellent job of moving the story along without distracting the graphic-novel challenged of us from the words!  The baby dragons are adorable, as is Alanna in her dragon garb! And as an added bonus, pages from Margolyn's dragon-study notebook, and detailed schematics of her airship, are included.

This one is a winner, and I am sending it off with my fifth grade today to share with  his dragon-loving friends today full of the happy certainty that it will delight them.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.