Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite review

Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite

by Barry Deutsch

Abrams

2012

This wonderful middle-grade graphic novel continues the adventures of Mirka Herschberg,  an irrepressible 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl. Mirka, a bit of an imaginative tomboy, is frustrated with knitting and antsy for adventure and makes for the woods to meet up with a witch and a troll. The snarky arachnid troll nebbishly clutching a purse and umbrella, decides to summon a meteorite, which the witch promptly turns into a doppelganger of Mirka.

Mirka's double soon acquires the name Metty, and just as in any classic golem story, Mirka is dismayed when she finds herself an outsider in her own family as Metty takes over mealtimes, (leaving chores for Mirka) and even stealing her Sabbath. Challenging her to a duel, Mirka only wins via her siblings clever interpretation of the contract she and Metty had agreed to.

Peppered with Yiddishisms, and with lots of tiny, thoughtful details in the illustrations, this is a graphic novel that stands alone, or can be enjoyed as part of the series. Either way, you won't want to miss this one.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Calamity Jack review

Calamity Jack
by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hal
Bloomsbury Publishing
January 2010

This creative re-imagining of the classic Jack in the Beanstalk tale is set in a steampunk Old West. Calamity Jack is a sequel to Rapunzel's Revenge, but stands perfectly well on its own.

Jack is a ne'er do well lad who's always got a scheme or swindle planned. But his heart is in the right place, as he's only trying to make life easier for his momma, a hard-working baker. His best friend, a pixie named Pru, is a frequent accomplice to his hi-jinks. After landing in some hot water after a particularly dangerous heist involving a giant beanstalk, he decides to lie low and leaves his hometown of Shyport. He soon meets Rapunzel, a lasso-twirling red-headed spitfire, and after some adventures, the two of them decide to return to Shyport. Blunderboar, a cruel giant despot, is practically running the city, and Jack and his friends must act quickly to protect Jack's mother from the ant-people attacks that Blunderboar is orchestrating.

My favorite page of the book is the scene where Blunderboar's organic defense shield, consisting of shrieking male brownies, is deactivated by Pru and her friends. In the first panel, we see the lady pixies determinedly soar upwards in their hats, petticoats and Victorian finery. They face-off with the brownies, whose yells are cut short when the pixies pour on the charm, dimpling at them and offering a chorus of, "Hello, live around here?" quickly reducing the brownies to a group of hat-doffing bashful gents.

The Hales have woven a fantastic, yet believable world where Native Americans, diminutive pixies, giants, pig-like people, invading alien insects and cowboys all co-mingle amidst locomotives, saloons, hi-tech dirigibles, floating palaces, crumbling buildings and run-down theatre districts alike. The colorful twang of the Old West vocabulary and the sure, action-packed, detail-laden full-color art pair very nicely. I would recommend this to graphic novel fans, especially those who liked (or didn't like) Patricia Wrede's alternate magical history Frontier Magic series.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

The Wallflower review

The Wallflower
by Tomoko Hayakawa, translated by David Ury
Del Rey
October 2004

What an utterly weird little book. There's this misfit girl, Sunako, and her aunt, a wealthy landlady, who's offered four boys free rent at her boarding house (more like a mansion) if they can turn her niece into a pretty young lady. The girl is very socially awkward, shy and hates herself but loves horror movies. She's kind of like a goth, without the fashion sense. She gets nosebleeds all the time when she's nervous and refers to herself as a creature of darkness, and the boys as creatures of light. She's always afraid that she'll melt away from embarrassment. 

The boys try to get her out of her shell - at one point they all dress in drag and take her to a hostess club - kind of the Japanese equivalent of a strip club? No one really bats an eye at this. The boys are all very pretty and as popular as rock stars. After this, Sunako decides that she's too overwhelmed by it all, and murdering the ringleader of the boys is her only answer. She makes several half-hearted attempts to stab him. The boys all treat this somewhat as a joke. Finally, they get her to dress up nice at one party (with the promise of a gift of a pile of horror DVDs if she cooperates.) She makes a splash, and hits it off with an American (who might be named John) but then gets in an awesome karate fight with a bunch of guests for being too fresh with her. The aunt offers the boys half off their rent, not knowing that her niece was only playing the part for the evening.

I like the art style, especially the way the characters revert to being children whenever they are in the midst of a strong emotion. The book reads back to front, as is traditional for manga. The translation notes in the back are helpful - but I really do think that there is a lot that is lost in translation on this one. This is the first in a popular series that has been turned into a TV show in Japan.

I purchased a copy of this book.

Squish: Super Amoeba review

Squish: Super Amoeba
by Jennifer L. Holm, illustrated by Matt Holm
Random House Children's Books
May 2011

From the creators of Babymouse, Squish is an easy-to-read graphic novel about a hapless young amoeba, Squish. Just like Babymouse, the illustrations are clear and simple, featuring heavy black lines with a pop of accent color. Where Babymouse is pink, pink, pink, the illustrations in Squish feature touches of green. The story is obviously created for lots of boy appeal, but I know girls will like this series, too.

Squish is kind of the Jerry Seinfeld of middle-grade graphic novels. Nothing really happens, but it's all very, very funny. It's just Squish, his family and friends, and little adventures at school. His best friends, Pod and Peggy (a cheerfully dumb paramecium) must cope with Lynwood, a bully at their school. The text features several humorous asides to the readers.

I'll give this to fans of Babymouse, of course, as well as to readers who enjoyed Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Captain Underpants, Frankie Pickle and other such fun, silly fare. My only criticism is that the book is so short - I think most kids will whip through this book in well-under an hour, if not mere minutes. Fortunately, there are two more in the series, with hopefully more on the way.


I purchased a copy of this book.

Free Comic Book Day

Buffy vs. Aliens

It's Free Comic Book Day! Check here and see if there are any free comic books to be had near you.

Hades review

Hades: Lord of the Dead
by George O'Connor
First Second
January 2012

Deliciously spooky, this adds a modern touch to the stories that the Greeks told about the Underworld. Riveting! After an informative introduction to the territories of the underworld including the River Styx, Erebus (kind of like Hell's waiting room), and Tartaros (where the evil are punished) the story jumps right to the Persephone myth, also known as Kore. I loved her transformation into a Goth princess when she begins to warm up to the idea of ruling the underworld.

When angry Demeter has finally sussed out who is ultimately responsible for the disappearance of her daughter, the looks on the faces of Zeus' entourage are priceless, "Oh Zeus... what did you do now?" a mildly annoyed Hera says. Flirty Hermes is also a hoot, when he questions Hekate, Demeter's sidekick, who intones her story to him, he replies, "I like you, you're nutty." One vital change from the original story was the use of Persephone's pomegranate seeds. While there are always several versions to most of the Greek myths - usually that Persephone is tricked into eating the seeds trapping her in the Underworld for part of the year, or famished, she finally gives in and eats just a bit before she is rescued, in this version, Persophone does NOT actually eat any of the seeds - but she tells her mother that she did so that she can return to the god Hades, whom she has grown to care for.

The book is appended with an author's note, footnotes on several historical details included in the artwork, a call sheet for several of the gods featured in the story and a bibliography featuring recent and/or notable sources for additional information on mythology. This is a great series. Percy Jackson fans will eagerly devour these appealing graphic novels inspired by the Greek gods.


I received a free copy from the publisher.

Alice in Wonderland review

Alice in Wonderland 
adapted by Martin Powell, illustrated by Daniel Perez
Stone Arch Books
August 2009


I enjoyed this fast read-through of Alice in Wonderland. Translated into graphic novel form, the undeniably trippy, dream-like nature of the original book comes through much, much stronger in this version. Alice races through one utterly bizarre scene after another, lending a particularly surreal feeling to this reinterpretation of the classic. As fast as she falls down the rabbit hole, grows and shrinks and meets the evil Red Queen and Chesire Cat, there are other equally odd occurrences taken from the original novel that I had forgotten about, such as the abandoned baby that inexplicably turns into a pig. While the adaptation remains very true to the original, the speeded-up narrative and largely visual presentation definitely up the ante, turning what is already a very strange and dream-like book into something altogether hallucinogenic.

The book is appended with some background information on the inspiration for several of the characters - for example, cheese-makers of Chesire County, England apparently were famous for using cat-shaped molds, and of course, the tradition of Mad Hatters comes from the true story of many  Victorian-era hatters who suffered from lead poisoning and dementia in their line of work.

I hesitate to recommend such an abbreviated version of the classic to young readers who may not return to the longer, original work if they feel that they've read it already, but at this point, Alice in Wonderland is such a cultural touchstone, you can't go wrong with this easily-accessible version.


I borrowed this book from the library.

The Last Dragon review

The Last Dragon 
by Jane Yolen illustrated by Rebecca Guay 
Dark Horse Comics
October 2011


Lush, detailed illustrations and lyrical fairytale-style writing about a small village faced by an ancient enemy dragon make this a not-to-be-missed graphic novel. As a stand-alone this would be a perfect introduction for readers new to graphic novels. I had expected the story to lean on the standard trope of the world's last known dragon being a misunderstood, lonely creature, who depends on the hero to keep magic alive in the world but instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that in this world, dragons are nothing more than overgrown, dangerous fire-breathing lizards which the human community is more than happy to wipe out.


The village healer's daughter Tansy is a bit of an outsider in the community and even her sisters, practical Rosemary and flibbertigibbet Sage, fail to understand her. She alone is underwhelmed when a blowhard (but gorgeous) youthful hero, Lancot, sweeps into town, bragging of his battle prowess. After the town begins to suspect that their missing sheep (and missing children!) are due to a young hungry dragon, naturally they call on the tow-headed stranger to solve their problem. In a panic, he realizes that his plan of boasting and bluffing his way through this hick town have backfired on him, and his thought bubbles and facial expressions in the next several panels are humorous indeed. Tansy comes to the rescue with a clever plan to outwit the dragon, using Lancot's true skill: kitemaking. It's a bit of a stretch to believe that battling a blast of dragon fire would reduce Lancot's Fabio-like locks to a manly, yet still handsome crewcut, but I was willing to roll with it. This is a very approachable graphic novel sure to appeal to both boys and girls, with gorgeous sepia-toned full-color illustrations and rich language. I highly recommend it!


I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

Zita the Spacegirl review

Zita the Spacegirl 

by Ben Hatke 

First Second 

February 2011

Really excellent middle-grade science-fiction feels like a hard thing to find these days. This graphic novel more than delivered, offering zany aliens, an intrepid girl explorer and an enjoyably distinctive style. Zita, who seems to be around 10 years of age or so, is a bit impulsive and given to making hasty decisions. After a meteor delivers a strange looking alien device, she teases her brother Joseph and hits the button, and is shocked, overwhelmed and sad when he is sucked into a vortex. Not knowing what else to do, she jumps in after him. She soon finds herself on an alien world, and with Joseph kidnapped, she makes an unlikely alliance with Strong-Strong, a sweet but kind of dumb brute, often bossed around by his levitating, top-hat wearing, cockney-accented boss. Piper, a bit of a rogue and conman, his friend/pet Pizzicato, better known as "Mouse" a gigantic mouse who communicates via ticker tape, as well as H.A.M.B.O. - a Heavily Armored Mobile Battle Orb, otherwise known as One, a slightly dysfunctional battle robot all join her on her quest to rescue Joseph.

Zita the Spacegirl favorably reminded me of several other recent books: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, because Zita and Mirka both share the same irrepressible spirit. Zita's quest to find answers and the diverse alien population giving things a Mos Eisley feel reminded me of Eva Nine's adventures in The Search for WondLA. The sense of humor and fast pace made me think of Rapunzel's Revenge and Calamity Jack, a mildly steampunkish retelling of fairy tales.

The ending of the book promises more in a series. Fast-paced, fun and accessible, I'd recommend Zita the Spacegirl for a wide range of readers, from 4th through 8th grade.


I borrowed this book from the library.

Hereville review

Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword

by Barry Deutsch

Abrams

2010

This wonderful middle-grade graphic novel covers the adventures of Mirka Herschberg, "yet another troll-fighting 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl." Mirka, a bit of an imaginative tomboy, doesn't feel that she fits in amongst her nine sisters. She's terrible at knitting and most household chores, and longs for adventure, preferably slaying dragons or the like. Sadly, her greatest enemy (besides a basketful of knitting, of course) is a local wild pig, fond of pushing her over on her hike through the woods to school.

One of the things that really struck me about this book was the seamless blend of ordinary life and the fantastical. Mirka lives in a world where she knows trolls, witches and dragons must exist... yet, her warm and loving family and the ordinary daily tribulations she must handle at school are so expertly drawn, you nearly wonder if she's only imagined the fantasy elements. When Mirka approaches her stepmother with her worries that her mother may be a dybbuk (a restless, wandering spirit) her stepmother reassures her, "I live in the family your mother made, surrounded by her children and under her roof, I think I'd know it if she were still here." Unobtrusive footnotes for many of the Yiddish phrases were most welcome.

After meeting a mysterious woman in the woods (she must be a witch, Mirka decides) she manages to get directions to a hidden (magical?) sword. The adventure is on! Armed only with the knowledge that the sword is guarded by a troll, and that trolls are often easily outwitted, she sneaks out prepared to do battle. When she goes to challenge the troll (brilliantly rendered as an odd cross between a grumpy middle-aged man and a gigantic spider) the last thing that she is expecting is for him to threaten to have her for dinner, unless she can knit a beautiful sweater that very evening. It's a knit-off, as Mirka and the troll furiously clack knitting needles to see who will be victorious.

Deutsch really plays with the graphic novel format, breaking up the panels in many different ways, lending a lot of visual interest and an easy flow to the story. This book is worth a read, and then a re-read to pick up all of the tiny little details hidden in the illustrations.  I highly recommend it.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Boys Over Flowers review

Boys Over Flowers
by Yoko Kamio
Viz Media
2003

Tsukushi, a middle class student at an elite prep school, struggles to fit in until the F4 a.k.a. Flower Four, a popular gang of boys decide to "red flag" her locker thus marking her for social ostracization. Unable to request a school transfer, which would let down her family, Tsukushi is forced to make the best of things... but wait! Does one of the F4 have a secret crush on her? This book is unapologetically light-hearted and fun.

The name of the series is a play on words from a Japanese saying, which basically makes fun of people who go to ornamental flower gardens (a popular pasttime) and lacking sophistication or cultural taste, skip by all the sights and head directly to the food court. The word for boys in Japanese sounds similar to the word for food.

The plot does not move along too quickly, but the characters' emotional journey in this realistic fiction graphic novel is fun to follow.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Calamity Jack review

Calamity Jack
by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hal
Bloomsbury
2010

This creative re-imagining of the classic Jack in the Beanstalk tale is set in a steampunk Old West. It is a graphic novel sequel to Rapunzel's Revenge, but stands perfectly well on it's own. Seeing hints of Rapunzel's story in this book made me want to go back and read the first.

Jack is a ne'er do well lad who's always got a scheme or swindle planned. But his heart's in the right place, as he's only trying to make life easier for his momma, a hard-working baker. His best friend, a pixie named Pru, is a frequent accomplice to his hi-jinks. After landing in some hot water with a particularly dangerous heist involving a giant beanstalk, he decides to lie low and leaves his hometown of Shyport.  He soon meets Rapunzel, a lasso-twirling red-headed spitfire and after some adventures, the two of them decide to return to Shyport. Blunderboar, the cruel giant despot, is practically running the city, and Jack and his friends must act quickly to protect Jack's mother from the ant-people attacks that Blunderboar is orchestrating.

My favorite page of the book is the scene where Blunderboar's organic defense shield, consisting of shrieking male brownies, is deactivated by Pru and her friends. In the first panel, we see the lady pixies determinedly soar upwards in their hats, petticoats and Victorian finery. They face-off with the brownies, whose yells are cut short when the pixies pour on the charm, dimpling at them and offering a chorus of, "Hello, live around here?" quickly reducing the brownies to a group of hat-doffing bashful gents.

The Hales have woven a fantastic, yet believable, world where Native Americans, diminutive pixies, giants, pig-like people, invading alien insects and cowboys all co-mingle amidst locomotives, saloons, hi-tech dirigibles, floating palaces, crumbling buildings and run-down theatre districts alike. The colorful twang of the Old West vocabulary and the sure, action-packed, detail-laden full-color art pair very nicely. I would recommend this to graphic novel fans, especially those who liked (or didn't like) Patricia Wrede's alternate magical history Thirteenth Child.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Exciting stuff

Cecily von Ziegesar’s bestselling "Gossip Girl" novels are going to be re-released in a manga format this year.

I think the storylines of this series will lend themselves really well to this format. The art for the first in the series, Gossip Girls: For Your Eyes Only looks great! I'm looking forward to it.

Also, very exciting, The Babysitter's Club by Ann Martin is coming back into print. Martin will be writing a prequel, called The Summer Before, due out in hardcover in April 2010, to be followed by the re-release of the rest of the series in paperback. I'm amazed to report that I still get requests for this series.

I'm surprised that girls still want to read them, especially with some of the dated covers (the first book, Kristy's Big Idea, originally came out in 1986.) I'm very curious to see how they'll be updating the covers, and if they'll be making any other changes to the books. Check out Stacey's side-ponytail in this picture. For serious.

Interestingly, the graphic novels based on the original series, published in 2006, only seemed to fan the fires for the original chapter books, at least, with my patrons.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read-a-likes

Lately, it seems like everyone in the world has Diary of a Wimpy Kid fever. Every book in this hilariously funny series by Jeff Kinney are always checked out at my library. Rather than sending kids away empty-handed, I've been recommending these books instead. They all feature plenty of illustrations and quite a bit of humor.

Mercy Watson (series)

by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Candlewick

2005

Lots of full color pictures in this series about an irrepressible pig. The author of the award-winning Tale of Despereaux shares tales of this “porcine wonder” and Mercy’s endless quest for the better things in life, especially toast.

My Weird School (series)

by Dan Gutman, illustrated by Jim Paillot

Harper Collins

2004

A.J.’s school is very weird, no doubt about it. Each of his teachers at Ella Mentry School is more wacka-doodle than the next! Can he survive at his crazy school? There is a spin-off series, My Weird School Daze.

Prince of Underwhere

by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Shane Hillman

Harper Collins

2008

In this new fast-paced, silly and fun new series, Zeke manages to cope with school, annoying siblings, zombies and people who wear underwear on their heads.

Horrible Harry (series)

by Suzy Kline, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

Viking

1988

Don't forget this classic series. Good-kid Doug is constantly amazed and surprised by the unbelievable pranks his best friend “Horrible” Harry always seems to be getting away with in Miss Mackle’s second grade class.

Regarding the Fountain (series)

by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Avon Books

1998

What starts out as a simple project to replace a broken fountain, quickly gets out of hand in this epistolary novel composed of faxes, letters and drawings. There are more in the series, although none quite so enjoyable as the first.

Toothpaste Millionaire

by Jean Merrill

Bank Street

1972

Not a series, but this is still a terrific, stand-alone book. Rufus Mayflower’s head for business has landed him a million dollars. Learn the secrets of his financial success and find out how he decides to spend his money.

Amelia’s Notebooks (series)

by Marissa Moss

Tricycle Press

1995

Get a sneak peek into Amelia’s life by reading her handwritten diaries. Whether it’s about her friends, her school or her family, Amelia doesn’t hold back. Her notebook drawings and doodles leave plenty for readers to pore over.

Clementine (series)

by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee

Hyperion

2006

Creative and funny Clementine doesn’t mean to be a troublemaker! Expressive ink drawings by Marla Frazee keep the action humming right along. Similar to the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary and also appropriate for Junie B. Jones graduates.

Captain Underpants (series)

by Dav Pilkey

Blue Sky Press

1997

The one. The only. The original. Read the book that helped inspire Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Action, adventure, humor, cartoons, laughs; this series has it all. Fans of Captain Underpants will probably also enjoy all of Pilkey's books, including the Super Diaper Baby books and Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot series.

Fred & Anthony (series)

by Elise Primavera

Hyperion

2007

Read about the hijinks of two best friends, interspersed with plenty of cartoons and humor. Scary and funny, these stories will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Time Warp Trio (series)

by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

Viking

1991

Joe, Sam and Fred use their magic book to travel through time, having wacky madcap adventures all the way. The author of The Stinky Cheese Man does not disappoint with this wonderful chapter book series. The books have also been released as graphic novels.

Ellie McDoodle (series)

by Ruth McNally Barshaw

Bloomsbury Children's Books

2007

Similar to the Amelia's Notebooks series, but geared for perhaps, just a bit of an older audience, this series features snarky, funny pre-teen Ellie, who in her first adventure is forced to go camping with her relatives in Michigan.

Dragonbreath (series)

by Ursula Vernon

Dial Books

2009

Danny is an underachieving dragon who can't breath fire. He and his best friend Wendell (an iguana) attempt to avoid bullies and get their research for an acceptable school paper on sea life done. With green and black illustrations, this series seems visually similar to Babymouse by Jennifer and Matthew Holm.

Tale of Despereaux

The Tale of Despereaux: The Graphic Novel 

adapted by Matt Smith and David Tilton, from the book by Kate DiCamillo

Candlewick

2008

I must confess, I haven't read the original book, or seen the animated movie. I just finished reading this graphic novel adaptation and I came into it pretty darn skeptical... a comic book, based on the movie... based on the original novel? How good could it be? I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It's light-hearted and moves swiftly.  Obviously, it's a completely different animal than the original work, but taken completely on it's own merits it's pretty good.

The book opens with Roscuro the Rat, sailing in for the Kingdom of Dor's Royal Soup Day, which is apparently an even bigger celebration than Christmas. Chef Andre's top-secret to his sumptious soups is his helper, a magical being made of vegetables. Meantime, among the mice, an unusually brave and intrepid Despereaux is born. His teachers soon despair of teaching him how to cower and scurry as ordinary mice do, which is handled with a fair bit of humor. "Despereaux, there are so many wonderful things in life to be afraid of if you just learn how scary they are."

After the Queen accidentally drowns in a bowl of soup (it's handled in such a way that it's not nearly as gruesome as it sounds) the King outlaws soup and a gloom descends over the country. When Despereaux is exiled from his community for his continually un-mousy behavior (reading books, befriending princesses and the like) he and Roscuro team up and eventually bring soup (and happiness) back to the Kingdom of Dor.

The bold dark outlines in the artwork lend a hand-drawn feel to this digitally created piece. The style of the full-color drawings seems inspired by the film; just a bit more cartoonish and with a slightly muted palette.

I imagine I'll recommend this short 126 page graphic novel as a gateway drug to kids who can't seem to tear themselves away from Pokemon and other things of that ilk.