Good Comics for Kids

November 19, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Emily and her brother Navin are heading to Kanalis to find a cure for their mother, in this continuation to Amulet: The Stonekeeper.

Amulet. Book Two: The Stonekeeper's Curse
Kazu Kibuishi
Publisher's Age Recommendation 9-12
My Suggested Age Recommendation 8-14
Graphix, September 2009, 978-0439-84682-0 (hc) 978-0-439-84683-7 (pbk)
224 pp, $21.99 (hc) $10.99 (pbk)

Navin and Emily are in race against time. The poison is seeping into their mom's system and she is getting sicker and sicker. Kanalis is being overtaken by the elves and the antidote is hard to get - at the top of Demon's Head Mountain.  Emily sets out to find the antidote, but in her quest must struggle against the power of the amulet. It is begging her to submit to it and to let t...Read More
Industries: Graphic Novels

September 14, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

A few months ago, I was browsing the children’s section of Barnes & Noble and came across this title. While I was familiar with Sava’s work (A Bit Haywire is one of my favorites), at the time the title was not on my radar. As I leafed through the book, the artwork caught my eye and I knew this was a title that would do well in my library.

Gary the Pirate
By Scott Christian Sava & Tracy Bailey
Ages 9 and up
Blue Dream Studio (IDW Publishing) May 2009 ISBN 978-160010312-4
110 p. $12.99

First there’s Gary, the klutziest pirate alive.  He gets into real trouble when he nearly destroys Stinky the Pirate’s ship, ruins his groceries, and has nothing to show for it.  Gary is such a bad pirate, he has no riches or spoils to b...Read More
Industries: Graphic Novels

July 31, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

The Leave it to Chance Trilogy is the first set of books I set out to read for my summer reading challenge. It’s been languishing on my library shelves, though I know that it came highly recommended.  Now that I’ve finally picked up these oversized volumes, I can’t wait to go back in the Fall and talk these up with my middle schoolers.  My only regret… it looks like these books are out of print.

Leave it to Chance.
Book One: Shaman’s Rain.
James Robinson & Paul Smith with Jeromy Cox
Image Comics, c2002 ISBN 1-58240-253-1

Book Two: Trick or Treat. 
James Robinson & George Foreman with Jeromy Cox
Image Comics, c2002, ISBN 1...Read More
Industries: Graphic Novels

July 15, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (1)

I love to cook.  My new found love started sometime between the time I got married, when I realized my husband is a very appreciative eater and the time my mother was hospitalized for a short time and we passed the hours watching cooking shows together.  So when I first spotted the Manga Cookbook I just loved the concept.  It was the perfect combination of my 2 new found hobbies, cooking and reading comics.  Sadly, it took me a while to get my hands on this title, but last month I finally got to read it….

The Manga Cookbook
By the Manga University Culinary Institute art by Chihiro Hattori
Recommended for ages 10 and up
Japanime, 2007, 978-4-921205-07-2
160 pp., $14.95

While presented using manga style art, the Manga Cookbook is not that muc...Read More
Industries: Graphic Novels

July 2, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

This old adage is printed on t-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers. And it’s so true. Especially in the life of a reviewer or someone who works closely with books, because amidst all your work, you’re constantly reaching for the newest titles and letting some of the older titles slip to the bottom of the pile. Somehow, we never get to the bottom, because there’s always something new to add to the top.  That’s where the GC4K’s Summer Reading Challenge was born.

Actually, it started with my inventorying and reorganization of my graphic novel collection at the end of the school year.  I was ha...Read More
Industries: Graphic Novels