Lunch Lady!

Bold. Brave. Fearless.

Outfitted with gadgets galore!

She's...Lunch Lady!

Oh, I had so much fun reading the first two Lunch Lady books by Jarrett J Krosoczka. They are just too funny! And the crime fighting is top notch. The first one is Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute. The second, Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians.

These books are perfect for Babymouse fans like me: they're about the same size and length, and are suspenseful as well as silly. I love the two color (three color?) pallette: black and yellow (and white.)

Does white count? Anyway. The use of the color was so skillful! It really draws your eye to the important parts of the panel and aids in the visual read. There are so many different shades of yellow, you know? I would even go so far as to say that Krosoczka evokes mood with his use of the color. Very nice.

If I didn't already have my costume all planned, I'd totally be Lunch Lady for Halloween. Next year, next year.

Wonderland

Wonderland, Tommy Kovac, Sonny Liew

Wonderland. As in Alice in. Except this time, without Alice. Who is that dark haired maiden on the cover? None other than Mary Ann, the maid that the white rabbit mistook Alice for. In Mary Ann's absence, Alice has been to wonderland. Now our heroine has to deal with the aftermath.

Quirky and fun (of course quirky!), this one kept me entertained. The illustration style distracted me a bit for the first few pages (I found myself dissecting the amount of texture on the page and the Queen of Hearts' big mouth). But once I got into it, it was quite fun.

Published by Disney, the book assumes you've watched the Disney version of the story. The characters look similar to movie's but aren't exactly the same. It was fun to see some familiar faces and know what to expect from them, but also fun to be introduced to new characters. My last reading of the actual Lewis Carroll was so long ago that I consider these guys new, anyway.

Plenty of the dark and spooky, plenty of the zany and funny. I'm a fan.

Babymouse: Dragonslayer!

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know I love Babymouse. So I was pretty excited that Babymouse: Dragonslayer was nominated for the Cybils this year. (So was Babymouse: The Musical, yay!)

So, I rushed out and got it! And it did not disappoint. It is chock full of fantasy allusions both general and specific. For instance, the book starts with a map. :D And there is a babymouse daydream sequence in which she has huge, hairy hobbit feet. Ha! What is this dragon that Babymouse has to overcome? MATH! The Fighting Fractions, of which Babymouse is the newest member, must overcome the Owlgorithms to win back the Golden Slide Rule!

I liked the theme of the book -- it was very encouraging, but it was so tongue-in-cheek, so silly, that it wasn't cheesy at all. Two thumbs up for Babymouse #11!

Let the festivities begin!

It's Cybils season again! The bloggers' choice award for the best children's and YA books of the year. I participated last year as a panelist in the Middle Grade Fiction category, and this year I'm very excited to be part of the Graphic Novels panel! I just can't wait for all the nominations! So if you've read a good one that was published between Oct 2008 and Oct 2009, be sure to mention it on the Cybils blog in October. That goes good books in other genres as well.

If you're looking for good books to read, I highly recommend browsing the Cybils shortlists from past years (link in the sidebar). Some of my favorites have been discovered there.

Announcing the Graphic Novels panel for the 2009 Cybils:

Graphic Novels Panel

We've been working hard behind the scenes on the judging assignments, and we've put together an enthusiastic panel of fans and bloggers to read the best in graphic novels for both young adult and elementary/middle grade audiences.

Panel Organizer: Liz Jones, Liz Jones Books

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Alyssa Feller, The Shady Glade
Maggi Idzikowski, Mama Librarian
Liz Jones (see panel organizer)
Nicola Manning, Back to Books
Kim Rapier, Si, se puede! Yes we can
Gina Ruiz, AmoXcalli
Alysa Stewart, Everead

Judges (Round II):

Walter Biggins, The Quiet Bubble
Justin Colussy-Estes, Guys Lit Wire
Sarah Sammis, Puss Reboots
Sarah Stevenson, Finding Wonderland
Casey Titschinger, Bookworm 4 Life

Son of the Shadows

Post by Ashley
Wow, cool follow-up to Daughter of the Forest, which I loved. This second book in the trilogy follows Sorcha's three grown children, mainly her daughter Liadan, through twisting trials, romance, and tragedies, always driving toward the ultimate goal of reclaiming the three sacred islands that are still under British occupation.

As with many fantasy books, there's a prophecy, but unlike some others, the person destined to fulfill that prophecy isn't immediately clear. Two books into the trilogy, I think we've finally figured out who will bring peace to the warring people in the story.

The writing is beautiful, as always. The story is intricate and very human. The characters are deep and independent and so varied. I love that about all of Juliet Marillier's books. Each person is a personality. So check out this series if you're feeling an itching for a new fantastical literary experience. As with the first one, this contains more adult content than I would deem appropriate for a young teen. So I'll recommend it for 16-18-ish and up.

Frogs and Mice

Two picture books I loved recently:

Nic Bishop Frogs -- Fantastic, amazing photographs! And very nice text as well. Not too heavy, not too light. Its books like these that make me go to the Juvenile non-fiction section more often than the regular ol' stuff. I mean seriously. When there are such fascinating, understandable texts on the ground floor, why would I go upstairs and try to wade through something dull? Love it.

Once Upon a Twice -- by Denise Doyen, illustrated by Barry Moser. Found this one over at the PlanetEsme blog, and she likened it to Jabberwocky. I LOVE Jabberwocky! The version illustrated by Graeme Base. Aaaanyway. This one is not exactly like Jabberwocky, I mean, Carroll made up SO many new words with that one. Practically every other word at the beginning is nonsense. Once Upon a Twice does more with wordplay than word invention. Still, I was tickled by it. And the illustrations are the perfect atmosphere. Check it out!

Emiko Superstar, and Persepolis

I've found myself drawn to graphic novels lately (hehe, get it?). I recently read two that caught my eye.



Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki and Steve Rolston-- This one won the Cybils award for YA Graphic Novel last year. With that kind of recommendation, I didn't want to pass it up. And I'm glad I read it. It was interesting. I can't say it was my favorite -- I had some issues with it. But as far as writing and illustrating quality? Top Notch. As far as engaging and appealing? Very nice. My issues were more along these lines: Why didn't Emiko break sooner? Why didn't she tell anyone what really went on? And how did she get away with it for so long? So, I guess I don't relate personally very much to Emiko. But I think that the book asks valuable questions about art, life, honesty, etc. What is it about? How one summer can change everything. And how Emiko became a superstar, of course.



Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi-- I've heard this one mentioned in the realm of YA, but I categorize it adult. Its the life story of a girl in Iran. An autobiography. It is fascinating, and the artwork is just perfect. I really think the art makes the book successful. In this sort of scenario -- where we're getting scenes from Marjane Satrapi's life -- the facial expressions tell you just what she thinks of it all, as it's happening. If it were all written out, it would be too wordy! Either too gushy or too austere. Anyway. I wasn't thrilled with the ending, but it obviously couldn't have been any other way. And it ended symbolically as well. The first panels tell about Marji's first experiences with wearing the veil, and I assume that the last panel is the last time she's worn it. The humor is great. The language gets coarse, occasionally. And I'm glad it's not my life story. But I'm glad I read it.