Take a stubborn, funny girl who isn't afraid to stand up for herself, add in a quest for a powerful sword and a world where magic is part of the everyday fabric of life and you have a book that kids in my library will eat up. Add into this mix a graphic novel with clean lines, engaging characters and a bit of whimsy and it's got a line waiting for it. But, Barry Deutsch takes these elements and throws in unexpected twists in his graphic novel Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
. Mirka is an Orthodox Jewish girl who lives with her large family and dreams of fighting trolls and dragons and living a larger live. It's an unusual, fascinating book that kids who like something a little different will eat up.
Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
by Barry Deutsch
NY: Amulet Books, 2010
ages 9 - 12
available on Amazon and at your local library
Eleven year old Mirka dreams of living a swash-buckling life of adventure. But her family and friends in the Jewish Orthodox town of
Hereville keep telling her that she has to be realistic, learn how to knit, do her chores and school work, and act like a proper young girl. But when she steals a single grape from a witch's enchanted pig, life changes for her. The pig pursues her, but Mirka uses her wits and courage to defeat this very non-Jewish foe.
As one student told me, "It's a hard read - it's pretty complicated, but I found it really interesting that I related to someone from such a different culture. If you want to connect with Mirka, you have to work harder than most books." Deutsch weaves elements of Orthodox life throughout this fantasy adventure. Mirka wears long skirts and long-sleeved white blouses. Yiddish idioms and phrases are used throughout, with English translations at the bottom. And yet, Mirka has so many character traits that kids relate to. She's brave and stubborn, she's intelligent and funny, and while her family drives her nu
Beginning in April, Round Table Companies will offer comic book adaptations of best-selling nonfiction books.
Here’s more from the press release: “In partnership with Smarter Comics, Round Table Companies will release six comic books on April 16, 2011 in bookstores throughout the U.S. and Indigo bookstores in Canada, as well as in Hudson News stores on May 1, 2011. Additionally, readers can download a digital version of the books for free, online or on the SmarterComics Android applications from April 1 to July 1, 2011.”
The titles up for adaptation include The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, Overachievement by Dr. John Eliot, How to Master the Art of Selling by Tom Hopkins, Mi Barrio by Robert Renteria, Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life by Larry Winget, and The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
continued…
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
For any cat lover who has suspected that their cat has a rich inner life--this is the series for you. Binky is a domestic shorthair who is a certified member of F.U.R.S.T. That's 'Felines of the Universe Ready for Space Travel' for the uninitiated--which is all of humanity, by the way. Living in his space station with Big Human, Little Human, and his mousie toy, Ted, Binky has a solemn duty to
The Night Bookmobile. Audrey Niffenegger. 2010. Harry N. Abrams. 40 pages.
The first time I saw the Night Bookmobile, I was walking down Ravenswood Avenue at four o'clock in the morning. It was late in the summer, at that quiet time of morning when the cicadas have given up but the birds haven't started in yet. I'd been walking for about an hour. Alexandra, our heroine, discovers the Night Bookmobile after a big fight with her boyfriend, Richard. This will change her life forever--for better or worse. For she meets her personal librarian, Mr. Openshaw, and sees just a glimpse of the magic behind the Night Bookmobile. It is
her collection of books--every book she's ever read, every book she's ever started--though the print on the page stops where she did--every letter, every note, every cereal box. Some books are her own, others are from different libraries she's visited--all housed within "an enormous, battered Winnebago." It's almost too wonderful to be true. But since the hours of the bookmobile are from dusk to dawn, Alexandra's forced back into the real world--forever changed.
Have you ever found your heart's desire and then lost it? I had seen myself, a portrait of myself as a reader. My childhood: hours spent in airless classrooms, days home sick from school reading Nancy Drew, forbidden books read secretively late at night. Teenage years reading--trying to read--books I'd heard were important, Naked Lunch and The Fountainhead, Ulysses and Women in Love...It was as though I had dreamt the perfect lover, who vanished as I woke, leaving me pining and surly.
In the same way that perfume captures the essence of a flower, these shelves of books were a distillation of my life. Here was A Distant Mirror, by Barbara Tuchman, which I remembered reading in a coffee shop while waiting for a blind date who never showed up. Here was my paperback copy of Anna Karenina, fattened by repeated reading. I picked up Gravity's Rainbow. As I fanned through the book I saw that the text stopped at page fifty-seven; the remaining pages were blank. I had never finished reading it. A popsicle stick served to mark the place I had not come back to.
She becomes obsessed with finding the Night Bookmobile again, becomes obsessed with reading, never forgetting for a moment that everything she reads is being added to her collection. She imagines what her librarian might be thinking, imagines him taking an interest in her life. She doesn't find the Night Bookmobile often, but she does find it a few times. Just enough to keep her hooked, keep her obsessed. Just enough to influence her--sometimes in VERY UNHEALTHY ways.
This graphic novel is strange. (Twilight Zone creepy.) It definitely has its dark moments! I mean you might think it would be sweet and lovely and charming, but, that's not the direction this one heads. Did I like it? I'm not sure I did. There was something about it that was very disturbing. I did like a few things about it though. And I do think others might like it more than I did.
© 2011 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Whenever I get something from Ben Hatke, it is always adorable. So I’ve received in the mail adorable bookplates, adorable family adventures, occasionally even adorable chickens. I’ve come to conclude that Ben just naturally generates things that are adorable. And his book that came out from First Second this month, Zita the Spacegirl, is no exception – it’s filled to the brim with adorable mice, robots, aliens, and an adorable protagonist to top it all off.
Ben’s just done his first book signing, at Politics & Prose. Guess what? It’s adorable too!
*Graphic novel for elementary kids–1st grade through 5th grade
*Young girl and an alligator as main characters
*Rating: Gabby and Gator is a funny book that takes a look at a serious issue for kids–fitting in and bullying.
Short, short summary:
In graphic novel form, James Burks tells the story of Gator and Gabby–an alligator and a girl that have trouble fitting in. Gator has had trouble since the beginning when his original owner had to flush him down the toilet because his mom didn’t want an alligator in her house. He’s lived in the sewer ever since, and he just can’t help himself–sometimes he eats people’s dogs. He gets so hungry. Then there’s Gabby. She doesn’t fit in anywhere, but she is the sweetest girl! (I just love her list of things to-do.) The kids make fun of her, and one boy in particular is a big bully, calling her a freak. She meets Gator in the park, and then the two become friends and have quite an adventure! You will love Gabby and Gator, laugh out loud, and cheer for them both!
So, what should I do with this book?
1. Children can look at Gabby’s to-do list and then make one of their own for a weekend day. What would they put on a to-do list? You can also have them create a to-do list for Gator. Students can pair up with other students and share their lists and explain why they put what they did on their to-do list.
2. Gabby and Gator deals a lot with bullying. In the book, several kids are mean to Gabby. This can make some children uncomfortable and open to talking about a subject they might not usually want to talk about. A book also can open a discussion about bullying because children can talk about the characters in the book and share feelings without having to talk exactly about themselves. How does Gabby feel when kids call her a freak? What does she do? How does she solve her problem? You can ask students if they’ve ever felt like Gabby and talk about that.
3. Gator is a very interesting pet. Pets are always a big part of children’s lives. Ask students to draw a picture of their pet and tell why he is unique or unusual. You can also have them fold a piece of paper in half–on one side they can draw a picture of Gabby and Gator. On the other side, they can draw a picture of themselves with their pet. Older students can write a paragraph about their pets or compare and contrast their pet to Gator.
The tweens and young teens I know eat up graphic novels faster than candy, devouring each one I bring to the library. They especially like graphic novels that combine fantasy elements, action and intrigue. It's no wonder that they have loved
Foiled
, by Jane Yolen. As one student said to me yesterday, "I love stories where it's just a regular kid who discovers that the world around them isn't quite as regular as they thought it was." That fits this story perfectly. Nothing is quite as regular as Aliera expects it to be.
Foiled
by Jane Yolen
illustrated by Mike Cavallaro
NY: First Second, 2010
ages 9 - 14
available on Amazon and at your local public library
Aliera Carstairs’ life is fairly regular. Sure, her fencing hobby is a bit unusual, but her school routine is nothing out of the ordinary. She goes to a small high school in New York City, with all of the usual cliques: the jocks, the goths, the nerds and the preps. Aliera's fine being alone, until a new boy shows up at school - Avery Castle. “Prince Charming all the way.”
Aliera is stunned when Avery asks her out on a date. When she meets him at Grand Central Station, the world suddenly starts spinning out of control. At first, Aliera's world is shown in monotone greys because she is color blind. But at the train station,
Zita the Spacegirl – Book One: Far From Home
By Ben Hatke
First Second (an imprint of Roaring Brook / Macmillan)
$10.99
ISBN: 978-1-59643-695-4
Ages 9-12
On shelves now
I run a bookgroup for kids between the ages of 9-13. Like a number of American children in the 21st century, these kids have an overwhelming palate for good graphic novels. I can hand them Robot Dreams or Ghostopolis or Rapunzel’s Revenge, it doesn’t matter. Whatever the title, they devour these books in less than an hour and come hounding me for more. The market simply doesn’t exist to satiate their perpetual GN hunger. In fact, far fewer really worthwhile comics for kids come out than you might expect. For every The Secret Science Alliance there are twenty cheapo faux mangas ready to clutter up my library’s shelves. Fortunately, if you look in the right places you’re bound to find something new and interesting. Now there is nothing seemingly original about some of the aspects of Zita the Spacegirl. The storyline is familiar, the characters give you a sense of déjà vu, and the art feels very Matt Phelan/Raina Telgemeier-esque. That said, what author/artist Ben Hatke does well is dip into a wellspring of familiar ideas to bring us a new world that truly is its own beast. Zita earns her stripes. Good thing too, since your kids will undoubtedly be clamoring for more of her adventures when they get their sticky paws on this first.
Here are some basic rules governing meteoroids. Should you happen to find one in a field and should it happen to contain a device with a big red button, do NOT press that button! It would have been useful for Zita to take that advice when she found the meteoroid and device with her friend Joseph. Needless to say, a button was pushed. After creating an inadvertent rift in space, Joseph is pulled through the hole by a set of furry tentacles. Zita, daunted but intrepid, follows. Her mission? To find Joseph, wherever he might be, and bring him home. Along the way she befriends a host of strange characters like One, the battle orb with self-esteem issues, and Mouse (real name Pizzicato) a large rodent who prefers to communicate with short printed notes. Along with a couple others, Zita sets out to fulfill her mission. What she may find, however, is that while she wins her temporary battles, she may end up losing the war.
Children’s science fiction is only now attempting to slip into the shoes left by fantasy. The standard Alice in Wonderland / Wizard
I am always impressed when I come across an author who is able to write different kinds of books. Jane Yolen is just such a person. She writes poems, board books, picture books, and novels. In 2010 Jane Yolen showed us that she has yet another skill; she wrote a graphic novel.
Jane Yolen
Illustrated by Mike Cavallaro
Graphic Novel
Ages 9 to 12
First Second books, 2010, 978-1-59643-279-6
Aliera has a very quiet life. She does not have many friends, she is not popular in school, and she has never been on a date. She spends much of her free time at her fencing school, practicing her parries and lunges. Recently Aliera’s mother – who loves to buy things in junk shops, thrift stores, and yard sales – bought Aliera a second-hand foil with a large fake looking jewel on the hilt. Though the jewel looks pretty tacky, Aliera likes the foil. It balances well and at $2 it was a bargain. She has no idea that the foil has been entrusted into her care for a specific reason.
Not fitting into any of the cliques at school, Aliera is a “loner,” which suits her just fine. Then she goes into tenth grade and a new boy comes to the school. Avery Castle is gorgeous, and Aliera is instantly attracted to him. Of course, she believes that he is out of her league, so she tries to “forget him.” She is not pleased when she is partnered with him in biology lab, and she does her best to “protect her heart” just as she does in her fencing classes. Unfortunately she is unable to fend off Avery’s charms, and she comes to realize that she is “in love” with him, worse luck.
When Avery invites her on a date, Aliera is thrilled and terrified. This is going to be her first date ever. What should she wear, what should she do? Aliera arranges to meet Avery in the train station, and before he even gets there the date becomes bizarre, to say the least. When she puts on her fencing mask, she is able to see strange beasts and creatures flying and walking around her. A beautiful fairy like person tells Aliera that she is the “Defender,” that she was handpicked to protect the Seelie Court from its enemies. When Avery arrives on the scene, Aliera learns that he is not what she thought he was. In fact, he is not even human.
This graphic novel will enthrall readers who enjoy fantasies and mysteries. Readers will enjoy seeing how poor unpopular Aliera discovers that she is more than just an awkward girl who knows how to fence. She has a gift, and she is important.
&nb
From the desk of Nick Bertozzi, author of Lewis & Clark
"STEP 1: Write a script. People will tell you this is hard to do. They are not lying to you.
STEP 2: Lay out the pages with rough drawings and roughly positioned text. 
I tried using a new roughing technique for LEWIS & CLARK, putting together all of my layout using Adobe Illustrator. It's great for positioning text exactly where you want it, but drawing right onto a computer is a crazy idea. Just think, you can draw your image up to 800% magnification which means the awesome detail that you're drawing on Meriwether Lewis's epaulets will look like a muddy splotch at 100% magnification. Stay AWAY from the zoom tool is my advice here.
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke
This is a great graphic novel for elementary readers who will enjoy the action and the science fiction setting. Zita and her friend Joseph see a meteoroid fall to earth. When Zita looks closely, she sees that there is something embedded in the meteoroid. It looks like a red button and despite her friend’s protests, she presses it. Immediately, a rift opens and sucks Joseph through it. After some moments of panic, Zita presses the button again and heads through the rift to rescue her friend. On the other side of the rift, Joseph is being dragged away by a strange multi-armed alien who flies off with him in a space ship. Now Zita is left alone in a strange world filled with amazing creatures. Unfortunately, it’s a world about to be destroyed by a giant asteroid. How is Zita going to be able to save her friend before the planet is demolished?
Hatke is a great storyteller. Zita is a friendly, determined and strong girl character, who remains solidly the heroine of her story. Through his friendly illustrations Hatke has created a world that makes one feel at home despite its strangeness. The adventure here is thrilling, dangerous and great fun. As Zita adventures through the world, readers will enjoy the humor of different characters. Hatke embraces nuanced characters as well, which is a treat in a graphic novel for children.
The illustrations here have an anime appeal to them. Young fans of Pokemon will feel right at home with the variety of creatures that Zita meets.
This is one of those great graphic novels that belongs in every library collection. Sure to check out and be very popular, just face this one out and watch it check out of the library. Appropriate for ages 8-12.
To get a sense of the illustrations, you can view the video below:
Zita the Spacegirl Trailer
Reviewed from copy received from First Second.
Also reviewed by:
The Literate Mother
Little Lamb Books
Perpetual Learner
Now--here's something you don't see everyday. A graphic novel (or any book for that matter,) with the by-line, "Yet another troll-fighting 11-year-old Orthodox Jewish Girl." Whaaaat?! You can't judge a book by its cover, but you sure can be pulled in by a hook like that. And since Hereville is one of the contenders for the School Library Journal Battle of the Kid's Books, and I need to make some
Hello again residence of the "Land of Blog." Sorry it has been awhile since my last post but a Library Ninjas Job can be very time consuming. Here are some of the things I have been up to since my last post for example:
Defending myself from "The Evil Squirrel League of Ninja Assassins." Let me tell you something, these guys may be small but their vicious!!!!!!You would be surprised about how upset some people become when they can't find the book they want at the library!!!!
And finally finding a new hobby while not being an ultra violent Library Ninja.
0 Comments on Good Graphic Novel Reads! as of 1/1/1900
Several years ago I started reading and reviewing the Artemis Fowl books by Eoin Colfer, and in no time I was hooked. Just like so many other readers from around the world, I eagerly waited for the next title in the series to come out. I am delighted to tell you that Hyperion is now publishing graphic novel versions of the books. Here is the first Artemis Fowl story in graphic novel form.
Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
Illustrated by Giovanni Rigano and Pailo Lamanna
Graphic Novel
Ages 10 and up
Hyperion, 2007, 07884881-2
There can be no doubt that Artemis Fowl, though only twelve years old, is a force to be reckoned with. Brilliant, ruthless, and the heir to a criminal empire, Artemis has decided that the family coffers are in need of a healthy influx of gold. Does Artemis try to rob a bank or break into Fort Knox? Indeed he does not, for Artemis is above such mundane crimes. Instead Artemis is going to separate the People from their gold. That’s right, Artemis is going to steal from the fairy folk.
Artemis has been doing a lot of research about these magical creatures, and when he manages to acquire the Book, the fairy bible if you will, he is fully equipped to deal with anything that the fairies throw at him. With the help of his bodyguard and aide, Butler, Artemis kidnaps Captain Holly Short, a fairy who is an officer in Recon, an elite fairy police force. If the fairies want Captain Short back, they are going to have to relinquish a sizeable amount of their gold reserves.
Of course, the Book does not prepare Artemis for the determination of the Recon commander, Commander Root, nor does it warn him about Mulch Diggums, a kleptomaniac dwarf who can dig himself in and out of almost anywhere. With Mulch’s help, Commander Root sets about trying to free Captain Holly. Who is going to prevail in this battle of wills and wits? Will Artemis’ actions bring humans and the People to the point of war?
This fascinating and gripping graphic novel, will give older readers a very unique look at the fairy world. The fairies in this graphic novel are not ethereal delicate-winged creatures who sip from spring flowers. These are
When I was an editor at Nickelodeon Magazine, my boss Chris Duffy and I were often asked to participate in panel discussions at comic conventions on the topic of Kids' Comics. We were joined by other well-intentioned editors, writers, and artists whose work was considered kid-friendly, to have conversations about our own childhoods, the changing marketplace, distribution issues, old titles no longer published, and so on. The vagueness of the title and panel descriptions meant parents brought their kids, expecting to be entertained by their favorite creators. This was rarely the case, and I felt guilty when kids fell asleep or asked to leave.
So Chris and I started wondering, what if we did a comics panel that was actually for the kids, rather than talking about them as case subjects? But it was seeing R. Sikoryak's Carousel show that truly inspired us.
R. Sikoryak (author of Masterpiece Comics) assembled about five different cartoonists at a small theater space called Dixon Place in New York City. Each of them performed a short story or chapter from their book in front of a live audience. Up until this point, the execution of a comic book reading seemed enigmatic. Did you read the dialogue and then turn the book around so everyone could see the art, like you would a picture book? If you handed out copies of the book to the audience, how would you keep the audience from reading ahead?
I’m sure Sikoryak wasn't the first person to project comics on a large screen using a laptop and Powerpoint, but I like to give him credit for fine-tuning the experience. Each story in the Carousel was cropped into individual panels, and projected one at a time. Sometimes additional editing was done so there was never more than a single word balloon shown, until the next line of dialog was read aloud. Each cartoonist performed specific characters and teamed up with fellow creators to help them do alternating voices. Some stories even had musical or sound effect cues.
Although the Carousel show at Dixon Place was intended for adults (most of the works were by alternative cartoonists), I knew it would work equally well for kids. Sikoryak had been a frequent contributor to Nickelodeon Magazine, so I reached out to him about organizing a kid-friendly Carousel for the New York Comic Con with some of the Nick Mag artists. He was into the idea, and took it to the next level by suggesting we incorporate some of the magazine's special 3-D comics into the presentation. We handed out 3-D glasses so the audience could view them properly!
Chris and I also took a cue from Daniel Handler's live Lemony Snicket appearances, creating fake personas and gimmicks that made kids question what was a joke and what was real. We built a cardboard computer prop called Deep Orange, and had co-workers dress as lab technicians, tending to the machine's paper-cup knobs while it supposedly tried to create more efficient comics than the human cartoonists (Bill Alger and Karen Sneider).
We also had kids come to the stage to create dialog for Sam Henderson's wordless comics, and gave the audience noisemakers so they could root for gag cartoons they liked.
The first Nick Mag Carous
FIVE YEARS!
And what a way to celebrate! Get a glimpse of the 2011 crop—the quality is dizzying across the list. Have a peek at these covers!
And the line-up! Nick Bertozzi, Ben Hatke, Jim Ottaviani, Leland Myrick, Gene Yang, Thien Pham, Vera Brosgol, Carla Jablonski, Leland Purvis, George O'Connor, Dave Roman, Sara Varon, Derek Kirk Kim, Stan Nicholls, Joe Flood, MK Reed, Jonathan Hill, Glenn Eichler, Joe Infurnari, Amir & Khalil—
It's too much! My little heart cannot bear so much brilliance heaped upon genius!
Oh, and there's our Nursery Rhymes book in the mix! By 50 of the world's most beloved cartoonists, including Roz Chast, Jaime Hernandez, Richard Thompson, Mike Mignola, and the list goes on and on. Can you stand this much mouth-watering excellence in one short blog post?
Well, 2009 and a painful recession taught us humility, but now it's time for hubris and arrogance again. What, with a year of offerings like these?
Seriously, though: presenting you with First Second's 2011 offerings, this year of our fifth anniversary—is making us all incredibly proud and happy. Please share this with everyone you know
When I was a child many of us, children and adults alike, eagerly waited for the next James Bond film to come out. A big group of us would go down to the local cinema theater to cheer on James Bond as he tackled and defeated bad guys. Later, as an adult, I read many of Ian Fleming's James Bond books. Now there is a series of books for young readers that are about the young James Bond. Today I have a review of the graphic novel version of the first
Young Bond book. I know some of you will think that a graphic novel does not qualify as a picture book, but I thought I would bend the strict definition a little so that I could include some 'picture books' for older readers.
Charlie Higson
Illustrated by Kev Walker
Graphic Novel
Ages 10 and up
Hyperion, 2008, 978-142313022-2
James Bond is not sure about being at Eton. It is a different world there and the rules and customs are rather irksome. Then there is the fact that one boy, an American by the name of George Hellebore, seems to be determined to make James’s life at school as miserable as possible. Every time they meet the two boys clash, and when James beats George in a cross-country race, the situation is only made worse.
When he heads off for Scotland to spend the Easter holidays with his aunt Charmian and his ailing uncle Max, James hopes that he won’t have to think about George and their rivalry for a while. Unfortunately, he soon finds out that George’s father, Lord Hellebore, owns a castle not far from where James is going to be staying, and George is there. James can only hope that they will not have to meet at all.
Soon after he arrives in Scotland, James joins Kelly, a London boy, in the search for a missing Scottish boy called Alfie. Their investigations lead them to the castle of Lord Hellebore next to Lake Silverfin. James has already encountered Lord Hellebore at Eton and he does not like the man. When Jam
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, due out September 2011).
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, by Amy Ignatow - for its humor, its illustrations and its message about friendship. And they were thrilled when I told them a sequel is coming out. So there were many excited kids when I told them that Amy Ignatow is coming to our school to talk with them about 
. She's in the middle of a great book tour, so 
The Popularity Papers: Book Two
and 
have been particularly popular in our school library. Both available as paperbacks for your home library.
Clues in the Attic
Hi Gretchen -- Great post! Thanks for being our investigative reporter.
I loved your book trailer. In what ways do you plan to use it to let folks know about your book?
Thanks Barbara. I put my trailer on youtube, teachertube, my website, my publisher's website, and on the blog interviews I'm doing for the book. There are Oscars (called Mobies) for trailers and probably some more awards I don't know about. I'll include it in my school talks as well. Evidently librarians love them for book talks with kids.