I have been a fan of the
Scary Godmother for some time now. I loved the cartoons on television, and was bound a determined to find some of Jill Thompson's books of the same name. It was hard, however, as they seemed to be out of print. Thanks to Dark Horse Books' release of all of the stories bound together in one GORGeous hardcover edition, I was able to go to my
local independent comic shop and pick up this coffee table worthy book.
Found inside are 5 quintessential Scary Godmother stories: "The Scary Godmother", "The Revenge of Jimmy", "The Mystery Date", "The Boo Flu", and "Tea for Orson". Readers will quickly get acquainted with life on the Fright Side as well as the main characters of The Scary Godmother, Hannah Marie, Jimmy, Skully Pettibone and the rest. Told with panels, but with straight lines of text as well, Scary Godmother truly blends the lines between graphic novel, illustrated novel and picture book.
The big sell of this collection is, of course, Thompson's art. She is an
accomplished illustrator who has worked on everything from
Sandman to
Wonder Woman . Her spooky palette of orange, black, purple, and green will appeal not only to the youngest tweens, but to burgeoning goths as well. My personal favourite panels are in silhouette with orange background and show such scenes are Scary Godmother swooping down the stairs with Hannah Marie, or a macabre parade of monsters heading over to Scary Godmother's place to find out who she fancies.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!
The Curse of the Campfire Weenies: And Other Warped and Creepy Tales by David Lubar, Audiobook read by Paul Michael Garcia, Blackstone Audio, 2009 (review copy source: public library audiobook download)
Dear David Lubar,
I confess that I've seen references to books that you have written and I have had the general impression that you were an author whose work I would enjoy. Alas, I never got around to picking up one of your books.
As I listened to story after story in this collection, I realized that I had no idea, not one, zip, zero to the negative 39th power that this splendid, enthralling, original, perfectly paced and balanced assemblage of creepy, odd, and perfectly, wonderfully, strange stories existed.
All these years, all those OPAC searches watching kids type in the keyword "scary" and I could have been handing kids THESE books.
This book includes stories that will make the reader laugh, snort, shiver, gasp, gulp and start with surprise. There are several I've already marked for read-alouds. "The Unforgiving Tree" about a tree with a grudge, has to be one of my favorites so far. Reluctant readers would fight over this book. I can only imagine what the other books in the Weenie series are like.
I stand abashed and humbled. I will, however, now strive to make amends. I cannot think of a better book to celebrate Halloween or to share at the next camp out or sleepover.
