Daddy Mojo, Author at Daddy Mojo

The Fall of the House of Tatterly, mglit that almost nails it

I saw a football game the other day that reminded me of The Fall of the House of Tatterly, but more about that in a moment. The Fall of the House of Tatterly is an mglit book about ghosts, mediums, exorcisms, family tradition, teen angst and the low country in South Carolina. That’s a place that we vacation yearly and this book jams the aesthetics to that area so well you’ll be checking the spine of the book for Spanish Moss. As a book, it does so many things right that it’s reminiscent of a football game where most of it is so one-sided, with such a dominant level of play that it’s unbelievable how far it fell when the final page is turned.

The Fall of the House of Tatterly is mglit that effectively lives in the ghostly low country, but aspires for greater cultural ambitions.

A strong 85%

Sick!, an eye-catching, appropriate name for a gateway STEM graphic novel

If elementary school-age students latched onto the disgusting elements of science I’m convinced that more people would follow the STEM path. I also fully believe that in 2034, many actively working scientists will cite Phineas and Ferb as a main influence. Sick! The Twists and Turns Behind Animal Germs is a STEM book that’s disgusting in all of the right ways.

Sick! The Twists and Turns Behind Animal Germs is an engaging chapter graphic novel on how little things are a big deal to animals.

A smart chapter graphic novel, yeah that’s a thing

Big Ideas from History: A History of the World For You, critical think 101

The problem with history textbooks is that they don’t put things into a conversational tone that makes kids curious. They do have photographs and illustrations but the text blurbs are usually quite short and just like Jack Webb or J. Jonah Jameson, they list just the facts. Sometimes they follow up every other page with a thinking activity or series of questions that students will leave blank or fill out with incomplete sentences when asked to answer them by the teacher. Big Ideas from History is an intelligent reference book that looks at integral chapters in history, like evolution, the start of religion, the ends of civilizations, science, and many more big concept issues.

Big Ideas from History: A History of the World for You examines world history from the perspective of facts, opinions, and curiosity.

Don’t fear books that make you think or ask big questions

City Spies: Mission Manhattan, almost measures up to its predecessors

The great thing about a franchise is that it’s dependable. City Spies by New York Times Bestselling author James Ponti is one of the go-to mglit book series for upper-elementary through middle school readers who know. The first four books, and about half of Mission Manhattan, read like a screenplay that is primed and ready to become the next movie franchise that you didn’t know you needed. They’re loaded with enough action, teen-centric humor, and intrigue to keep ages 8-12 entertained and invested in the group’s progress. The group goes on supervised missions where adult spies would look too out of place and each spy is named after the mega city from which they’re from, like Rio, London, Cairo, etc. City Spies: Mission Manhattan finds the group of teenage spies-in-training in Italy and New York embroiled in a plot to save a fellow teenager from danger within her camp.

City Spies: Mission Manhattan is the fifth book in this go-to mglit book series and almost hits the same league as its predecessors

City Spies 5 aims for the same highs, but falls just a bit short

Hooray for She, He, Ze, and They!, too much for too young

I was teaching a fifth-grade class the other year and one of the smarter (see: clever) kids asked me, “Mr. Trey, did you just misgender me?” The kid then followed it up with, “Mr. Trey, what are your pronouns?” Without missing a beat, I said, “Dude, my pronouns are Shut and Up, now be quiet and do your work.” It was obvious that this student was not curious about today’s social morays or furthering the cause of gender identity. He was mocking it, knew that I would get his quip and suspected that the rest of the class would be oblivious to his verbal prank, and he was correct.

I mention that story to say that Hooray for She, He, Ze, and They!: What Are Your Pronouns Today? is an illustrated book geared for early elementary-aged students. It’s an illustrated book that makes The Sublime Ms. Stacks come across as wholesome as The Waltons or as a needed introduction for today’s youth who need a pronoun that they change according to their mood, depending on your view.

Hooray for She, He, Ze and They! What Are Your Pronouns Today? Is a noble book whose target audience is too young for the social message.

Zes is zthe book on pronounz for ze children

The Catwings Complete Collection, confidence-building fun for young readers

Confidence makes doing anything easier. Ask an elementary-aged kid if they can dance and they’ll contort six ways from Saturday. Ask an adult to dance and you’re likely to get a muted stare and a wavering hand in search of a drink. The same can also be said for asking if someone is an artist. Young readers need to gain confidence early too, the sooner that they realize that they can read, the easier it is for them to jump into more age-appropriate text and read to learn, instead of learning to read. The Catwings Complete Collection has the four classic books in the series from Ursula K. Le Guin in one package.

The Catwings Complete Collection is the book series for getting kindergarten through fourth engage in chapter books.

Early chapter book series, meet willing young audiences

Finn’s Little Fibs proves that less is more in this go-to illustrated book series

Tom Percival is the king of illustrated books about children’s emotions and feelings. Long live the king. Granted, that’s a niche arena, but nobody does these types of books better than Percival. Finn’s Little Fibs is the ninth entry in the Big Bright Feelings Book series, and it burns with the same guilt-free energy that the rest of them do. But what makes a great illustrated book, much less one that’s attempting to teach a lesson?

Finn’s Little Fibs is an illustrated book by Tom Percival that uses detailed art, a classic feel and brief text to effortlessly teach a lesson via the book’s character.

Come for the lessons, stay for the story and art

A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures, fun learning you don’t expect

I love books like A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures, An Illustrated Encyclopedia. It’s an entertaining reference book with dozens of critters that I hope to never encounter and that students are intrigued by. This is the sort of book that will hook mid to upper-elementary school students who have caught the ‘animal bug’ and need to do those first essays. As a saving grace to those educators who have to read or listen to those essays, A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures has multiple dozens of them that they haven’t heard of before. The odds of having your educator’s eyes gloss over because you’ve heard about the Brazilian Death Beetle one too many times.

A Curious Collection of Dangerous Creatures: An Illustrated Encyclopedia is a fun, fresh take on the critters that stoke the imaginations of kids aged 8 and up.

reference books need not be borning nor cookie cutter