Daddy Mojo, Author at Daddy Mojo

Far Out! uses UFOs as cover for a deeper story

Imagine that I’m going to tell you a story about pizza. This pizza starts out in a kitchen, it’s dirtier than most places to cook that you’ve seen, but it gets the job done. The person who works in this kitchen is quite the character. They’ve also got a family who is going through some challenging times that are firmly in the vein of realistic fiction. Having said all of that, is my story more about the pizza, the family, or the place where it’s cooked? Far Out! is mglit that has a similar problem. Its cover hooks you with the 1960s-styled couple of teenagers who are sitting on a wall at night. The girl is using a magnifying glass to examine a rock and the boy is looking towards the sky, presumably for UFOs.

Far Out! is mglit with a deeper story that readers who like to read will enjoy, but uses UFOs to bait the hook.

Don’t judge a book by its cover, really

NASCAR 75 Years bristles with life and the speed of the sport

NASCAR 75 is a coffee table book that does exactly what well-crafted books in that category should do. Imagine a topic that you have no interest in, yet you pick up that thick, curiously oversized book when you’re at a friend’s house and become immersed in the topic that’s front and center. It’s a book that’s bathed in full-color photographs, hundreds of text blurbs explaining their relevance, and chapters that hold your hand as it explains why untold numbers of people find this topic fascinating. NASCAR 75 Years is the hardcover, coffee table book that does all of that.

NAscar 75 years does is soup to nut racing for fans and the masses

Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms delivers the sophomore goods

Oh Lia Park, you continue to defy our expectations. Your freshman book, Lia Park and the Missing Jewel, had all of the markings for rote, by-the-numbers mglit, until I actually read it. The stereotypical place where I thought your book should be categorized was replaced with variety, a great heel, and a breathlessly fun pace. Now the second book in the series, Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms, opens with Lia’s summer coming to an end and her attendance at the International Magic School about to commence. Hey, look, another book about teen kids at a magic school, where do I sign up to read this one? Yet again, author Jenna Yoon spins a tale that takes staple elements and situations, and turns it into an mglit read that will satisfy fans of the genre and beyond.

Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms stares at the sophomore book curse and happily dances past it with humor, action and quality world building.

Lia Park, going all Empire strikes back in an mglit way

The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie wills itself into your bookshelf

When the first book in The One and Only Sparkella series came out I was not a fan. Because it’s written by Channing Tatum I placed the book in the category of ‘published due to his fame’ and not on the merits of the book. Well, here we are three books into the series and I find myself eating a large plate of crow. The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie is cut from the same template as the first two books which ran with energy and color.

The One and Only Sparkella and the Big Lie is a charming book about being a good friend, telling the truth and bringing others into the fold.

Year after year, MomoCon just gets better

MomoCon 2023 is in the books and it marks the seventh time that we’ve attended with our children. They’re 13 and 11 now and the difference in how they’ve engaged with the con is dramatic and has kept up with the times. I’ll explain more about that in a moment, but one of the first things out of mouth, when I tell teachers or parents about MomoCon, is that it truly is an all-ages con.

MomoCon just gets better as our children get older. They’re able to dig into the anime or manga booths, watch wrestling, video game competitions and view the stunning cosplay.

Momocon is to be marked on your calendar every year

The Counter Clockwise Heart starts with some of the best 8 pages in mglit

The Counter Clockwise Heart feels like that classic fairy tale that you were never told. It’s a remarkable book that could’ve been three times as long, but in doing so would’ve been half as interesting. The first chapter in The Counter Clockwise Heart is one of the best introductions we’ve read this year. In those eight pages it perfectly sets up the world of the book’s inhabitants. It does so in a way that alludes to great danger and flashes back to times of unimaginable peril. The Counter Clockwise Heart manages to do all of this in a constant, taut manner in a way that will pay reading dividends to those who are looking for a breath of mglit fresh air.

So wonderful that you wish you hadn’t read it, so that you dig it for the first time

All Aboard! The Sesame Street Subway is rabbit hole, Extend-A-Book magic

For a time period in every kid’s life, they’ll hopefully be best friends with a book. For many of those on the younger spectrum, it’ll happen when they’re in pre-k or even younger. It’s those board books that they’re able to wrangle with their evolving hands. When they get slightly older the pages get skinnier and are combined with more content. Abrams Extend-A-Book has created a new category that overlaps those two and created an entirely new area. All Aboard! The Sesame Street Subway is an Extend-A-Book that will make the eyes of those pre-k kids bug out as if they’re tasting chocolate ice cream for the first time.

All Aboard! The Sesame Street Subway is an Abrams Extend-A-Book and stretches out the pages to where those who love Big Bird can ride along in a book that they’ll love.

So entertaining that older kids will find something to love

Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Take A Hike!, is the start of something wonderful

This is the start of a beautiful friendship. When you read Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Take A Hike! you might be reminded of when you first dug into Dog Man or InvestiGators. When you read both of the first books in those series, especially the latter one, you immediately wanted more once the last page turned over and the book was finished. Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Take A Hike! leaves you with that same desire. Take A Hike! operates in that early graphic novel space that lower to upper-elementary school kids crave. It’s relentlessly silly, has chapters to provide confidence to those young ages, full-color illustrations, and effortlessly entertains readers whose minds can easily be distracted.

Schnozzer & Tatertoes: Take A Hike! is an all age graphic novel that’s enjoyable from the first read and will produce repeat giggles for elementary ages.

Scoot to the store and get this silly all-age graphic novel already