Books | Page 34 of 82

Stuntboy is the start of a fabulous, fart-free, graphic novel series

In the best of all possible ways, Stuntboy has an old-school strand woven all through the book. Even before you read the graphic novel that seed is sown when you turn the cover and see what author Jason Reynolds has written. It’s the dedication page where authors and illustrators dedicate the book or thank influential people in their lives. Reynolds’ blurb simply says “For ten-year old me” and illustrator Raul the Third’s is dedicated to the Village Two apartments where he grew up. Stuntboy has the DNA of a 10-year-old all through it. It’s also a graphic novel with the sensibilities of a traditional book, where the written words navigate its direction.

Stuntboy is the start of a great graphic novel series that will sit alongside Captain Underpants in elementary school libraries.

A graphic novel series that will be shared and constantly checked out

A Day In The Life of A Poo, A Gnu and You is a go-to STEM reference

Everything old is new again. That phrase comes to mind when realizing some of the great books that came out during the pandemic that didn’t receive the attention that they deserve. A Day In The Life Of A Poo, A Gnu, and You, a Laugh-Out-Loud Guide to Life on Earth is one of those books. It’s as big as an illustrated book, yet has the depth and weight of a reference book, but has more colors and graphics than some comic books or graphic novels. As if the book is attempting to pile on its brownie points, it’s educational, funny, ridiculously entertaining, and wait for it….one that kids will really want to read.

A Day In The Life of A Pooh is at the intersection of comic book, reference material, large-form graphic novel, and humor mag that’s been given a STEM jacket to wear.

The intersection of comic/graphic novel/reference, funny book

Rube Goldberg and His Amazing Machines, the curse continues

When our boys were younger they’d receive Rube Goldberg toys as presents from time to time. They were poorly made, never worked and made us yearn for our Mousetrap game from the 1970s. Rube Goldberg and His Amazing Machines is the first in a series of books with a middle school version of the titular character. This is an intellectual property that exudes characteristics that any parent wants their child to emulate. The characters in the story are ones that kids will like also. It’s therefore really ironic that the book doesn’t connect with middle school readers.

Rube Goldberg and His Amazing Machines tries to capture the inventor, madcap sprit in a tween book, but lets loose some of the mojo.

The mystique doesn’t measure up the book

Inside In, is hypnotic photo-oriented STEM for six and up

Kids are inherently curious and that’s a fact that applies to every child regardless of age. Rare is the book that makes middle school and elementary school students equally curious. Either the book is too simple for older readers, too advanced for younger readers, has content that’s in-between the two demographics or simply just is not interesting. Inside In is a book that immediately grabs the attention of kids aged six through 14 and even north of that. It’s a coffee table book for STEM-minded folks, as well as, those who simply like to take their mind on a trip. The subtitle of the book, X-Rays of Nature’s Hidden World, gives you the immediate reason as to why kids will be engrossed in it.

Inside In sounds like a typo, instead, it’s a photo-centric book on X-Rays and how they can show the art of things hidden in plain sight.

Art by another nam is just an x-Ray

Birdie’s Billions, realistic fiction ages 9 and up already think about

You need to read this book. I love it when our 12 year-old says something like that. When he does, he usually follows it up with some sort of qualifier like, it’s really good, the chapters are funny or some other attribute before going off to find his phone. He read Birdie’s Billions in just under a week before saying that to me. My inner-dad voice was telling me to be wary of his recommendation.

Birdie’s Billions is realistic fiction that will hook in readers who normally don’t dig this genre. It’s fun, real and centers on something they all think about.

MGLIT that makes kids think, even if they don’t admit it

Scary Stories for Young Foxes: The City is must-read mglit

Scary Stories for Young Foxes was one of our favorite books from 2020. It crackled with tension and age-appropriate scares in a way that classic books do. Using a storyteller as a means of breaking the dire circumstances that mglit characters encounter can be an awesome and effective way to make things real, but also very relatable. It’s also notable that the book did not immediately feel like it led to another one in a series. That’s what’s so surprising about Scary Stories for Young Foxes: The City.

Scary Stories for Young Foxes: The City is the second book in this series that brilliantly tells the story of fox life from their perspective.

One of the years’ best, in any year

Sea Lions In The Parking Lot, empty space through the eyes of animals

That sounds like some code or warning that big box stores have, doesn’t it? In reality, Sea Lions In The Parking Lot is an illustrated book that looks at some of the ways that wildlife was affected during the height of the COVID pandemic. It’s a large book that sets up each scene with a half of a page to a page of text that vividly describes what it’s normally like for the animals. The next two pages are big, realistic illustrations of these otherwise wild animals in situations that are urban and strange.

Sea Lions In The Parking Lot is an illustrated book that looks at how some otherwise wild animals behaved during the height of the COVID pandemic.

Exactly how did the height of the COVID pandemic affect otherwise wild animals?

Cat Ninja: Time Heist, a graphic novel purrfect for elementary ages

How elementary schools receive their books is a fascinating world. I’m in a different elementary school library almost every school day and the fact that I don’t see some series is quite surprising. One of them that is top of mind is the Investigators series. That series of graphic novels is one that every kid aged eight and up would love. In other cat-egories, Cat Ninja is a graphic novel series that elementary schools (and their readers) would laugh at, share, talk about, and would be constantly checked out by an eager queue of boys and girls alike. The second book in the series, Cat Ninja: Time Heist rips through the psyche of a typical nine-year-old-like catnip that’s been teasing placed on the back of a tiny revolving toy mouse.

Cat Ninja: Time Heist is the second of three graphic novels that needs to be in any elementary school library.

This book, and this series is peferct for ages 8 and up