Entertainment | Page 18 of 89

Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster is an elementary school go-to

Subscribe: RSS

Inspector Flytrap approves. For that matter, so do Princess Labelmaker, Emperor Pickeltine, Origami Yoda and many others. Tom Angleberger is the author that lives in your child’s library. The Strange Case of Origami Yoda and its series is what your middle school student knows the best. That series of books has sold more than four million copies. The elementary school reader knows Inspector Flytrap and laughed along the way with this very enjoyable series. Now, from the pages of Inspector Flytrap comes Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster. This is the first in a three-book mini-series about a spy who is also a dodo and your first through fourth grade readers will love this book.

Our fourth grade student took the book from my office and promptly misplaced it. Coincidentally, he lost it after he read it, so he was able to tell me that it was great, very funny and much like Inspector Flytrap. I asked him to go into detail about the book and all he could remember was that it was about Didi Dodo and a stolen brownie recipe. “Oh, but you’ll love it”, he reassured me.

Sure enough, after finding the book he was right. Didi Dodo, Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster is just the sort of book that kids in fist through fourth grade will love. Those on the younger side of that range will need to read it with someone older, but those third graders will be able to breeze through the book and enjoy every moment.

It has the same vibe as Inspector Flytrap and that’s because Angleberger wanted this character to live in the same world as her erstwhile bug eating friend. He’s creating his own elementary school, early chapter book universe where they can cross over, ever so briefly for a cameo, guest spot or assistance solving crimes. There is a little crossover in this book, but for the most part it’s all Didi Dodo, plus Koko Dodo-who is a great baker, Cousin Yuk Yuk, Penguini and a couple others.

The chapters in the book are short enough for struggling readers to read one and feel accomplished. They’re also short enough for. The book is also complimented with illustrations by Jared Chapman. Chapman has a way of drawing characters that perfectly capture the chaos and mayhem that they’re thinking. You’re looking for an angry yak that looks like Slim Pickens mixed with a James Bond villain? No problem he’s in the book and provides horsepower of energy to keep our future spy hero on the run towards success.

Didi Dodo: Future Spy, Recipe for Disaster is great. Kids will reread it a couple of times and then ask when the next one comes out. This is where you can recommend Inspector Flytrap if they’re in elementary school or age them up a bit for the Origami Yoda series. Either way they’ll have a hoot of a time while they wait for the next one.

Missing Link will wow, impress and entertain ages 7 and up

We look forward to every film that Laika puts out. It’s ironic that as a youth stop-motion animation scared me, but now it’s an art form that I’ll go out of my way to view. It’s even more ironic that our 9 year-old loves the medium also. He was all in from the moment he saw the trailer for Missing Link. I was in also, but much like when we saw Kubo and the Two Strings, we had to check our reviewer hat at the door.

Sir Lionel Frost (left) voiced by Hugh Jackman and Mr. Link (right) voiced by Zach Galifianakis in director Chris Butler’s MISSING LINK, a Laika Studios Production and Annapurna Pictures release. Credit : Laika Studios / Annapurna Pictures

First off, as a technical exercise in film-making, Missing Link is masterful. The film employs stop-motion animation, 3-D printing, puppets and more. From a movie wonk perspective the film is stunning, but movie geeks are looking for these things. Impress me, I say to myself as I see a film from Laika-and they never fail to do so. Missing Link raises the animation bar from its already high standard from Kubo.

Did you ever see Wallace and Gromit, The Wrong Trousers? There’s a sequence in there where Wallace is chasing the penguin while riding a train set. When I first saw that I was amazed. There is so much movement in each shot, coupled with entertainment and laughs for an almost silent film that it (still) blows me away.

There are multiple scenes in Missing Link that gave me that same feeling. Early in the film our explorer, Sir Lionel Frost, voiced by Hugh Jackman, crosses a shallow pond to meet the mysterious author of a note that was sent to him. When Frost’s foot enters the pond, as well as, a couple other water/ice scenes were jaw dropping. I know it’s a scale model clay figure, but they feel human and make us care about them.

So, the film was a technical marvel, we kind of expect that from Laika. I took two 9 year-olds to see the film, did they like it? One of them had never seen a stop-motion film before and was a bit confused. They both enjoyed the film, as much as a 9 year-old can, but they weren’t doing cartwheels as they left the theater.

On the other hand, I was reeling in its moments, the obvious humor, the very dry humor (courtesy of Zach Galifiankis as Mr. Link), the dry/icy puns put forth by Emma Thompson and more. As an adult, who loves great movies, this was a great time at the cinema that will be repeated many times at home. We also took a 7 year-old to the theater and he laughed the loudest. Perhaps most surpsingly, he laughed at the dry part of the film, which promptly led us to go home and watch some episodes of Mr. Bean or Monty Python.

Personally, this is the best Laika film. It’s wildly entertaining, varied and has a cohesive, linear story that checks off all of the stop-motion dots. It’s a gorgeous time at the cinema for fans of Laika, stop-motion movies. For those outside of those camps it’s still entertaining. For example, our neighbor saw the film and thought it was ‘cute’, while his 9 year-old daughter thought that it was entertaining. We’ll invite the two of them over to watch Kubo or Wallace and Gromit later.

Missing Link is art, yet it’s approachable art for elementary school ages and up that like entertaining films. The curve ball happens because Laika has produced something so different to what most audiences have seen. It’s not different as in ‘challenging’, it’s just a form of animation that they may not be used to seeing. Case in point, Missing Link is leagues above the most recent PG rated film that they saw, which was computer animated. This is heart, soul and fun, but some younger audiences might not see it over the clay skin that they’re wearing.

Dragons Get Colds Too doesn’t catch fire

I love pizza. However, after having eaten pizza for more than a couple of decades I’ve realized that while bad pizza is almost impossible, there certainly are varying degrees of its caliber or preference. Dragons Get Colds Too is a book about being sick, acknowledging that you’re sick and hopefully, respecting the caregiver who is assisting you. If this book were a pizza place then it’d be a pleasant enough place with OK tasting pie that fills you up, but isn’t one that you’d visit unless it wan on the way to where you’re going.

Dragons, dragons get colds too, children’s illustrated book, children’s book

The premise of the Dragons Get Colds Too is certainly one that any parent can relate to. There’s a sick patient who isn’t being the best recipient of care that’s being offered to them. It’s a situation that is ripe for comedy and lessons that can hopefully be learned by younger readers.

The book is told in a step-by-step process where the girl is being instructed by a doctor and their book on what to do for the dragon. The issue for us, and our 7YO reader, is that the book felt stilted and lost its rhythm every time the narrator and their book popped up on the page. In some books the narrator moves the book along nicely, however, in this book it’s more confusing and distracting than an asset to the story.

There are some humorous physical elements that the book brings up about caring for something as large as a dragon. They breathe fire, their neck is impossibly long and their snot is especially gooey. The illustrations are clever enough, everybody loves a dragon right? However, the book moves so slowly that few audiences, except for the dragon die hards and those looking for a children’s illustrated book about being sick will want a repeat reading.

It also has lots of white space on the pages. Granted this is a pet peeve of ours, but I find that pages with more color tend to capture and hold the attention of young readers more effectively. If you’re a fan of dragon books, buying books for a doctor’s waiting room or for the kid’s renaissance fair this book is for you, otherwise, it’s one that you’ll want to get from the library.

Secrets of Topsea, The Extremely High Tide! Is lovably weird and pleasant

A couple of years ago my wife and I went out for date night. It’s that mythical time where moms and dads leave the kids at home then out with other parents, get a drink and eat food with too much cheese. When we got home, part of our conversation led me to say, “the journey is the destination”. Mind you, this was years before I heard it used as a luxury car tagline. But, when I said it, my wife commented that it made sense, we weren’t headed to a big finale, rather; life is the little things that we do and encounter on the way. Secrets of Topsea, The Extremely High Tide! By Kir Fox and M. Shelley Coats is a book that fits that description.

This is the second book in the Secrets of Topsea series and it solidifies the tone that the authors are going for. I’ll readily admit that I didn’t get the first book in the series, A Friendly Town That’s Almost Always by the Ocean. I thought it was slow, pointless, weird and rather aimless.

With The Extremely High Tide! I get it now-and so will any middle school readers who latch onto this series. As it wears its weirdness as a superhero cape you don’t really need to read the first book to understand what’s going on.

Talise is a fifth-grade student who knows a lot about the ocean. She also has a pet sea blob and has a fear of rubber ducks. As the book starts we see the class by the seaside. Not long after that Talise finds a bottle with a note in it. The note has a drawing of a boat and Talise takes that as an omen that she should build a boat.

This is where the ‘journey is the destination’ aspect factors in. The boat and the journey to build it seems like it’s a main plot point. However, the main thing that ties the characters together is friendship, albeit a friendship that’s painted across all manner of oddities. Parents will also enjoy this series because it manages to keep young reader’s attention without any potty humor. Granted, potty humor is more of a low elementary thing, I’m sure it’s just our upper elementary reader who can’t seem to squeeze it out of his system.

Another thing that the book does well is to balance the interest between boys and girls. The main character is a girl, but it’s not set against a Lilith Fair quilt. Girls will enjoy it more than boys, but not by much. It’s odd and creative to where the overwhelming vibe of the book is trippy, fun and silly-without being sophomoric.

The chapters are presented in a creative, unpredictable fashion with some pages pushing the story forward. Other chapters are short newspaper clippings or the cafeteria menu. In other words, it’s a format that middle school readers will be immediately attracted to, because the journey is the destination.

Win passes to the Atlanta sneak preview of Missing Link

I love it when our kids get pumped about the same film that we are. I heard our 9 year-old laughing as he was watching a trailer on the tablet the other week. “Daddy, when does Missing Link come out”?, he said from the other room. Missing Link, rated PG, comes out on April 12 and it’s from Laika, a studio that can do no wrong in our book. The technical precision that started in Coraline is continuing with Missing Link and we’re giving away family four-packs of tickets to the sneak preview in Atlanta on Saturday, April 6.

I’m a fan of stop-animation. I admire the precision and passion that go into each movement, as well as, the uniqueness that it displays on film. Granted some standard animated films get close to that feeling, but something is just not quite the same. I’ll also submit that a bad script can’t overcome the beauty of the how it’s created. To that end Missing Link look s like it’s set up Laika for a solid, entertaining film.

The trailer has some nice physical gags to entertain younger viewers and the dialogue appears to be sharply written with just enough dry humor to touch older audiences. Of course, all of this is mute until audiences can see the film and render a verdict for themselves. The sneak preview of Missing Link in Atlanta is Saturday, April 6. It’s in the morning and we’ll let winners know exactly when and where the showing will be. Hint: It’ll be around midtown…., so it’s centrally located to wherever you are around the ATL.

To enter, just leave a comment in this post or RT the tweet. We’ve got a handful of 4-packs to give away.

Win passes to the Atlanta sneak preview of Missing Link https://t.co/Uvs440s4LG, #MissingLink, #Atlanta, #sneakpeak pic.twitter.com/TLD6TfBI1C
— Daddy Mojo (@Daddymojo) March 22, 2019

Crafty Llama is an illustrated children’s book ewe’ll love

Crafty llama, mike kerr, renata liwska, craft, crafty, illustrated book

Sometimes I squeal when books arrive. I let out a small one when Crafty Llama arrived at the office. This is not a book that was on my radar. I knew nothing about it. Yet, when I saw the cover something about this children’s illustrated book seemed so warm and comforting it simply felt like something we already knew. And, to be clear, I don’t mean that in the sense of old and repetitious. This was more of a comfort food feeling, for example, a food that I eat when I need solace, like clam chowder on a cold winter day….in case you’re in the area.

Crafty Llama is by Mike Kerr with illustrations by Renata Liwska. Its subtitle is, A story about crafting, friendship and the very best gifts. The book starts with Llama walking home on a warm summer day. When she gets home she knows that there are legitimate things that need to be done around the house like laundry, vacuuming the fireplace, putting WD-40 on the doors or straightening up the garage. She knows those things need to be done, but she spies a massive ball of yarn, conveniently the same color as her…, so she starts sewing something. When Llama is not sure what to do she sews so that she can clear her mind.

Before long some of her forest friends show up. They each bring their unique set of skills to help her. The turtle, elephant, wolf and more all show up to add elements to whatever she’s sewing. Some animals provide ideas on what she can craft. Everyone helps except for beaver, who’s not sure how he can help so he chews on a tree so that he can clear his mind.

It’s a social afternoon with all of the animal friends sharing, being silly and having fun. By the time night rolls around Llama has knitted a very nice blanket, which she promptly shares with one of her buck-toothed sleeping friends.

Crafty Llama is a slice of illustrated book heaven for crafty kids 4-8. The illustrations are soft, warm and will delight (and calm…) young readers as they drift off to sleep land. This is a great good-night book for those younger kids in this spectrum. It’s short enough to re-read more than one time a night, but also long enough to qualify as the “one book” that you’re reading after a long day.

Fighting With My Family is a solid, fun time

When is a movie that stars The Rock not a movie that starts The Rock? Fighting With My Family has Dwayne Johnson in it, but it’s not a typical movie that has him in it. In its place, Fighting With My Family has become an unlikely, feel-good film about overcoming obstacles despite the odds that are stacked against you. Think of Fighting With My Family as a WWE companion to Creed. Both of these movies succeed and audiences will enjoy them; even if they know nothing or don’t appreciate, the sport that each of these films live in.

It’s worth nothing that I am a fan of WWE, however my knowledge on Paige was, and is limited. This film, was inspired by the documentary, Fighting With My Family from 2012-which was itself the true story of Paige’s family in Norwich, England.

Some, nay, many movie goers will be put off by the fact that this is a film based on the story of a WWE wrestler and that is too bad. Fighting With My Family is a surprising film that mixes in humor, drama, a family with dynamics that most people can relate to and wears its heart fully on its sleeve.

I don’t like wresting or WWE you say? This film fully addresses the reasons why you (think you) don’t like WWE. It’s storytelling with Spandex, it’s rigged and all fake. It’s understandable why people think that and Fighting With My Family doesn’t shy away from those that do. And, just to be clear, the outcomes are predetermined, but how the wrestlers get to them is entirely up to them, their athletic prowess, ad-libs and the crowds.

The WWE naysayers in the film are portrayed by Stephen Merchant and Julia Davis as Hugh and Daphne. They’re the parents to a young girl who has been knocked up by Zak Knight, who is Paige’s brother. Those parents come over for dinner, the two worlds collide and the Knight family receives a phone call that will change their lives forever.

Saraya (who hasn’t yet changed her name to Paige) and her brother are invited to a WWE tryout in London. It’s here where we meet Hutch, played by Vince Vaughn who becomes a narrator of sorts for the rest of the film. He’s a talent scout for WWE and becomes a lot of the humor and sounding board for the training that the wrestlers endure.

Throw in some scenes with The Rock and Fighting With My Family is a very entertaining ride. The Rock isn’t in the film for too long, but when he is it’s the equivalent of having Darth Vader or Santa Claus appear in a Star Wars or Christmas movie. He has an energy that carries those around him and simply makes you smile. His common sense description of professional wrestling is one that will make fans of the sport, even if you’re not looking to become one. Even if they don’t, they’ll see a very entertaining and inspirational movie that will surprise you at every turn.

The Hotel Between, top tier fantasy/adventure for 9 and up

Describing The Hotel Between, is much like the story that binds the book together. It treats borders between categories as an entry to more adventure; whereas some it its contemporaries would stumble at how to weave adventure, magic, time travel, intrigue and family drama into a coherent, thrilling book. My wife read this book first and said, “You must read this”. She finished The Hotel Between in just under a week and now I must pass along this message. You must read this.

Of course ‘must read this’ could sound a bit pompous and I completely understand that, Mr. How Do Know What I Must Read. Let me clarify, The Hotel Between is an upper elementary school and up science-fiction book that people who like adventure and mystery will love.

Elements of the plot might make some cautious readers raise an eyebrow. Cameron and Cassia are twins. They’ve been told that their father abandoned them and that their mother died, but they’ve never really believed it. All these two need to do is somehow find a magical world and you’ve got any number of bad movies that were developed from good books recently.

That’s where the similarities stop and the book goes down a rabbit hole that bends your mind, explains it all perfectly and leave you wanting more. The book’s cover, with it’s upside down landmarks from around the world invoke an M.C. Escher madness is a great tell as to how trippy and fun it is.

Shortly after meeting Cameron and learning just a little about his back story we’re shown the world of The Hotel Between. Readers of any age will appreciate how quickly the book moves and how well it does in explaining everything-and everywhere in the book. Once in The Hotel Between Cameron meets a variety of characters, including Nico, who is his guide for most of the book and might not be exactly who he says he is-or is he?

The guessing game that happens in The Hotel Between is the stuff of The Usual Suspects. You won’t know who is good and who is bad, or what the real motivation is for any of the double crosses that happen in this brave, upside down world.

Each chapter is around 14 pages and has vocabulary that upper elementary school kids will be able to read. It’s the unknown, upper age that is impressive also. This is smart, fun reading that doesn’t dumb down the adventure or plot development. It’s a well told story that ages 9 and up can-and will want to read, but its quality makes it so that older readers won’t feel like they’re reading a kid’s book.

Author Sean Easley has set up a fabulous story with The Hotel Between. It stands on its own, but it also sets up future stories that could be told due to the richly detailed characters that have been laid out. Either way, this is a great book that readers 9 and up will enjoy. It’ll most likely inspire them to read more books as they chase the next book that they hope will be as great as this one. Update: after checking his website it looks like it’s the later as the sequel to The Hotel Between will come out in the fall of 2019.