A couple of years ago Ashley Bryan’s artwork made a stop at High Museum of Art. It was our first introduction into the way he told stories. It’s a way that speaks to children, as well as adults. Bryan is also a children’s author and his art made reference to the fact that he served in WWII. Infinite Hope, A Black Artist’s Journey from World War II to Peace is a thorough written look at his time in the military, as well as the art that he created while serving in various locales.
I love to learn about people that I haven’t previously heard of, especially if it involves travel, discovery, science or animals. The Incredible Yet True Adventures of Alexander Von Humboldt, The Greatest Inventor-Naturalist-Scientist-Explorer Who Ever Lived easily has the longest book title of anything we’ve ever read. It also perfectly baits your imagination by asking you to align why you’ve (or at least I) never heard of him and the chutzpah that author, Volker Mehnert had in titling the book that. It turns out that Alexander von Humboldt indeed did have a magical life. In the 1820’s in Germany he was the rock star storyteller who spoke to sold out crowds that included all walks of life as he recounted his stories about travelling to those far-away places.
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It’s a great week for all age comic books. The 500 pound gorilla in kidlit arrives with its latest installment. While Diary of a Wimpy Kid Wrecking Ball is not a comic book, it’s such a big deal for elementary and middle school readers it merits mentioning here. Those ages won’t care about the plot, they’ll just want new adventures from the Heffley family. There are also some great releases from Marvel Action on IDW Publishing, a massive 100 page release from Teen Titans Go! and more.
Hitting DVD on November 5 is Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. This brings fan favorites from Fast & Furious, Hobbs, the take-no-guff policeman and Deckard Shaw, the best baddie in the series, and puts them in their own film. In Hobbs & Shaw they’re forced to team up to take down a cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton Lorr, played by Idris Elba. As if the cast couldn’t get any cooler, toss in Vanessa Kirby who plays Shaw’s sister. You’ll recognize Kirby from Mission Impossible: Fallout and The Crown. She steals scenes in everything she’s in.
Hobbs & Shaw is rated PG-13 for prolonged action sequences, suggestive material and some strong language. If you’re looking for a fast paced, action film that delivers on what you think it should this is it. It’s got an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A-“ on CinemaScore. Bonus: this combo pack of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw has 80 minutes of never-before-seen bonus content, an alternate ending, making-of, bloopers and more.
We’re giving away five (5) copies of Blu-Ray DVD Combo Packs of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. This giveaway will end Saturday, November 9 at 7PM. To register to win, just leave a comment here in the post or RT this:
Win a copy of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw on DVD from @daddymojo, https://t.co/OHMl2ZA1pq, #HobbsAndShaw, #giveaways pic.twitter.com/1HbmB1WxMs
— Daddy Mojo (@Daddymojo) November 4, 2019
Matthew Van Fleet’s books have a way of transcending their audience. He makes books that are squarely aimed at preschool aged students as a way of teaching them some of the basics such as shapes, months, counting, senses and more. The reason that his books are memorable is because of his art and the story that they tell. Oscar the Octopus, A Book About the Months of the Year was previously titled October the Octopus and released as a huggable concept or puppet book.
Mewberg has its brand-new, stat of the art sports stadium and it was built by cats. That’s what happened in Kitten Construction Company as the House Kittens that no other company could complete. Sampson, the engineer, Professor von Wigglebottom on masonry, Bubbles the plumber and the architect Marmalade. In the Kitten Construction Company: A Bridge Too Fur, the crew takes on a tougher challenge-to build the new Mewberg bridge. For a variety of elementary school aged readers this series will entertain them or give them motivation to read.
A kit is a baby fox. Prior to reading Scary Stories for Young Foxes I didn’t know that. It didn’t take me long to realize the horror, love and adventure that they could encounter. Scary Stories for Young Foxes gets so many things absolutely right about what makes a great book work it’s, well…scary. While reading the book it was so easy to imagine myself transforming into a creature to no bigger than a house cat. But the world that I’d encounter in that body is far more treacherous then you’d want it to be.
Graphic novels are meant to be entertaining and are incapable of being educational. Granted readers might gleam something from the art and the book’s cultural relevance, but on the whole, it’s for fun. It’s OK if you have thought that. Education and entertainment sometimes don’t mix. That’s why the best teachers, the ones that you still remember from middle school managed to entertain you while they were teaching you. They lower your defenses and then –BAM, start the soft messaging of teaching you something. Science Comics: Cats is like that and for middle school readers and up who want to learn about animals that will leave you feline fine keep on reading.
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