Daddy Mojo

Best all age comics for December 28

What are some of the best all age comics for young readers? The answer to that question gets better and longer every year and the final new comic book day in 2016 brings one of the go-to authors for reluctant readers, a camp driven comic that’s campy with heart, power, team work and lots more.

Two of the humor comics this week are Dog Man: Unleashed and Lumberjanes. Dog Man: Unleashed is technically a book, but most comic book stores will stock it and the reading will be magnetic to kids 6 through 10. It’s from Dav Pilkey, author of Captain Underpants and his latest creation is all comic format that is in line with the drawings from George Beard.

Are you reading Lumberjanes? Each issue of this camp based comic book is fabulous. It melds science-fiction with friendship and the teen years so perfectly you’ll almost wish you were that age again in camp, almost.

Another Boom! comic book is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and I hope that the movie that’s being released in 2017 is along the same caliber. The comic might be too much for 7 year olds, but kids 10 and up that like story driven action with ‘real’ comic art will love this book.

One of the true best all age comics for kids that like superheroes is Super Powers. This is a mini-series from DC Comics by Art Baltazar and Franco who have really created a look and feel to an all age comic that transfers between the characters that they take on. Super Powers has the main DC superheroes doing age appropriate action, humor and oddities to keep kids reading.

It’s OK for young girls to go into the comic book store and one of the books that they should seek out is Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Issue #14 comes out this week and it’s jammed with intelligent, dinosaur pounding action for readers 10 and up, simply due to the reading that’s required.

By coincidence, another great female centric title is Princeless Raven Pirate Princess from Action Lab Entertainment. Issue #12 from Princeless is out this week, it’s too much for younger readers, but those 12 and who like story driven action will really enjoy this.

Where is your closest comic book store? What are some of the go-to titles that your young reader are digging into?

Humor

Superhero

Action/science fiction

Playtime with PJ Masks

We received product for review-all thoughts are our own. The fabulous thing about some children’s shows is that, if you time it correctly they can ride the wave from pre-k through elementary school. For us a perfect example of this is Octonauts. Our (now 7 year old) son started watching them when he was 3 and still enjoys them. Consequently, he has almost every Octonauts toy made, had birthday parties for them and has seen the stage show. His younger brother was the first of the two to latch onto PJ Masks. He started watching that show when he was 3 and has amassed a small fleet of Cat Cars, Gekko Mobiles and Owl Gliders.

Continue reading Playtime with PJ Masks

Best all age comic books for December 21

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Twas the week before Christmas when all through the stacks,

Not many new comics were hitting the racks.

The children were wanting new comics to read

In hopes that their store had just what they need.

Fewer than usual all age comics there are

and Vision’s not in any of them by far

But mom in her Kia and I in my Quest

Will visit the comic book store to seek what’s best

The kids do love Mickey Mouse

His best friend has his own house.

Donald Quest is steam punk action duck

From IDW, it’s in store unless you’re out of luck.

Old school parents will remember this one.

Pink Panther Cartoon Hour Special, wasn’t that fun?

A one-shot comic, kids will like and won’t make you feel old

Including, The Ant and Aardvark, plus the Texas Toads

A modern classic that shares the surname of the Juice

But this is no airport that he’s running through loose

This is Simpson’s Comics, issue #235, isn’t that nice?

With Bart, Lisa and Maggie going to see Krusty on Ice.

Now super heroes, Marvel Universe Ultron and Teen Titans Go!

What? Only two super heroes this week, say it’s not so.

It is, that is true but Marvel Universe Avengers Revolution graphic novel

Is one that kids 7 and up will be able to read, with art to marvel

As all age classics are Teen Titans Go! fits the bill,

the comic is great and at $2.99 it’s just the thrill

Beast Boy on cover, many pranks he’s been pulling

But Titans Tower, Cyborg and crew won’t put up with fooling

He’s all dressed in ninja clothing, a period comic it is he

For the right kids though, Usagi Yojimbo is just what they need be

Invader Zim, an undercover alien comes to Earth

Unknown to all, except to Dib and Gaz who know his worth

A couple more comics for all ages you’ll see this week

Many of which the attention of kids 5 and up they’ll pique

Adventure Time Comics, Back to the Future, Doctor Who

A Rogue One Coloring Book and others await you too

Now it’s up to you to stuff the stockings right

Lest you wake up Christmas morn to a child full of fright

It’s better to have all the comics they want

so it’s a Merry Christmas and you won’t have to front.

Humor

Superhero

Action/Science fiction

Big Bear, Small Mouse-a great pair make opposites fun

Chocolate and peanut butter. Starsky and Hutch. Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman. There are some things that work together, teams whose end results are so effective, charming or tasty that you look forward to enjoying them. Big Bear, Small Mouse is like that. This is from the Bear series of books by Wilson and Chapman.

We’ve been fans of this series for years and Bear Snores On is one of the classic board books that your toddler needs to own. There are more from the Bear series of books in the house too. Fans of the series will find themselves flip flopping as to what they like most about them. Is it the carefree happiness of the artwork by Jane Chapman? It could be the timing and caliber of the words by Karma Wilson.

Continue reading Big Bear, Small Mouse-a great pair make opposites fun

Max Cliff Climber, a real toy truck with bite

Max Cliff Climber is one of the toys that our 5 year old wanted when we went to the toy store to research our gift guide. It’s a large truck with monster wheels. Really, the rear wheels open up to expose teeth when it climbs things or uses torque. It also has attitude and a sense of dry humor as part of the narration when it’s talking to you.

This is a big toy and its packaging is such that if you’re giving it as a gift you should plan ahead. Getting Max Cliff Climber out of the box will take a couple of minutes. Additionally, the toy is powered with a temporary battery pack that you need to remove prior to playing with it. Simply use a Phillips screwdriver put 6 C size batteries in the bottom of the truck and power it up.

Continue reading Max Cliff Climber, a real toy truck with bite

National Geographic Kids book bundle giveaway

We’re a National Geographic Kids Insider and received a copy of these for our use. All thoughts are our own. Our kids love some Nat Geo Kids. Even if we weren’t a National Geographic Kids Insider they’d still love these books, pester us to get them and spend hours looking through the images and graphics in each book. There are 4 new National Geographic Kids books out that will entertain ages 9 and up for hours. National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017, National Parks Guide U.S.A., famous FAILS!, and Weird but True! 8 are all different, yet retain the thread that makes them distinctively National Geographic.

“Some dog’s paws smell like corn chips. The South Pole is the sunniest place on Earth”, our son said from the back seat. During the trip to the grocery store he was that blond kid in Jerry McGuire. The only thing he didn’t tell me was how much a human brain weighed. Weird but True! 8 is one of those essential bathroom reads with large font factoids on each page. It also has vocabulary that an elementary school student can read by themselves.

National Geographic Kids book bundle giveaway

Open up National Parks Guide U.S.A.at your discretion because you will immediately discover a severe case of wander lust. This is a detailed look at the National Parks all over the U.S.A., complete with hundreds of photos, maps, insider tips and more. This is the kid’s version so it looks at things from their perspective, what areas are fun to explore, what sorts of adventures there are to do, games, history and more.

The world’s tallest empty building is in North Korea. The flying car, movie goofs and bungled buildings are things that were mistakes, but might have led people to greater success. Famous FAILS! is a book of failure. Some failure added up to better things, while others were just wrong from the get go. Either way, kids 9 and up will love reading about these inventions, their original intention and what else they accomplished. As with all National Geographic books the photographs in here are top notch.

Page for page the National Geographic Kids Almanac 2017 has the most information, images and fun content of any book we’ve received this year. Hundreds upon hundreds of images, quizzes, maps and more make up this book that has information on everything about everything. From animals, ecology, science, geography and more there is something in the book for any kid. At the price of $14.99 it’s a virtual steal too.

How Do Your Kids Play Over The Holidays?

We’re a Play Ambassador for Let’s Play and were compensated for this post. Let’s Play is an initiative by Dr Pepper Snapple Group that provides kids and families with the tools, places and inspiration to make active play a daily priority by building and improving playgrounds and donating sports equipment to groups in need. All thoughts are our own.

With the holidays here let’s get down to brass tacks about how the kids will play. There’s a lot going on this time of year and with school breaks, errands that need running, colder temperatures and kids that need to play, it can be difficult to fit everything into the same amount of waking hours. Here are a couple of the ways that we manage to do the trips and make it work. For all of our play ideas, please check out our column at Let’s Play.

Explore the differences

The tree that you see now is different than it was a couple of months ago. You can see its bark, the limbs look like arms and its leaves are blown all over the place. This time of year is perfect for going for a walk and pointing out those differences to children. If your experience is anything like ours, then this conversation will lead to more talk about nature, all the while continuing to get the exercise and play we all need.

New “icy” play

Regardless of where you live, there are some ‘ice’ opportunities for kids to play in. It could be the real icy deal if you live in a cold climate, or your community could have a temporary ice rink and snow pile at your city center to explore. Either way, this is golden playtime for kids. They’ll love it! Just remember to dress appropriately.

Shake up the errands

You’ve got food to buy for the holiday party, the kids need a new bike tire and you need to get some pants. These errands can all get done and the kids can play too. In our area we have a handle on the indoor (and free!) recreation and shopping centers that cover all these needs and we plan our days accordingly. This way, we can still do the things we need to do and get the kids some play time.

How do you play during the holiday time? If you have a go-to idea on keeping the play going during the holidays we’d love to hear it in the comments or on Twitter.

Holiday In The Park at Six Flags Over Georgia-lights and more

The kids and I attended Six Flags Over Georgia Holiday In the Park last year for the first time. On the way home that night I phoned my wife and let her know that next year when we attend it would be a family trip. They install over 1,000,000 lights at Six Flags Over Georgia to transform it into Holiday in the Park, a winter carnival with thrill rides, bubble snow and a train ride to Santa.

Continue reading Holiday In The Park at Six Flags Over Georgia-lights and more