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Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence ShenMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 Stars
Originally published online here
A cute story about the robotics club vs the cheerleaders...or maybe it's about high school politics...actually, no it's more about two friends getting older...well, it's also about a young man dealing with his parent's divorce...
Like any good young adult novel, NCPGW is FULL of lots of little stories and tangents that make it feel more real. This is actually the kind of comic I would be happy to see turn into a series of teenage misadventures. There are a lot of characters and we only get a very brief amount of time with most of them so I would be willing to learn more about them in other comics.
I didn't feel like this comic broke any new ground though it did have some nice twists in the story. If you enjoy young adult realistic fiction with a good sense of humor (and Faith Erin Hicks adorable manga-inspired artwork) then you will enjoy NCPGW.
A Big Guy Took My Ball! by Mo WillemsMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 stars. Not my favorite Elephant & Piggie but Mo Willems is like Pixar to me -- even his weaker books are still better than most!
Like most of the Elephant & Piggie tales, this story doesn't end up where you think it will, and I think teaching kids to not always assume and expect things is a good idea. There's a lot to talk about with a child in these very few pages - you could discuss what to do when you find something unattended, what is a bully, and about confrontation.
Not my favorite of the bunch but still lots of great moments.
Plus, this picture just broke my heart.
The Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin HicksMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Okay, I kinda sorta loved this book.
I had read Friends with Boys and thought it was okay. I really like Hicks' art style and when I saw this book on our new shelf last week, I grabbed it because how could I resist Superhero Girl standing there on the cover! She is both badass and adorable at the same time. I hoped the book would amuse me. Maybe that is why it totally caught me off guard.
Superhero Girl is a comic that Hicks does for Halifax's free weekly newspaper and she also posts them to a blog to share with the rest of the world. At some point, Dark Horse decided to pick it up and publish it as a collection, which is what I read this week. Once I started, I could tell it must have been a web comic of some kind since usually the entire story is done in a single page (though there are a few longer arcs that span pages).
The book is filled with a very dry wit and lots of references to superhero pop culture, plus a few pokes at how Canada is not known for having enough crime to warrant a superhero to protect it. The best moments come when Superhero Girl tries to just lead a normal life, like going to the grocery store, applying for a job or going to a party.
Originally published online in black & white, the book is in FULL COLOR. And it is GLORIOUS! I hope to see more from Superhero Girl in the future.
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad! by Nathan HaleMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Nathan Hale (the author, not the spy) does a great job of making history fun for kids. This is a great book to give to young readers who have any interest in the Civil War, American History, or battles in general. Heck, even if you're worried they are *losing* interest in the above, give it to them so they can find out about this historical adventure.
The premise of the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series is that Nathan Hale (the revolutionary war spy, not the author) was hit by a magical history book and now has all of American history in his brain. He uses his new skill to stall the hangman's noose, telling them stories of the "future". In "Big Bad Ironclad", Hale tells them about the battles between the Merrimack and the Monitor during the Civil War.
Filled with lots of humor and action, this is a great pick for fans of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" and those younger kids who ask for "books about war" but don't want to read the dry tomes in the adult non-fiction collection.
