SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Manga
  • All Ages
  • Young Adult
  • Interviews
  • News

December 6, 2010 by Brigid Alverson

The Reading Pile – December 6

December 6, 2010 by Brigid Alverson   Leave a Comment

Today is St. Nicholas Day; tonight, my kids will put their shoes out the door and a mysterious visitor will fill them with candy and progress reports from Santa. Here’s a progress report from the Good Comics for Kids team on what we have been reading in the past week.

Kate Dacey: I’m working my way through a big stack of upcoming Yen Press releases. Among my favorites so far are the ninth volume of Yotsuba&!, which finds everyone’s favorite green-haired tot on a quest to find the most huggable teddy bear at a department store; the second volume of Higurashi When They Cry: Beyond Midnight Arc, a supernatural murder-mystery that is, at core, a lot like Agatha Christie’s Ten Little Indians; and the tenth volume of Goong: The Royal Palace, a sudsy manhwa in which author Park So-Hee imagines a unified Korea living under the rule of a king. The story explores the relationship between a commoner, Chae-kyeong, and the crown prince, Shin, a sullen, withdrawn hottie who’s carrying a torch for someone else. (Pops chose Chae-kyong as Shin’s bride for complicated personal reasons.) Given Prince William’s recent proposal to Kate Middleton, the subject of Goong couldn’t be more timely, even if Chae-kyeong comes from much humbler circumstances than the future Queen of England.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Also on my nightstand is Telling Tales, the latest book from Sweatdrop Studios. For Americans unfamiliar with Sweatdrop, they’re a collective of British artists who work in a variety of manga-influenced styles. Their latest book is an anthology of folk tales, from well-known chestnuts such as “Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Snow Queen” to more obscure tales such as “The Three Sisters and Their Glass Hearts” and “The Mouse, The Bird, and The Sausage.” Though most of the stories are penned by Sweatdrop regulars such as Faye Yong, Emma Vicieli, and Sonia Leong, Nightschool creator Svetlana Chmakova also contributed a short Russian folk tale, “Alenushka and Ivanushka.” The artwork and stories are diverse enough that most readers will find at least one or two that click with their own sensibilities.

Last but not least, I’m reading How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less, a travel memoir about author Sarah Glidden’s “birthright” tour of the Holy Land. It’s a smart, funny, and brutally honest book; Glidden spends most of the journey struggling to reconcile what she believed about the Israeli-Syrian-Palestinian conflict with what she learns from actually visiting the Golan Heights and Jerusalem. The visit also forces her to re-examine her Jewish identity; unlike many of her peers, she doesn’t immediately feel that Israel is “home,” and sometimes has strong, negative reactions to the exhibits and places she sees. It’s a thought-provoking book that I could see appealing to an older teen, perhaps one who’s contemplating a similar trip to Israel.

Esther Keller: Friday was an exciting day for me, because I was unpacking my new (Graphic Novel) order.  I didn’t want to take too much home, because I always feel bad, but I did take home the much talked about Sons of Liberty 1 by Alexander and Joseph Lagos, with art by Steve Walker. I didn’t know what to expect and don’t remember looking at reviews before ordering, so I came into this story very clean. I was really blown away. The story was exciting, riveting and interesting. But the artwork was what captivated me. I was reading with my lamp before bed and the next day took it into the sunlight to study the color and details of the drawing.

I’m also going through a pile of the Graphic Shakespeare put out by Abdo Publishing to review for another publication. I’m not a huge Shakespeare fan, and always find that I struggle with the language, and these titles do nothing to alleviate that struggle. Yet, some of the artwork is refreshing and there are enough extras to help readers along…  And perhaps this will help bridge young readers into the world of Shakespeare.

Mike Pawuk: I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Max Brooks’ (World War Z) wonderful G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds graphic novel. Illustrated by the legendary Howard Chaykin and also by Antonio Fuso, the book offers brief glimpses into the lives of the various soldiers who fight on the G.I. Joe team as well as their evil counterparts on the terrorist organization known as Cobra. As the title suggests, you really do get to see a glimpse of the hearts and minds of the heroes and villains, what makes them tick, and their secrets never before revealed. Max Collins has done a great job contributing to the lore of the popular G.I. Joe line and it’s a lovefest for anyone who grew up playing with the toys or watching the cartoons as a kid.

I’ve been a big fan of The Simpsons Comics, but the latest issue, #172, the Christmas special, just didn’t grab me at all. Written by Mike W. Barr and art by John Costanza, it’s a mess of a story that starts off strong with Homer Simpson suffering from an overdose of too much Christmas giving, but the end the multiple sideplots of Homer selling Christmas trees in his front yard; Krusty the Clown going against his Jewish heritage to milk his popularity again; Snake committing Christmas robberies; and a Rush Limbaugh parody which goes to once again vilify Republicans as evil is just a pure mess. Better luck next year, Simpsons.

Brigid Alverson: I’m getting into the holiday spirit with Craig Yoe’s collection The Great Treasury of Christmas Comic Book Stories. It’s big, colorful, and chock-full of delightful Christmas stories, most revolving around the logistics of Santa getting all the presents out on Christmas night, although there are also Classics Illustrated-style versions of A Christmas Carol and the nativity story. The stories are all from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, and they have a classic look to them; the artists include Walt Kelly (Pogo), who draws adorable, winsome animals, and John Stanley (Little Lulu). This book is all comics—aside from a brief forward, there is no other text—and as the cover implies, the comics are all kid-friendly, with a cheery retro style.

It has been a few years since I read the first Diary of a Wimpy Kid story, and I haven’t read the intervening ones, but Diary of a Wimpy: The Ugly Truth strikes me as a tad edgier than the first book. Of course, that’s not saying much, but in this volume, Greg Heffley has had a falling-out with his best friend Rowley and has to deal with sex education, his mother’s return to the work force, and keeping up with his friends on Facebook. It’s still entertaining, but it seems to have lost a bit of the spark of the original. Still, it’s a good read, and the story is probably following its readers as they navigate the same waters.

Filed under: Uncategorized

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Brigid Alverson

Brigid Alverson, the editor of the Good Comics for Kids blog, has been reading comics since she was 4. She has an MFA in printmaking and has worked as a book editor and a newspaper reporter; now she is assistant to the mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts. In addition to editing GC4K, she writes about comics and graphic novels at MangaBlog, SLJTeen, Publishers Weekly Comics World, Comic Book Resources, MTV Geek, and Good E-Reader.com. Brigid is married to a physicist and has two daughters in college, which is why she writes so much. She was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

February 2023

Graphic Novel Series Tie-Ins Encourage Creativity | Roundup

by Brigid Alverson

December 2022

Two Gardening Books to Read Now | Reviews

by Brigid Alverson

November 2022

Animal Rescue Friends | Review

by Brigid Alverson

October 2022

Review: Parachute Kids

by Brigid Alverson

June 2022

Archie Jumbo Comics Digest #331 | Preview

by Brigid Alverson

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

100 Scope Notes

One Star Review, Guess Who? (#184)

by Travis Jonker

A Fuse #8 Production

Announcing the 2022 Winners of the Annual Blueberry Literary Award!

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Review: Nat the Cat Takes a Nap

by Esther Keller

Heavy Medal

March suggestions: early Mock Newbery possibilities

by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Here Be Monsters: On Horror, Catharsis, and Uneasy Truces with Yourself, a guest post by author Rebecca Mahoney

by Karen Jensen, MLS

The Classroom Bookshelf

The Classroom Bookshelf is Moving

by Erika Thulin Dawes

The Yarn

Newbery Medalist Amina Luqman-Dawson visits The Yarn

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

10 Shonen Manga Must-Reads | Mondo Manga

'Salt Magic,' 'The Legend of Auntie Po,' and 'Run: Book One' Among 2022 Eisner Award Winners

LGBTQIA+ Graphic Novels for Young Readers | Stellar Panels

Free Comics, and Resources on COVID-19, in Graphic Form

Graphic Novel Stars at the SLJ Summit

Commenting for all posts is disabled after 30 days.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Follow This Blog

Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News & Features
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • School Libraries
  • Public Libraries
  • Age Level
  • Ideas
  • Blogs
  • Classroom
  • Diversity
  • People
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Book Lists
  • Best Books
  • Media
  • Reference
  • Series Made Simple
  • Tech
  • Review for SLJ
  • Review Submissions

SLJ Blog Network

  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal
  • Neverending Search
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn

Resources

  • 2022 Youth Media Awards
  • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
  • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
  • Summer Reading 2021
  • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
  • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
  • Summer Programming Survey
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies
  • School Librarian of the Year
  • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
  • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

Events & PD

  • In-Person Events
  • Online Courses
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Content Submissions
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Diversity Policy
  • Careers at MSI


COPYRIGHT © 2023


COPYRIGHT © 2023