Chickenhare by Chris Grine

Chickenhare by Chris Grine, 2013.

Grine begins his story amidst the action as Chickenhare and his friend Abe, a bearded box turtle, are about to to be sold to Klaus, a mad taxidermist who collects exotic animals. Once captive, they meet  Banjo, a smart-mouthed, monkeylike Krampus and brave, horned Meg. They join together to escape and head off into the snow, but Chickenhare is separated from the group when he is distracted by the ghost of a well dressed goat. Tired and cold, the others unknowingly shelter in the caves of the fierce and hungry Shromph and relentless Klaus, along with his butler, his personal thug and two piggy flunkys are coming to get them.Will Chickenhare, "half chicken, half rabbit, 100% hero" be able to get them out of that mess?

Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell

Monster on the Hill by Rob Harrell, 2013.

Rayburn is a giant monster with horns, fangs, and a dragon-like appearance. The problem is that he just doesn't feel very scary. He's letting down Stoker-On-Avon, the town that he's supposed to thrill and terrorize. Wilkie is a disgraced doctor and scientist who's been drafted by the town fathers to fix Rayburn. Along with street urchin/town crier/stowaway Timothy he talks Rayburn into heading out on a road trip to meet with more horrifying town monsters.They're soon off to see Ray's school chum Tentaculor, who's green, many-armed and fierce. Unfortunately, while Stoker-On-Avon is monster- less, something worse decides to pay it a visit: the Murk, made of grave dirt, old hair and hunger. Now's the time for Rayburn to show his mettle, and with some of Wilkie's edgier inventions,  put a stop to the Murk's rampage and save the town.Will a Green-Thorned Smooshroom, a screaming Psychotree, and the possible loss of Tentaculor stop him?

Kids will enjoy this humorous graphic novel about monsters, friendship, believing in yourself and working with what you've got!

The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth

The Lost Boy written and illus. by Greg Ruth, 2013.

In Greg Ruth's deliciously creepy graphic novel The Lost Boy, we first meet young Nate, reluctantly moving into his family's new house. He has no sooner than picked out his bedroom when he finds the tape recordings of a boy named Walt, telling of unusual activity in the woods in the 1960s. Walt describes insects dressed in evening wear, talking squirrels and eerie life sized doll people. Before long, Nate's usual world intersects with the Kingdom, home to the crazy things that Walt has described and Nate learns that not long after he made his tapes,Walt permanently disappeared. When Nate and a neighbor girl named Tabitha are attacked by a monstrous Tree Man, the Vespertine, the kids are dragged into an adventure in the Kingdom. Aiding them are Tom Button, a doll boy, Pettibone, a brave and sassy squirrel, and Haloran, Walt's former mentor. Pleasingly spooky in art and storyline, hinting at the possibility of more to come, this title will leave readers hoping for an entire series about Nate, Tabitha and the Kingdom.

Little White Duck: a Childhood In China

Little White Duck: A Childhood In China by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez, 2012.

This autobiographical graphic novel is the story of  Na Liu's upbringing in China, beginning in 1976 when Chairman Mao dies. Liu tells stories that are unique to her experience in that place and time frame. Her younger sister is born just one year after her, and when their mother is pregnant with Xiao Qin, a new law is passed that each family can only have one child, or they must pay fines. Because the baby is already on the way, Liu's family does not have to pay. This gives the reader an idea of how involved the government was in a family's business.

 Liu tells how when she was in school, the children were encouraged to fight the "four pests": the rat, fly, mosquito and cockroach. She and her classmates were asked to bring in rat tails to show that they were doing their part. Liu now notes that sparrows were once one of the four pests, and they were hunted to the point where there were no birds to control crop eating insects. This in turn contributed to the great Chinese famine.

When the sisters leave food uneaten in their plates, their mother tells them about hungry times when their father ate tree leaves, her own family consumed potato stem soup and desperate people even ate mud and perished. The girls are horrified!

These are just a couple of the childhood memories that Liu shares in this enlightening book. Even though the circumstances are unfamiliar to us now, Liu's childhood behavior is universally recognizable, like when she and her sister enjoy their favorite holiday (New Year) with family,  when they come up with crazy schemes to reach a goal (catching rats!) and when they try to imitate the hero Lei Feng (with disastrous results).

 The book also includes a timeline of Chinese history, glossary of Mandarin Chinese words, a map of the Hubei Province and a brief  text biography of Na Liu. The illustrations are done by Liu's husband Andres Vera Martinez.

Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado & Jorge Aguirre

Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado & Jorge Aguirre. Art by Rafael Rosado. 2012.

Fiery Claudette wants nothing more than to be a giant killer like her monster-slaying father. Unfortunately, he is now a wheelchair-bound blacksmith who met his match in an angry female dragon who was defending her litter. Regardless, Claudette wants to test her mettle and stop the horrible Baby-Feet-Eating Giant. With some slight manipulation of the truth, she persuades her younger brother Gaston and  friend, Marie, a Marquis' daughter, to join her. Gaston is somewhat meek and has a strong interest in creating cuisine for his family and friends, but also really wants to learn the skill of sword making. Marie is smart and has one career goal: to be a princess. These are unseasoned warriors, and to get to Giant's Peak, the kids must pass through the Forest of Death, fight some ferocious trees, escape the dangerous Apple Hag and more. With only the help of a wooden sword, Gaston's culinary skills and their faithful pug Valiant, can they succeed in their quest? Heck yes, because Gaston is brave, Marie is charming, Claudette is bold, and the loving blacksmith and his friend have got their backs!

Kids who like graphic novels will love the humorous adventures of Claudette and company. Adults will find something to like in strong heroine Claudette, as well as her friends, who are true to themselves and get things done their own way, with a little support from each other.

First Camp Read-A-Lot book: Trickster, Native American Tales a Graphic Collection

As I have for the past two summers, I will be serving as a “counselor” at Camp-Read-a-Lot, a summer reading program for teachers and media specialists. It is sponsored in the Twin Cities by MELSA and Metronet. I will be working with folks interested in materials for 6th-8th graders. We will meet to discuss our books on Wednesday, August 10 at Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul. The special guest this year is Avi! Find out more Here.

I am excited to begin my Camp RAL reading with a book of folktales:

Trickster: Native American Tales a Graphic Collection. Compiled by Matt Dembicki, 2010.

Matt Dembicki was inspired to put together a collection of Native American trickster tales in comic form after delighting in trickster stories in a library book and realizing that he didn’t know much about Native American culture. Therefore, he started the project that became Trickster: twenty one tales each written by Native American storytellers and illustrated by artists of their choosing. Readers will be rewarded by a wide spectrum of stories with different graphic styles from wacky to realistic to otherworldly. They will meet the Trickster character in many forms: Coyote, Rabbit, Raven and even human (shaped!). These tricky ones fool and get the better of others and are tricked themselves. Their stories are contributed by storytellers from Choctaw, Pueblo, Cherokee and many more Native American Nations and are in diverse settings from Alaska to Hawaii. Some of the tales have a mysterious and dreamlike feel, some are creepy and others are funny and earthy. The Pourquoi stories tell us how the stars got in the sky, why the buzzards head is bald, why Rabbit has a little fluffy tail, and more. Dembicki states that he hopes that Trickster will help readers to learn about North America’s original inhabitants. That door has certainly been opened, and Trickster is getting critical attention as well. It is now on the short list for the 2011 Eisner award Comic-Con 2011  and was a nominee for Children’s Book Council’s 2011 Teen Choice Book of the Year. Teen Reads

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