Zita the Spacegirl & The Incredible Rockhead

Review by Tintin, age 9

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl
Author/illustrator: Ben Hatke
Publisher: First Second (9/2012)
Genre: Graphic Novel

Legends of Zita the Spacegirl is about a girl who saves the planet Lumponia from star hearts. A robot who is pretending to be the spacegirl is messing things up. I like it because it is an adventurous story. My favorite part was when they used a giant to destroy the star hearts. I will recommend it to kids who like space adventures.

Review by Johnny Boo, age 6

The Incredible Rockhead
Author/illustrator: Scott Nickel/C.S. Jennings
Publisher: Stone Arch Books (8/2012)
Genre: Graphic Novel

Rockhead is about a boy named Chip Stone. In the nurse's office there was a bad guy. He gave him a pill that he doesn't usually take, and it turned him into a rockhead. Chip said, "Rockhead, smash!" His friend turned into someone called Scissorlegz. I liked everything about the book. I would recommend it to people that have rockheads.

Book Review: Invisible Inkling

Review by Tintin, age 9

Invisible Inkling

Author/illustrator: Emily Jenkins/Harry Bliss

Publisher: Balzer + Bray (April 2011)

Hank Wolowitz lives in New York and owns an ice cream shop called The Big Round Pumpkin with his mom, dad, and his sister, Nadia. One day at the shop, Hank feels something under the sink. It feels furry. He finds out it is an animal called a bandapat, and it is invisible and can speak. The bandapat's name is Inkling. Inkling's three favorite foods are squash, pumpkin, and pizza. I liked that the book was silly. My favorite part was when Inkling jumped on Mrs. Cherry. I would recommend this book to children who have invisible friends.

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Johnny Boo (6) says, "My mother read this book to me twice because I liked it so much."

The Big Round Pumpkin is loosely based on Blue Marble, an ice cream shop in Brooklyn. Here are Tintin and Johnny Boo at the Blue Marble stand at Smorgasburg in Brooklyn:

Invisible Inkling, about a boy starting fourth grade without his best friend and dealing with a bully who takes his lunch, is the first book in the Invisible Inkling series. The second book, coming out July 24, is all about Halloween:

Books of the Week: Sarah Noble, Explorer, Giggler Treatment, Lunch Lady, My Weird School, Tiny Titans

Here are our favorites from the past week:

Tintin, age 9

The Courage of Sarah Noble
Author: Alice Dalgliesh
Genre: Fiction

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes
Editor: Kazu Kibuishi
Genre: Graphic Novel

The Giggler Treatment
Author: Roddy Doyle
Genre: Fiction

Lunch Lady and the Mutant Mathletes
Author: Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Genre: Graphic Novel










Johnny Boo, age 6

My Weird School #11: Mrs. Kormel Is Not Normal
Author/illustrator: Dan Gutman/Jim Paillot
Genre: Fiction

Tiny Titans and the Science Fair!
Author: Art Baltazar
Genre: Fiction/Easy Reader

Books of the Week: James and the Giant Peach; Sarah, Plain and Tall; Mameshiba; Tiny Titans

Here are our favorite books this week:


Tintin, age 9

James and the Giant Peach
Author/illustrator: Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake
Genre: Fiction

After losing his parents in a rhino accident, James must live with his two evil aunts--until a giant peach with talking insects suddenly appears and takes James far, far away. Tintin said this is one of his favorite Roald Dahl books, and even though it's a bit different from the movie, he likes it just as much.

Sarah, Plain and Tall
Author: Patricia MacLachlan
Genre: Fiction

Caleb and Anna's mother dies just after Caleb is born, sometime in the late 19th century. When their father advertises for a wife, Sarah responds. She comes to the prairie all the way from Maine, but the children worry she'll grow homesick and leave. Tintin's response after a couple of chapters: "This is actually really good!" And then he finished it the next day.


Johnny Boo, age 6

Mameshiba: On the Loose!
Author/illustrators: James Turner/Jorge Monlonge; Gemma Correll
Genre: Graphic Novel

In their first book, the Mameshiba ("bean dog" in Japanese) rescue their pea-knapped friend and explore outer space. Johnny Boo has read this book every day (several times a day) ever since we got it from the library. I think we're going to have to buy it, along with the bean dogs' next graphic novel, Mameshiba: We Could Be Heroes, coming out next month. Oh, and the 9-year-old likes it, too, although I think he's only read it twice.

Tiny Titans Go Camping!
Author/illustrator: Art Baltazar
Genre: Easy Reader Fiction

The Tiny Titans (Starfire, Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, Aqualad, and Bumblebee) go to Sidekick City National Park for a camping weekend. While there, they roast hot dogs, fish with cookies, have a tea party, and encounter a few green beasts. Johnny Boo is excited to start reading his other library find, Tiny Titans and the Science Fair!, in which Barbara Gordon, Terra, and Wonder Girl join in the fun.

6-Year-Old Picks

Here are some of Johnny Boo's favorites from March and April:

Ricky Ricotta, Captain Underpants, The Adventures of Super Diaper Baby
Author: Dav Pilkey

Mr. Men, including...
Mr. Men: Favourite Stories and whatever other Mr. Men and Little Miss books Johnny Boo found at the library (there are about 49 in all)
Author: Roger Hargreaves

And there are new Mr. Men graphic novels!

The Franny K. Stein series
Author: Jim Benton

Balloon Toons: The Totally Awesome Epic Quest of the Brave Boy Knight
Author: Pranas T. Naujokaitis

Yellowbelly and Plum Go to School
Author: Nathan Hale

Toys Go Out, Toys Come Home, Toy Dance Party
Author/illustrator: Emily Jenkins/Paul Zelinsky

George Brown, Class Clown: Super Burp
Author/illustrator: Nancy Krulik/Aaron Blecha











And here's an example of the writing skills Johnny Boo's developed with the help of Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot Astro-Activity Book O' Fun:

Kids' Snack Menu, With 70+ Snack Ideas

I got tired of hearing things like "Mom, what should I eat?" and "There's nothing to eat!" (after I'd listed several possibilities). So I made the boys their own snack menu, to look through whenever they're hungry. I printed it out, laminated it, punched a few holes in it, and put it all together with pipe cleaners, which allows me to add more pages whenever I want.

There are more than 70 snacks on our menu right now, so I used dry-erase markers to show them what's available–what they can make themselves, what they'll need help with, and what they'll have to wait a little while for–and what's not available. At the end of the menu, I added a page for them to fill out with dry-erase markers anything they want that's not available–so in addition to having to read the menu, they get some writing practice as well. Now I just need to find a frog's eyeball for my future mad scientist...

You can print the snack menu here. The snack ideas on the menu are all healthy, although some of them might not sound it. You can find recipes for many of these ideas at Chocolate-Covered Katie.

9-Year-Old Boy: Series Books

Here's what Tintin's been reading lately:

Attack of the Volcano Monkeys (Ordinary Basil)
Author: Wiley Miller
Publisher: The Blue Sky Press (February 2008)
Category: Chapter Book (2nd in series)

In this second Ordinary Basil book, Basil and his friend Louise travel (via pteranodon) to a planet of intelligent monkeys and try to overthrow the king.

Wonkenstein (The Creature From My Closet)
Author: Obert Skye
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co. (September 2011)
Category: Chapter Book (1st in series)

Rob finds a strange creature in his closet. Wonkenstein is a cross between Willy Wonka and Frankenstein, characters in two of the books Rob has thrown into his overstuffed closet. Tintin can't wait for the next book, in which Rob finds yet another creature (Potterwookiee) in his closet and probably gets in even more trouble.

Snarf Attack, Underfoodle, and the Secret of Life: The Riot Brothers Tell All
Author/illustrator: Mary Amato/Ethan Long
Publisher: Holiday House (April 2007)
Category: Chapter Book (1st in series)

Fifth grader Wilbur and his third-grade brother, Orville, catch a crook, search for treasure, and try to overthrow a king. Along the way, they also play a few games elementary school boys will love reading about. Upon finishing this book, Tintin immediately checked out the second book in the series, Drooling and Dangerous: The Riot Brothers Return.

The Chameleon Wore Chartreuse (A Chet Gecko Mystery)
Author: Bruce Hale
Publisher: Perfection Learning (April 2001)
Category: Chapter Book (1st in series)

Chet Gecko is a fourth-grade private investigator. In this first mystery, Chet is hired to find Billy, the missing brother of Chet's chameleon classmate. With the help of mockingbird Natalie Attired, Chet looks for clues that will help him find Billy before the start of the football game.