Thursday, December 30, 2010

How to Sell Laffy Taffy

We found this on the computer:

Hello I want to work at [Daddy's advertising agency].
I want to be a copywriter just like my dad.
I really want to do adds and different asignments.
I am really interesed in being a writer.

Sincerely
[Tintin]

So Daddy told Tintin how to make an ad. Here's his first one:













 Award-winning, no?

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Books of the Year, 4-Year-Old Boy Edition, Graphic Novels

The following books are Johnny Boo's favorite graphic novels; however, his 7-year-old brother has read and loved them all as well.

Benny and Penny
Author/illustrator: Geoffrey Hayes

Find it at Lone Star Comics.
Phonics Comics: Cave Dave
Author/illustrator: Carol McAdams Moore and Mike Dammer

Find it: Amazon
Johnny Boo
Author/illustrator: James Kochalka

Find it on Amazon: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, Book 4
Find it at Lone Star Comics.

Johnny Mutton
Author/illustrator: James Proimos 

Mo and Jo: Fighting Forever Together
Author/illustrator: Jay Lynch and Dean Haspiel

Otto's Orange Day
Author/illustrator: Jay Lynch/Frank Cammuso

Polo
Author/illustrator: Régis Faller

Find it at Lone Star Comics.
Yam:Bite-Size Chunks
Author/illustrator: Corey Barba 

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Books of the Year, 7-Year-Old Boy Edition, Graphic Novels

Here are Tintin's favorite graphic novels from  2010 (but not necessarily published in 2010). We haven't reviewed all of them, but they're all books Tintin would read again.

The 3-2-3 Detective Agency: The Disappearance of Dave Warthog
Author/illustrator: Fiona Robinson

Our review
Find it: Amazon
The Adventures of Tintin, Volumes 1-7
Author/illustrator: Hergé 

Our review
Find it: Amazon
Amazing Greek Myths of Wonder and Blunders
Author/illustrator: Mike Townsend

Our review
Find it: Amazon
Babymouse, #s 1-13
Author/illustrator: Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm 

Find it: Amazon 

Coming May 10, 2011: Babymouse #14: Mad Scientist
The Clouds Above
Author/illustrator: Jordan Crane 

Find it: Amazon, Lone Star Comics

Kaput and Zösky
Author/illustrator: Lewis Trondheim, with Eric Cartier

 Our review
 Find it: Amazon
Knights of the Lunch Table, #s 1 & 2
Author/illustrator: Frank Cammuso 

Our review
Find it on Amazon: #1: The Dodgeball Chronicles, #2: The Dragon Players 
Find it at Lone Star Comics: #1: The Dodgeball Chronicles
Little Vampire
Author/illustrator: Joann Sfar

Find it: Amazon
Lunch Lady, #s 1-4
Author/illustrator: Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Find it on Amazon: Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, Lunch Lady and the League of Librarians, Lunch Lady and the Author Visit Vendetta, Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown

Coming December 28, 2010: Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit

Magic Trixie, #s 1-3
Author/illustrator: Jill Thompson 

Our review
Find it on Amazon: Magic Trixie, Magic Trixie Sleeps Over, Magic Trixie and the Dragon
Sardine in Outer Space, #s 1-6
Author/illustrator: Emmanuel Guilbert and Joann Sfar

 
Our reviews: Sardine in Outer Space 3, Sardine in Outer Space 4
Find it: Amazon, Lone Star Comics



Tiny Tyrant, Volumes 1 & 2
Author/illustrator: Lewis Trondheim

Find it on Amazon: Volume 1: The Ethelbertosaurus, Volume 2: The Lucky Winner
 Find it at Lone Star Comics: Tiny Tyrant, 1st Edition




Wizards of Mickey, Volumes 1 & 2
Author/illustrator: Stefano Ambrosio/Lorenzo Pastrovicchio

Find it on Amazon: Volume 1: Mouse Magic, Volume 2: Grand Tournament
Find it at Lone Star Comics: Wizards of Mickey

Coming February 1, 2011: Wizards of Mickey Volume 3: Battle for the Crown

Monday, December 13, 2010

The Eyeball Tower

Sometimes sibling jealousy can be a good thing, like when the younger brother sees the older brother taking "writing classes" from Dad.

So recently we began having Johnny Boo dictate stories to us. He can write on his own, but dictating helps him focus on his ideas rather than on whether he's spelling correctly.

Here are the results of our latest dictation, a story by Johnny Boo, age 4:


Once the Eyeball Tower was alone and he didn't have any friends. 'Cause he had eyeballs all over him. And he had snot in his nose. The Eyeball Tower doesn't have any friends because it's not real.

It doesn't do anything fun. It just stays where it is. It has buttons.

The Eyeball Tower turned into the Eiffel Tower because it took potions. It plays every game at the carnival. It has Eiffel Tower friends that look like babies.

The End

For another story by Johnny Boo, see The Little Tiny Mouse over at Mother Is Not Concerned.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Marco and the Ape King

A story by Tintin, age 7

Chapter 1: All About Marco

Marco is 10 years old. He lives in a green house in Italy. He has a mother and father and a brother named Jon. They are a nice family. They have a little green house.

Marco is a big boy. He has brown hair and blue eyes, and he is fat! His favorite color is black. He is good at eating. He likes to eat Poppies cereal and he dislikes soup and raisins. His friend is named Myron.

Chapter 2: Marco Goes to South Africa

Marco goes to the airport and gets on the plane to South Africa. It takes eight hours to get there. Once they are there they go to a hotel. They slept there for one day. Then they started their adventure.



















Chapter 3: The Ape Ninjas

They went through the jungle until they heard a "hee hee" sound. Ape ninjas were all around. Then they were captured by the ninjas. They were brought to the ape castle. The ape king put them in prison.



















Chapter 4: Ape Prison

The bars were too thick to talk to other people. It was dark and scary. There were eight skeletons. It smelled awful!

Marco was crying because he missed his brother and his mom and dad. Marco wished someone would save him.

Chapter 5: Mr. Squirrel

There was a "squeak squeak" sound. There was a squirrel. He said his name was Mr. Squirrel. He chewed on the bars so they could escape the prison. They went back to the airport. They finally returned home.

The End



















Books coming up

3* Marco and the Silvermoon Crystal
4* Marco and the Underground Demons
5* Marco and the Vampire Dogs

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Johnny Boo and the Mean Little Boy

Review by Johnny Boo, age 4

Johnny Boo and the Mean Little Boy (Book 4)
Author/illustrator: James Kochalka

Johnny Boo and the Mean Little Boy is about Johnny Boo and Squiggle. Johnny Boo and Squiggle are ghosties. Squiggle had to make new friends. The mean little boy comes over and thinks the ghost is a butterfly. Johnny Boo finds Squiggle in a jar. My favorite part is when Johnny Boo lets Squiggle out of the jar. I like this book because it's funny and pleasurous. The funny part is when the mean little boy pees in his pants and he changes his pants. I would recommend this book to hilarious kids and funny kids.

Editor's note: My Johnny Boo doesn't know it yet, but Johnny Boo Does Something! (Book 5) is coming out in August. I think I'll wait until July to tell him about it – otherwise I'll be hearing "Is it August yet? How about tomorrow?" every day for the next several months.


And to show you what a completist he is, here he is with his Johnny Boo collection, including Owly and Friends from 2008 and 2009 (we still need the one from 2010):

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Our Roald Dahl Loot


















Tintin entered the Roald Dahl Reading Dahlathon and was one of the first 1,000 participants, which means that in addition to his certificate and free book, he also got an Official Reading Dahlathon Medal. For the contest he had to read three Roald Dahl books between September 1 and December 31. He was so excited about getting a medal that he finished all three books – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Magic Finger, and The Vicar of Nibbleswicke – in September.

Here's his medal:
















And his new book:

The Witches: A Set of Plays
Author/illustrator: Roald Dahl/Quentin Blake

Adapted by David Wood, The Witches: A Set of Plays consists of seven short plays about a boy, his grandmother and (bear with me, I haven't had a chance to read this yet) probably some witches. Tintin has had a fascination with reading plays ever since he took acting classes 2 1/2 years ago, so I'm pretty sure he'll enjoy reading this and performing the plays with his puppets and his brother (who is also sometimes his puppet). From the back of the book: With useful tips on staging, props, and costumes, these plays are easy to perform and are sure to be great fun for everyone.

Other plays adapted from Roald Dahl books:

  • The BFG: A Set of Plays
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: A Play
  • James and the Giant Peach: A Play
  • The Twits: A Set of Plays

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group for the prizes and congrats to Tintin!