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:

Phineas and Ferb and A Platypus' World

Some of us have a small obsession with Phineas and Ferb. At the most recent Scholastic book fair, each boy got a Phineas and Ferb book, as well as a Phineas and Ferb poster to share. Tintin also recently asked for a book on platypuses because he correctly assumed Perry the Platypus was not your average platypus and he wanted to see what they were really like. A couple of reviews:

The Phineas and Ferb Comic Reader #1: Nothing But Trouble
The Phineas and Ferb Comic Reader #2: The Chronicles of Meap
Author: John Green
Publisher: Disney Press (June 2010)
Category: Graphic Novel

The book we actually got from the book fair is two books in one, Nothing But Trouble on one side and The Chronicles of Meap on the other. (We also got Phineas and Ferb's Guide to Life but haven't delved into it enough to review it.) In Nothing But Trouble, Phineas and Ferb experiment with gelatin, but of course something goes wrong and out of a pool of gelatin emerges an enormous gelatin monster. The evil Dr. Doofenschmirtz gets involved and Perry steps in to save the day. In the second part of Nothing But Trouble, Phineas and Ferb and their family explore London. Candace uses Sherlock Holmes's method of deduction to bust her brothers (once and for all). There's a little bit of Big Ben and of course appearances from Dr. Doofenschmirtz and Perry the Platypus.

The Chronicles of Meap is about a cute little alien who has crash-landed in Phineas and Ferb's yard and needs help defeating his evil enemy. Phineas and Ferb (and Perry) come to the rescue and, with the help of the universal mustache translator, Meap can finally show his appreciation.

The boys liked this book so much that I had to hide it to stop them from fighting over it.

And a review by Tintin, age 9:

A Platypus' World

Author/illustrator: Caroline Arnold

Publisher: Picture Window Books (January 2008)

Categories: Picture Book/Nonfiction

In this story it tells about platypuses and their life. It tells about their habitats, prey, enemies, food, and how babies are made. I thought this book was great. I liked how there were little pink platypus babies. My favorite part is how they make the burrows. I would recommend this book to animal lovers.

It's Valentine's Day (Jack Prelutsky)

It's Valentine's Day
Author/illustrator: Jack Prelutsky/Yossi Abolafia
Publisher: Mulberry (1996)
Category: Poetry

It's Valentine's Day is a collection of 14 Valentine's poems from the nation's first children's poet laureate (and the boys' favorite poet not named Shel Silverstein). Check out Prelutsky's website for a few of his other poems and for poetry-writing activities for children.

We chose "I Love You More Than Applesauce" as a basis for poems the boys are giving to their teachers today (and because I won't be able to get them to write any more poems for a while, they're for you, too, grandmas). We got the idea from Elise in Ukraine. Here's the original Prelutsky poem:

I love you more than applesauce,
Than peaches and a plum,
Than chocolate hearts and cherry tarts
And berry bubblegum.

I love you more than lemonade
And seven-layer cakes,
Than lollipops and candy drops
And thick vanilla shakes.

I love you more than marzipan,
Than marmalade on toast,
Oh I love pies of any size,
But I love YOU the most.

Here's Tintin's:

I love you more than dim sum;
I love you more than bubblegum.
I really love lasagna,
But I love YOU the most.

And Johnny Boo's (with a reference to the Mercy Watson series):

I love you more than blood orange flan;
I love you more than naan.
I really love red velvet cheesecake and hot buttered toast,
But I love YOU the most.

Here are some of the 42 hearts we made to hand out to teachers and classmates (the teachers' poems are on the backs of their hearts). Directions for the hearts can be found at Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas.

Happy Valentine's Day!