THE GRAPHIC NOVELS

Two hilarious graphic novels (comic books) which somehow got missed: Sidekicks by Dan Santat  and Mr. Pants: It's Go Time! by Scott McCormick and R. H. Lazzell.  

Mr. Pants and his siblings are cats but his mom is human and once you can suspend that belief, the can story begin. Mr. Pants is not very nice and he always wants things his way. He tries to manipulate his family members to go along with his way of thinking.  Hmmm... sound like any family members you know?

For readers in 2nd and up.

Sidekicks is Dan Santat's  full color graphic novel about a human superhero who is the town superhero but he's off his game due to a bad allergic reaction during a capture and decides maybe he needs a sidekick to help him out. His house pets go into overdrive to come up with ways to get ready for the audition but they soon discover his old sidekick, the cat, is still alive and secretly working his own form of vigilante justice in the dark alleys. This is graphic novel is colorful, action packed and a whole lot of wacky fun.  

For readers in 4th and up.

THE PESKY BIRD

THE PESKY BIRD is not really about a bird. It's the story of a young Armenian girl who loves to climb trees. However, there was a time that girls had to conform to certain types of social standards, and believe it or not, climbing tress was not an acceptable for young girls. However, Mariam was not to take those rules seriously because she was smart and wanted to experience all that she could, including climbing trees. Once, when she was hiding on top of a mulberry tree, she got confused for a pesky bird, however when she got caught things did not turn out as bad as one would think. This is a simple story with water color illustrations that is ultimately about social acceptance. THE PESKY BIRD is by MARIANNE MARKARIAN and the illustrations are by MARGARET MARKARIAN WASIELEWSKI.

For grades 2nd and up.

I HATE TO READ!

Victor Dickens is a regular kid who likes to watch television and do whatever he feels like. However, he is suffering from a major symptom, and that is the "I hate reading symptom." At school he gets A's and B's on all subjects except reading. All of his family members try to help him by feeding him alphabet soup and investing in volumes of books. However, all fail do to his almost incurable problem.

And than...really unbelievable events start happening and even if you too hate reading, you must read this book to see what happens and if you too can also be cured as well.

I HATE TO READ is written by RITA MARSHALL and the illustrations are bye ETIENNE DELESSERT.

For grades 2nd and up.

GET SET, GO!

The year is coming to an end, and everyone has probably planned what they want to accomplish next year. I bet that one of the first things on your list is to become physically more active in your daily life.

Now... How do we all try to stay motivated and have the drive to make this happen? Real Fitness: 101 Games and Activities to Get Girls Going! from the American Girl series is the perfect pocket book that gives so many fun ideas, from miniature golf to playing mazes to swinklering ( setting up a sprinkle in front of a swing). The book has tons of unique ideas that will definitely inspire you to get going.

For grades 2nd and older.

SILENT MUSIC

Ali is a young boy who lives in Baghdad where bombs and missiles are destroying everything around him. However, he is such a strong boy that he refuses to let his spirit be broken in any way. His love for calligraphy gives him the hope to try to stay alive so that he can continue to make beautiful calligraphy just like his hero Yakut.

Yakut is one of the most famous calligraphist who also happened to be living in Baghdad during the 1258 war when the Mongols attacked his county.

The illustrations in the book are just beautiful with a lot of rich earthy colors with some Arabic writing. This story is poetic, informative and heartbreaking.

SILENT MUSIC: A STORY OF BAGHDAD is written by JAMES RUMFORD.

For grades 2nd through 6th.

BEFORE BARACK, HILLARY & JOHN MCCAIN

The history of the presidents has never been so fascinating as it is in SO YOU WANT TO BE PRESIDENT by Judith St. George. Not only will you learn which past presidents had pets or facial hair, you will read about Andrew Jackson, who worked as a tailor or Ronald Reagan, the movie star, before they became president. It also talks about the perks of being president, just in case you plan on being president some day. From good to bad, you'll learn all about the presidential history of the United States. The illustrations are hilarious and do more than highlight the stories. This is definitely a book to inspire readers to look further into different presidents and their interesting lives. For 2nd grade and up.