Graphic-Novel-Loving Librarian Blog

Summary : Families always enjoy playing games and sports with each other, because they bring family members closer together. But being able to play for fun is one thing but to do it at the professional level is a remarkable feat. There have been many siblings who have played various professional sports together, whether it was the Ripkens and Griffeys in the MLB or the Wilkens and Grants in the NBA.  But no family has ever been able to field an entire team, that is until the Acerra family.  We learn about the brothers love for the game of baseball, their various individual accomplishments, and more amazingly the numerous family   achievements. Vernick gives us an amusing true account of the family being able to field a professional baseball playing in many leagues for a number of years bringing joy to many baseball fans and families alike.   Reference: Vernick, A. (2012). Brothers at bat: The true story of an amazing all-brother baseball team. New York, NY. Haughton Mifflin Harc

Summary: Have you ever wondered if your parents really are your parents? What if you found out that some people, who have been looking for you for years, say that they're your parents? What would you do? For Janie, this is exactly what happens.  She discovers that the missing person picture on the back of a milk carton is a picture of her when she was young. She even remembers the dress that she's wearing in the missing person picture. Janie is beside herself, not knowing how to react or if to even believe it. At one point she's a regular teenager trying to convince her parents to get her driver's permit the next she's wondering if Janie is her real name. When Janie discovers her true identity and her parents true identity, her questions and problems only grow. If what her parents, now grandparents, say is true that she was for removed from her location for her own safety then why is someone publicly looking for her. When Janie does a little investigating on her

Summary: Were all nursery rhymes fabricated or were they simply unsolved crime mysteries? The only way we can find out is by following Binky. Who's Binky? Well, he's a cop, robbery detail in the Pinecone Division. We get to tag along with Binky as he investigates a break in at the Bears house, a missing person case of a witch who lived in a candy house, and property damage from a giant falling from the sky. See all the popular nursery tale mysteries get solved, where justice is served, and the crime rate in Pinecone drops. Reference: Levinthal, D. & Nickle, J. (2012). Who pushed Humpty Dumpty? And other notorious nursery tale mysteries .  New York, NY. Schwartz & Wade Books. Impressions: This book had me from, "My name's Binky. I'm a cop." I found the stories to be amusing and creative. To re-visit old nursery rhymes as crime mysteries greatly impressed me. I think that this book could be enjoyed by many age groups and not just younger kids.

Summary:  Who wouldn't want to be a half-god?  To be the child of an Olympic god would be awesome with a capital A, right?  Well, as we discover, it isn't as great as we might believe.  If you don't believe me just ask young Percy Jackson.  Percy, or Perseus, is an at-risk student who has a proclivity for trouble, not only at home but also at school.  While he is at school strange instances occur, like a bully who is picking on Percy gets pummeled by a flood of water from a water fountain and while on a field trip to the museum he gets attacked by a Fury. What? A Fury? You read correctly, a Fury; a Greek mythological monster. Though he is able to defeat the Fury, who for some reason tries to kill him, Percy is told by his favorite teacher, Mr. Brunner, that he must leave the city and head to a place called Camp Half-Blood.  It is there that Percy will find the answers to many of his questions, or so he is told.  Ironically, Percy's best friend, Grover, turns out to

Summary: We're all different in our little ways, and we do our best to hide our differences. For some people their differences aren't so easily hidden, which makes some people think that their differences gives them carte blanche to mock them.  In this book by Ellen Potter, 12-year-old Owen is a chubby kid who gets picked on by his classmates and his gym teacher, which often times leaves him feeling dejected and alone. Owen does has a few friends but they aren't the most popular kids in the school either.  To top it all off, his sister, Caitlin has joined a group of girls who are tired of the unequal treatment of girls in the school, and in society, so they decide to give themselves boy's names.  Caitlin insists, then, on being called Jeremy. As if Owen needed more fuel for his tormentors to ignite. However, the most troubling aspect to all of this, is that someone keeps stealing Owen's Oreo cookies from his lunch bag. You can call some people every name in the b

Summary: There's most likely one student in your class who is always trying to make a buck or to try and sell you something.  Well, in this story that's exactly what 12-year-old Greg tries to do, except what he's selling is popular and everybody wants it: comic books.  Greg isn't just selling any comic book, on the contrary, he's selling Chunky Comics.  Greg writes, illustrates, and publishes Chunky Comics all by himself which bring in a good profit, that is until his ultra-competitive neighbor Maura starts to produce her own comics, hording in on Greg's business. Unfortunately, just as Greg and Maura bury the hatchet, another problem arises: their comic books become banned from school.  With the help of a teacher, the two entrepreneurs face the school board and fight against the censorship placed upon them.  In the end, Greg and Maura are victorious and agree to make Chunky Comics together and share the profits with the school. Reference: Clements, A. (2

Summary: I'm sure that at some point in your life you've tried to recall everything you did in one day as you laid down in your bed.  Or you've tried to trace your steps backwards to remember where you place some keys or other important things.  Well, this story does both of those things.  In this tale, as the young bear goes to sleep, the mother bear asks her cub to tell her everything that the cub did that day, but to tell it backwards. The cub starts at the most recent event then traces his steps throughout, all the way to the morning when he had woken up from hibernation.  This most likely tires out the cub and gets him wound down to help him fall asleep. Reference: Lamb, A. (2011). Tell me the day backwards.  Somerville, MA. Candlewick Press. Impressions:  I was touched by this story because I'm a parent of a 4-year-old and I enjoy sharing her discoveries of the world around her, through all the things she sees and experiences.  I could then easily imagine

Summary: In the early years of the 20th Century, Elizabeth Coleman, Bessie, becomes the first African-American female pilot.  The book tells of her story through the narration of different characters in Bessie's life.  From friends, family, and acquaintances, we learn about Bessie as she grew up, her character, and her struggles.  Bessie not only battled sexism from those who believed that women couldn't fly to racism that kept her from being a pilot to non-minorities.  We learn that Bessie had to travel overseas in order to get her pilot license and even after earning it, many wouldn't allow her to fly planes in the U.S.  Unfortunately, after previous close calls, Bessie dies in a plane crash at the young age of 34, never fulfilling her dream of opening a flight school for African Americans. Reference: Grimes, N. (2001) Talkin' about Bessie: The story of aviator Elizabeth Coleman.  New York, NY. Orchard Books Impressions: I was impressed by the way Nikki Grimes

Summary:  The stories of saints are always inspiring and the story of Martin de Porres is no different. As a child born from a nobleman father and a slave mother, Martin is handed over by his mother to the Dominican priests in Lima, Peru.  After a  number of years, young Martin could no longer be raised by either of his parents.  Begrudgingly the priests accept Martin but only as a slave.  Because of his mixed heritage, many look down upon Martin but Martin pays no attention to his position.  Instead he willingly and gleefully gives of himself to his assigned duties. Amazingly, Martin finds that he has the ability to heal those who are sick, but because of his status the only ones who know of his healing abilities are his fellow downtrodden.  When the priests finally become aware of his gifts, they realize that Martin is someone with a strong grace from God.  From here, Martin is invited into the priestly order and continued to perform many miracles and helped to heal those in need

Summary: How many times do pre-teens beg their parents to let them stay home by themselves, assuring their parents that they are more then capable of taking care of themselves?   If you're of those that questions the resiliency of the younger generation, then read this book and discover just what they're capable of.  A 12-year-old girl's tribe needs to be shipped off their island and onto safer and more contemporary conditions after almost being annihilated by intruding hunters.  Unfortunately as the ship is sailing off, Karana sees her younger brother still on the island, so she decides to jump off the ship to be with him with the hope that another ship will soon return for them.  No ship returns that day and on the next day the younger brother is killed by a pack of wild dogs.  Karana discovers that she is left all alone on the island.  She learns how to survive by building her own shelter, hunt her own food, make her own clothes, and, more importantly, masters the wi

Summary: All pet lovers at one point in there life like to think that they will one day be reunited with their favorite pets in heaven.  Well, in this fun and interesting story, we discover a cat that practically wills itself into heaven by befriending an artist.  We initially find the cat being reluctantly adopted by the artist when his maid brings it to the artist's home.  Soon after he decides to keep the cat, the artist is hired by monks for a grand commission, to create a painting of Buddha on his death bed. With such a grand endeavor before him, the artist focuses on his creation by intricately painting various animals to join Buddha in his last days as they visit him.  Throughout his work, the cat becomes an inspiration to the artist and because of the cat's soothing demeanor the artist wants to include the feline into the painting of Buddha. Unfortunately, history has told that the cat was not included in Buddha's heaven because of its pride and aloofness.  The a