Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham

Back in June at the Ann Arbor Comic Arts Festival, I had the privilege of being introduced to Thien Pham by the inimitable Raina Telgemeier. When Raina recommends a book and then introduces you to the author/illustrator, you go out and read that book (Side note, I even got the privilege of driving Thien and Raina to Detroit for an adventure as part of his 100 days of noodles prior to his book's publication). This graphic memoir blew me away and touched my heart.

Thein Pham's first memory is on a refugee boat from Vietnam to Thailand and to this day, he can still taste the sweetness of the rice and the saltiness of the fish of what he ate after a near catastrophic moment on that boat. In Family Style, we go on a journey with Thien Pham and his family as they navigate their lives as refugees and then immigrants to the United States, settling in Northern California. Each chapter in this book is organized around a specific dish as we watch Thien and his family live the American dream. The culminating chapter of this book is so beautiful and emotionally resonant that I will be thinking about it for a long time. What I especially love is that Family Style is a graphic memoir that can go on ANY library shelf... middle grade readers, young adults, and adults alike can pick up this book, enjoy it, and feel like it was written just for them.

Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham

Published: June 20, 2023

Publisher: First Second

Pages: 240

Genre: Graphic Memoir

Audience: Middle grade/Young Adult/Adult

Disclosure: Purchased copy

Purchasing the book from the above Bookshop affiliate link supports independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

This amazing graphic memoir by Dan Santat is out in the world today and if you teach middle school especially, you need this book for your classroom library.

I read this book on my flight back home from NCTE back in November and I have been impatiently waiting to share this book with readers, but no more!

The premise of this book is that the summer before high school, Dan is presented with an opportunity to travel to Europe with a school group for 3 weeks, but he is initially ambivalent. He wants to experience new things, but he's not sure he wants to do it with some of his classmates. But as the trip goes on, he realizes how much bigger the world grows for him as he tries new and forbidden things for the first time (beer, cigarettes, coffee, and even steals a bike... this was the 80s... we were all feral in the 80s ), has his first summer romance, and he sees what the world has to offer beyond his small hometown.

I read this book on my flight home from NCTE and it was the perfect book to read on a plane. My experience living in Europe was in my 20s but I saw so much of my own experience in this book and how the world became so much bigger for me. I loved the way the story was structured, I love how it ended in a way that it felt like you were watching a movie, oh, and I also love that I understood most of the German throughout the book and laughed so hard when Dan was baring his soul to Helga, his Austrian host mother whom he lived with for a week and she said "Es tut mir leid, dass ich nicht verstehe was du sagt." This book has so much heart and is relatable in so many ways, whether that's the travel angle, the "middle school was torture" angle or the pining away for a summer romance angle. So many readers will devour this book and I'm so glad it's finally out in the world for more readers to love.

A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Published: February 28, 2023

Publisher: First Second

Pages: 320

Genre: Graphic Memoir

Audience: Older middle grade/younger YA

Disclosure: ARC received at NCTE 2022

Purchasing the book from the above Bookshop affiliate link supports independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

Run: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, L. Fury, and Nate Powell

 

"First you march, then you run." 

John Lewis' story doesn't end with the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Run Book One is the story of tension within the membership of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, that John Lewis was the leader of. What stands out most in reading this first book in the series are the comparisons the reader can make to what was happening in the 1960s to what is happening now -- how despite the progress that African Americans have made, white Americans always find a way to push back in an attempt to continue their oppressive behavior, both systemic and on an individual level. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about how difficult it is to live in these turbulent times, thinking that every time you turn around something horrible is happening in our country or the world, but reading Run was a good reminder that this era does not hold a monopoly on continuous terrible events. The difference is, we just have instantaneous access to those events, therefore flooding our brains with constant anxiety and existential dread. 

This book ends on a cliffhanger, which makes sense because it is intended to be a trilogy just like March. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book and if it were already available, I would be picking it up immediately. 

Run: Book One by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, L. Fury, and Nate Powell
Published: August 3, 2021
Publisher: Abrams ComicArts
Pages: 152
Genre: Memoir/Graphic Novel
Audience: Young Adult/Adult
Disclosure: Free copy received at ALA conference 2022

Purchasing from the above Bookshop affiliate link supports independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

ARC Review: Guts by Raina Telgemeier

When Raina and her mom wake up one night with a case of the stomach flu, they both think it will pass quickly. But soon, Raina finds herself getting sick whenever she feels anxious about food, school, and life at home in her crowded apartment. Guts is her journey of discovering how anxiety manifested in physical ways in her life and how she managed her fears. 

I wanted this book to be longer. Not because it felt incomplete, but because I saw so much of myself in Raina's story and I had someone to commiserate with. I have suffered from anxiety and IBS since middle school, so this story felt like my story. 

I think this will be an important book for kids and adults to talk openly about mental health struggles, particularly anxiety, and will help to normalize going to therapy. My favorite line from the book was when Raina is in a session with her therapist and struggling to find the words to explain how she feels:

"Thoughts can exist...
Feelings can exist...
But words do not always exist."

Finding the words for your thoughts and feelings is exactly why there should be no shame in going to therapy. To be able to name a feeling is so freeing. I'm grateful that a book like this will exist for kids to help give words to their thoughts and feelings. The fact that Raina is so open about these struggles will help end the shame and stigma many people feel about mental health and digestive issues. 


Guts by Raina Telgemeier
Expected Publication: September 17, 2019
Publisher: Graphix
Pages: 215
Genre/Format: Graphic Memoir
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: ARC provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Secondhand Heroes Blog Tour

Welcome to Justin LaRocca Hansen to the blog today. He is here to talk about the final book in the Secondhand Heroes graphic novel trilogy, The Last Battle:

Two ordinary objects turned a pair of brothers into superheroes. Now they're banding together with their neighbors to take down the evil Trench once and for all in the final volume of this graphic novel trilogy.

Tuck and Hudson have figured out how to wield the superpowers they got when their mom bought them an ordinary-looking pair of scarves and an umbrella at a yard sale. But Trench, their supervillain archnemesis, is only getting more powerful. Slowly, the brothers have discovered the others in their town who have superpowered objects from that same yard sale. Now Tuck and Hudson, along with their friend Elvira and their squirrel sidekick, Steen, are leading a band of heroes in the fight against Trench. This final volume of the graphic novel adventure series features the heroes' last stand, with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Thank you Justin for visiting the blog today. In Secondhand Heroes, two brothers become superheroes using two scarves and an umbrella their mom bought at a yard sale. Why these particular items? And how did the idea of becoming a superhero from secondhand items come to you?

My family has always had a healthy collection of “junk” in our basement. As a kid I would spend hours going through some of that junk and discovering items from my parents’ and grandparents’ past. I think there is something magical about that. Each item has an unknown history and mystery to it. It was an easy leap for me as a child and an adult that something in those piles of junk could contain actual magic.

I picked an umbrella for a few reasons. It’s such a fun tool. I mean…it starts as a sword and then can open into a shield! Well that’s how I thought about it when I was young. With its curved handle it always gave me the impression that it could pull you and you needed that curved handle to hang on for dear life. Which of course can happen in the right storm or if the umbrella could actually fly. For the scarves I just love the action of swinging and gliding and scarves that can stretch and take any shape fit that model perfectly. Also I talk with my hands a lot and sometimes a scarf can become an extension of that.

In your author bio it says that much of your work is inspired by your own childhood adventures. Can you share some of those adventures that inspired this particular series?

Yeah and this often happens without me fully realizing it. A lot of the characters are based on real people. The brothers are heavily influenced by my brother and myself, the villain, Mr. Motstander aka Trench, is based on my 7^th grade English teacher and there are quite a few moments that mirror real life moments.

For example my brother and I were walking down a beach in Cape Cod very late at night and we came upon a SHARK. It was beached, flopping on the sand and the surf was way too rough for it to wiggle its way back into the ocean. So we decided, let’s save this shark. We picked it up and waded past where the waves were breaking. We whispered good thoughts to the shark and gently tossed it into the water. Than we ran out of there as fast as possible as we did not want it to turn around and give us a nibble. Now I will tell you saving a shark’s life really boosts the ego of a teenage human.

We felt like heroes! We strolled back down the beach and my brother found a beat up old umbrella. He ran to the top of the sand dune and, intoxicated by his newfound hero status, he leapt off the dune, opening the umbrella as he fell. I suppose he thought he would float to the ground? Of course he plummeted to the earth, hit the sand and twisted his ankle. But for a moment I pictured him skyrocketing into the air barely hanging onto that umbrella. Twelve years later that umbrella moment found its way into Secondhand Heroes. I didn’t do it consciously, I had forgotten about that moment until well after I wrote about it but the seed was certainly planted. 

The title of your latest Secondhand Heroes book is called The Last Battle. Does that mean this series will only be a trilogy? Or is there more in the works?

Yes, for now it will just be a trilogy. There are definitely more adventures for these characters, I have sketches and some moments written out but for now this will be it. I work in ink and watercolor so a project like this is incredibly time consuming. I have a couple picture books that I’m really excited to work on now so maybe when I get those out I might revisit the Secondhand Heroes team.

One of my favorite parts of series is the squirrel sidekick, Steen. What made you decide on a squirrel for a sidekick?

Me too! Well for one I love squirrels. I think I may have been one in a previous life. The way they leap from tree to tree is just so beautiful to me. But also real life Steen bumped into me once. I was walking to school one day when I felt this furry thump against my leg. I looked down and around and saw nothing. I looked further into the woods and there sitting on a stone wall was a squirrel. Apparently he was attempting to shoot across the street and my leg got in the way. We had this moment where we just stared at a each other for a bit, both a little freaked out. I never forgot that little guy and he eventually made his way into my books. Named after the great, great Bruce Springsteen by the way.

Since this is a food, books, and travel blog, my last question to authors is always the same: what is your favorite food, book, and place you've ever traveled?

My favorite place in the world is the island of Nantucket. There’s some real magic and history in that place. Sometimes the fog rolls in on a summer day and it will feel like you have the entire beach to yourself because the fog is so thick you can’t see twenty feet in front of you. It’s eerie and beautiful and amazing. The island of Scraggy Neck in Secondhand Heroes is based on Nantucket.

Favorite food is a tough one! Mom’s spaghetti and meatballs? A good roast beef sandwich? I’m gonna have to go with a clam baked lobster. That’s when you burn wood and rocks for hours, then rake out the rocks and coals so they’re even, throw seaweed on top of the rocks and coals, put the lobsters on the seaweed, cover with a tarp and then they’re steamed from the seaweed. So delicious. 

Favorite book is also very hard but I’ll have to go with Wizard and Glass by Stephen King. It’s the 4^th book in his Dark Tower series and is such a great story of young love, tragedy and young people realizing the scope of their power and abilities.

5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior by Mark & Alexis Siegel

Goodreads Summary:

The Five Worlds are on the brink of extinction unless five ancient and mysterious beacons are lit. When war erupts, three unlikely heroes will discover there's more to themselves and more to their worlds than meets the eye. . . .

• The clumsiest student at the Sand Dancer Academy, Oona Lee is a fighter with a destiny bigger than she could ever imagine.
• A boy from the poorest slums, An Tzu has a surprising gift and a knack for getting out of sticky situations.
• Star athlete Jax Amboy is beloved by an entire galaxy, but what good is that when he has no real friends? 

When these three kids are forced to team up on an epic quest, it will take not one, not two, but 5 WORLDS to contain all the magic and adventure!

I have been on a quest to add more graphic novels to our school library. 5 Worlds is a new series that will appeal to lovers of the Amulet series. While this book didn't appeal to me personally as a reader, I have many students who I know I can hand this to and they will love it. So for that reason I'm looking forward to reading and purchasing the next book in the series for our school library. 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

MARK SIEGEL has written and illustrated several award-winning picture books and graphic novels, including the New York Times bestseller Sailor Twain, or the Mermaid in the Hudson. He is also the founder and editorial director of First Second Books. He lives with his family in New York. Follow Mark on Tumblr at @marksiegel and the 5 Worlds team on Twitter at @5WorldsTeam.

ALEXIS SIEGEL is a writer and translator based in London, England. He has translated a number of bestselling graphic novels, including Joann Sfar’s The Rabbi’s Cat, Pénélope Bagleu’s Exquisite Corpse, and Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese (into French).

XANTHE BOUMA is an illustrator based in Southern California. When not working on picture books, fashion illustration, and comics, Xanthe enjoys soaking up the beachside sun. Follow Xanthe on Tumblr at @yumbles and on Twitter at @xoxobouma.

MATT ROCKEFELLER is an illustrator and comic book artist from Tucson, Arizona. His work has appeared in a variety of formats, including book covers, picture books, and animation. Matt lives in New York City. Follow him on Tumblr at @mrockefeller and on Twitter at @mcrockefeller.

BOYA SUN is an illustrator and co-author of the graphic novel Chasma Knights. Originally from China, Boya has traveled from Canada to the United States and now resides in the charming city of Baltimore. Follow Boya on Tumblr at @boyasun and on Twitter at @boyaboyasun.

5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior by Mark Siegel, et. al

Published: May 2, 2017

Publisher: Random House

Genre/Format: Fantasy/Graphic Novel

Audience: Middle Grade

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Sunny Side Up by Jennifer and Matthew Holm

From Goodreads:
Sunny Lewin has been packed off to Florida to live with her grandfather for the summer.  At first she thought Florida might be fun -- it is the home of Disney World, after all.  But the place where Gramps lives is no amusement park.  It’s full of . . . old people.  Really old people.

Luckily, Sunny isn’t the only kid around.  She meets Buzz, a boy who is completely obsessed with comic books, and soon they’re having adventures of their own: facing off against golfball-eating alligators, runaway cats, and mysteriously disappearing neighbors.  But the question remains -- why is Sunny down in Florida in the first place?  The answer lies in a family secret that won’t be secret to Sunny much longer. . .


I had sworn up and down that I posted a review for this book, but then I went back on Goodreads to see when I read this book and realized it was in the throes of my last semester of grad school. Ah! So that's why I never got around to posting a review of this lovely graphic novel. 

I was born in the very late 70s (Two months before 1980, in fact) but despite the fact that this book takes place in 1975-1976, an incredible sense of familiarity and nostalgia from my own childhood came creeping into my experience of reading this book. Little details as simple as the screen door on Sunny's house in Pennsylvania to the way the Sears logo looked back then, Jenni and Matt Holm clearly did their research on even the smallest of details from this time period.

More importantly though, Jenni and Matt Holm tell a heartfelt and compassionate story about a young girl who comes to realize the torment her family is experiencing at the hand of her brother who is overcoming substance abuse. It is through Sunny's experience that many kids will see their own families and the ways a family member's struggles become an entire family's burden.


Sunny Side Up by Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm
Published: August 25, 2015
Publisher: GRAPHIX
Pages: 224
Genre/Format: Realistic Fiction/Graphic Novel
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Lucy Knisley fangirling

I have gradually become obsessed with the writing and artwork of Lucy Knisley. It started back in 2009 when I read French Milk, a rough-around-the-edges travelogue of her 5-week trip to Paris with her mother at the end of 2006/beginning of 2007. Even though there was a messiness to her writing and artwork, that in a way enhanced the experience because it really emphasized the journal-writing quality of the narrative.

Then two years ago I read and reviewed Knisley's more traditional graphic memoir Relish and became an instant fangirl. So when I discovered that Knisley had recently published two new travelogues, I stopped what I was currently reading and picked up An Age of License and Displacement.

These two travelogues cover life's spectrum it seems. In An Age of License, Knisley writes with both the spirit of youthful exuberance and a brooding, restless heart. This narrative is meant to celebrate youth and the ability to just pick up and go at a moment's notice.

The French have a saying for the time when you're young and experimenting with your lives and careers. They call it: L' Age License. As in: License to experience, mess up, license to fail, license to do... whatever, before you're settled.

An Age of License is Knisley's time to be carefree and uninhibited. She doesn't have to think or worry about whether or not to get up and go -- even though she does. Whereas, Displacement is a much different narrative, which Knisley even explicitly acknowledges when she compares the two trips:

That trip [in An Age of License] was about independence, sex, youth, and adventure. This trip is about patience, care, mortality, respect, sympathy, and love.

On this trip, Knisely, accompanies her grandparents, who are failing in health and mental faculties, on a Caribbean cruise. It is a sensitive, earnest, fatalistic look at family and mortality, yet also done somehow with a lighthearted touch. There was so much about both of these books that really resonated with me. I love the reflective duality between the two narratives, which is clearly not lost on Knisley. As I see my own parents age and I wrestle with my familial relationships, Displacement really hit home for me, especially the very last line of the book:

Good or bad, it's important to feel connected sometimes. Even if that connection can be painful.

Overall, I love seeing how Knisley's career is evolving. Because most of her books are travelogues, they have a confessional quality to them, which makes them all the more provocative to read. There are moments of deep reflection, as noted in the snippets above, but then there are also really funny, lighthearted scenes, such as this adorable moment in An Age of License where Knisley is driving in France with a croissant hanging out of her mouth.
 
At first, this looks like a page for the reader to just breeze by. A full-page panel with minimal text to give the reader's eyes a break. But the more you stop and think about it, there really is a lot to say about what is happening in the narrative and in her life. In this one illustration Knisley is commenting on her own age of license. She's alone, she can pick up and go as she pleases, and is choosing to indulge in the things that will give her happiness and pleasure. Every time I read a book by Knisley, my wanderlust only intensifies. 





If you buy any of these books through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

El Deafo by Cece Bell

When Cece Bell was four-years-old she developed meningitis, which left her "severely to profoundly deaf." El Deafo is the story of how Cece learned to navigate a new world, as someone who was born hearing to now having a significant hearing loss.

El Deafo is wonderful book that is certain to go right next to Raina Telgemeier's Smile in canon of children's graphic memoirs. And to think, I almost didn't put this book on my to-read pile! I don't know what I was thinking! But as soon as I watched the following video where Bell talks about the story behind the book, I just knew I had to read it.

 
Bell has created something to appeal to both camps of readers: those who like realistic stories and those who like fantasy and/or superheroes, as she imagines herself the superhero El Defo when she is feeling especially socially insecure about her disability. 

Bell grabs readers from the very beginning, as we see Cece as a four-year-old who refuses to wear anything but her bathing suit. That detail seems small, but it somehow gets the reader to fall in love with her from page one. Similarly, trying to figure out why all of Bell's characters are rabbits in this book is somewhat of a head-scratcher, but in an amusing way, not a frustrating way. It is likely that the rabbits' big ears force the reader to focus more on young Cece's hearing aids and therefore was a natural way to call attention to the disability/superhero power of Cece/El Deafo in those moments of insecurity when she calls upon her superpower. Whatever the case, it works! Often we say that books can be either mirrors or windows, and El Deafo is one of those books that illustrates this concept beautifully. Not only will it speak to readers who feel different because of a disability or deficit they might be struggling with, but it's also a window for those of us who have never known a deaf person, to walk a mile in their shoes and cultivate our own empathy. El Deafo is one of those graphic memoirs that belongs in classrooms of all grade levels. It will appeals to elementary, middle, and high school students equally. Of that I have no doubt. 

One of my favorite moments in the story -- it literally made me laugh out loud

El Deafo by Cece Bell
Published: September 2, 2014
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 248
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

If you buy this book or any book through Amazon, it is my hope that you also regularly patronize independent bookstores, which are important centerpieces of thriving communities. While I am an Amazon Affiliate, that by no means implies that I only buy my books through their website. Please make sure you are still helping small, independent bookstores thrive in your community. To locate an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound. 

Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre

Diminutive Claudette might be small in stature, but she makes up for her vertical challenge in spunk and persistence. She is certain that there is a baby-feet-eating giant in the forest beyond her village and even though everyone else in the village just wants to ignore the problem, Claudette insists that she go out and kill the baby-feet-eating giant. So she tricks her aspiring chef of a little brother and her aspiring princess of a best friend into going with her on a quest to kill the giant. When word gets back to Claudette's father of her plan, he soon has the whole town searching for her so she can make it back home before she finds the giant. But as Claudette soon discovers, just because you find a giant, doesn't mean that you know how to kill it once you do.

Giants Beware! was a complete surprise to me. Truth be told, I only picked it up and purchased it at the Kids Read Comics event in Ann Arbor because there was a pug on the cover. I really had no interest in reading about giants. But it didn't take long for me to realize that Giants Beware! is a genre-defying graphic novel. I have explained many times on this blog that fantasy is not a genre I have been able to do much bonding with. It just doesn't speak to me. But humorous fantasy such as The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom and Bad Taste in Boys does speak to me because it almost subverts the fantasy tropes and pokes fun at them.

The characters in this graphic novel are also what kept me interested and laughing out loud the whole time. Cluadette's obsession with slaying giants and her feisty defiance of the adults she encounters is comedy gold. And her brother Gaston's culinary ambitions are certainly worthy of some laugh out loud moments as he treks a whole menagerie of cooking supplies with him in the forest so he can not just have sustenance, but so he can continue to prove his culinary skills to his family and friends.

Reading Giants Beware! made it quite obvious that both Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre have worked in animation and TV. I could easily see these characters and this story becoming a TV series. In fact, I really hope it does.

  
Giants Beware! by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre*
Published: April 12, 2012
Publisher: First Second
Pages: 208
Genre: Fantasy/Graphic Novel
Audience: Middle Grade
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

*Purchasing the book from the above Bookshop affiliate link supports independent bookstores and gives me a small percentage of the sale. 

Kids Read Comics 2013

Last year I went to the Kids Read Comics event at the Ann Arbor District Library for the first time and it was great fun. So much fun that when I saw that it was coming back to the Ann Arbor District Library this summer, I decided I just had to go back. It was definitely the right decision because I had even more fun this year than I did last year because I attended more sessions and met even more awesome people who are lovers and creators of comics.

As a teacher, I have only just been immersing myself into the world of graphic novels for the past year or so. I didn't realize how much this genre has become such a pervasive part of the literary world, so to go to an event like Kids Read Comics is not just a fun experience, but it's also a way to further immerse and educate myself about this visual and literary art form.

The first session I went to was a Comics Quickdraw which is essentially like Whose Line is It Anyway meets Win, Lose, or Draw. Teams of four have to draw a four panel-comic and take suggestions from the audience for what they can draw. I went to one Comics Quickdraw on Saturday and another one on Sunday:

Saturday's Epic Draw round

Sunday's Comics Quickfire with hosts Dave Roman and John Martin

Comics Quickfire participant introductions

The audience suggestion for this comic was Cheese Spray

And this one was The Bunny Apocalypse

Another session I went to was a panel of graphic  novelists and librarians discussing the importance of advocating for graphic novels in libraries, in the classroom, and in children's homes. The panel consisted of Scott Robins, author of A Parent's Guide to the Best Kids' Comics, Jim Ottaviani, author of many graphic novels, his most recent being Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas, John Green, author/artist of Teen Boat!, and Rafael Rosado, artist of Giants Beware!  

The last session I went to was the Kids Comics Revolution podcast with Dave Roman and Jerzy Drozd with guest panelists Scott Robins, Colby Sharp and Brian Wyzlic.

The panel was fantastic and essentially carried out the theme of the entire Kids Read Comics event, which is the need to advocate for comics and graphic novels as a legitimate literary art form, in the classroom and at home. The perception that kids can't be learning when they're having fun is something that has perpetuated this idea that graphic novels aren't real literature, but of the graphic novels that I find myself reading these days, many of them are quite literary and have great vocabulary for kids to learn. And especially if they're struggling readers, the artwork can help create a scaffold for them to learn those words better than they would have if they were just reading a prose novel. Heck, I'm only on page 38 of Giants Beware! and I've already come across these words: vile, valiant, odoriferous, shitake, sentient, vigilant, inclination, and thusly. So this perception that graphic novels are somehow lowbrow and less intelligent than prose novels is completely unfounded. They are developing greatly in their sophistication and authors are really creating some great writing to accompany the artwork. But let me be clear: graphic novels are not just something we should be recommending to struggling readers. We should be recommending them to ALL readers. These books are not something you give to reluctant and struggling readers and then ask them to graduate to prose novels once they've made appropriate progress. These are books for all readers to enjoy.

Speaking of Giants Beware! I had seen the cover of this book a few weeks ago and was immediately drawn to it due to the pug on the cover, as I have two of my own pugs. So when I saw that Rafael was at Kids Read Comics and they were selling copies of it, I just had to buy one. When I told Rafael why I wanted to read Giants Beware! he was gracious enough to draw Valiant the pug in my copy for me:

And of course, no Kids Read Comics event would be complete without a picture with one of my favorite graphic novelists, Raina Telgemeier, especially since I was rockin' the Smile t-shirt:

After the event, Brian Wyzlic, Scott Robins, Michael Lamore and I went to dinner at The Blue Nile, a fantastic Ethiopian place only a few blocks from the library.

I've been to The Blue Nile a couple times before, but for some reason, this time the food was better than usual. Maybe it was just the contentment of getting to meet new friends and talk about books, or maybe the food was really just better than usual. Whatever the case, I highly recommend The Blue Nile if you're ever in Ann Arbor. And if you live within driving distance, I also recommend you come to Kids Read Comics next year!

Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley

Lucy Knisley grew up in the kitchen. As the daughter of a chef and a gourmand, she knew from a young age that good food is a celebration in and of itself. Whether she was a pre-teen running unsupervised through the streets of San Miguel, sitting on dusty curbs eating Mexican street food with her friend Drew, or a twenty-something backpacker, obsessively pursuing a way to replicate the magical apricot croissants she ate while sitting on the steps of her hostel in Venice watching gondolas bob in the canal, Knisley navigates her way through life "doing those things with excitement, curiosity, and relish."

When a book revolves around food and travel, I'm already sold. I don't need to know the specifics. Just send me a copy; I'll read it. But when a graphic memoir revolves around food and travel? Well, I think the only next best thing would be to go to those places and eat the food yourself. And when a sequential art book begins with a recipe for chai tea, well, you had me at the chai (which I am currently sipping on as I write this review). Other illustrated recipes in this book include: marinated lamb, pesto, chocolate chip cookies, spaghetti carbonara, huevos rancheros, sushi rolls, and more! And while I certainly wouldn't classify this as a cookbook, the recipes included in this lovely little volume are worth a try.

Speaking of classifying books, one might automatically assume that a graphic memoir with the subtitle "My Life in the Kitchen" would be categorized as adult nonfiction, but Macmillan published Relish under their children's division, so this book is really unique in that it can fit in almost any age section in a bookstore because it has something for everyone. However, it should be noted that there is a scene in the book where Knisley's friend Drew buys some racy magazines in Mexico, so for that reason I would recommend Relish for seventh grade and up. For kids who enjoyed Sara Varon's adorable graphic novel Bake Sale, I'd say that Relish is the next rung up their reading ladder. In addition, Knisley's lively, youthful art immediately put me in mind of Raina Telgemeier's Smile and Drama as I was reading it, so that suggestion alone is enough to convince kids it's worth a read. And as an added bonus, reading Relish might even get them to start making pesto, spaghetti carbonara, and heck, maybe even sushi rolls. If this book doesn't bring out the inner foodie in you, then I don't know what will.


Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
Published: April 2, 2013
Publisher: First Second
Pages: 192
Genre: Graphic Memoir
Audience: Young Adult/Adult
Disclosure: Purchased Copy

Teen Boat! by Dave Roman and John Green

The teen years are full of awkward, angst-filled moments. But if you thought your teen years were awkward, you've got nothing on Teen Boat, a boy who can turn from teen boy into a boat at will. The tag line of this graphic novel says everything you need to know about it: the angst of being a teen, the thrill of being a boat. And with that, you get an idea of the quirky humor and ridiculous yet intriguing premise.

This is a graphic novel that one might initially dismiss as fluff, but don't allow yourself to only be enamored with its quirkiness; there's a lot happening beneath the surface too. Upon first reading, I'm sure I missed all the symbolism permeating the story because I was just so delighted by the quirk factor. I think I will have to encounter a second reading very soon because I know there will be things I missed the first time around.

This book was a delightful surprise and I'm looking forward to reading more of Roman's work, especially after getting the chance to talk to him at NCTE/ALAN.

Dave draws in my copy of Teen Boat!

My personalized copy of Teen Boat!

Oh, and just in case you were wondering (like I was), the John Green of Teen Boat! is not the same as the John Green of VlogBrothers, The Fault in Our Stars, and Looking for Alaska.  Thanks Alyson Beecher for clearing that up for me! :)


Teen Boat! by Dave Roman and John Green
Published: May 8, 2012
Publisher: Clarion Books
Pages: 144
Genre: Graphic Novel
Audience: Young Adult
Disclosure: Copy acquired at the 2012 ALAN conference

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It might not be Comic Con, but it was still pretty fun

This past weekend the Ann Arbor district library hosted an event called Kids Read Comics. Because graphic novels are becoming increasingly more popular with kids and in classrooms, I came to try to educate myself about this world a little bit more.

Oh, but who am I kidding? I came to hang with my Nerdy Book Club friends Brian Wyzlic, Colby Sharp, and Jen Vincent, AND also to meet my favorite graphic novelist (I do realize the list of graphic novelists I know is short, but still) Raina Telgemeier, author of Smile. Do you know why I love Smile so much? Not only did it bring back a flood of memories about my own awkward pre-adolescence (which actually could be a case for DISLIKING it, but the story was so endearing I couldn't not like it), but here's he main reason I love this book so much: even though it's kind of a girly book, boys actually read it. If I had had more time to chat with Raina, I would have loved to discuss the reasons for this with her, but Brian and I have discussed this on previous occasions and here is our theory: 1) the cover is gender neutral. There is absolutely no way to tell from looking at the cover that the story inside appeals more to girls than boys 2) By the time boys realize it's girly, they're already invested in the story or they've finished because it's such a quick read. Book publishers and cover designers really need to take a lesson from Smile and find more ways to get boys invested in reading a book before they even turn the first page. Too many boys are dismissing great books because cover designers are inadvertently (or maybe even advertently, I don't know) appealing only to girls. As a teacher who sees a large number of reluctant readers who are boys, publishers need to start better reaching out to boy readers.

Stepping down off the soapbox now... ;)

When I arrived at the event, the first thing I wanted to do was meet Raina and get my copy of Smile signed, along with buying a Smile t-shirt because Colby has been rocking the Smile t-shirt for quite some time now and so I needed to do something about my covetousness for that shirt. Luckily, despite only having a few sizes left, they had one that would fit me and I was content for the rest of the day since I got what I came for.

Raina signs and draws in my copy of Smile

I can't wait to share this picture of Raina and me with my students. They LOVE Smile!

Artist Chris Houghton signed Reed Gunther for me and then drew a picture for my class.

Brian, Colby, Jen, and me with Vordak the Incomprehensible (Photo courtesy of Colby Sharp)

At 1:30 Raina gave a "turn your life into a comic" workshop at the Robot Supply and Repair Shop a couple blocks from the library. We arrived a few minutes early and since we hadn't eaten lunch yet, Brian, Jen and, I saw this lovely little shop across the street and had to stop in for a treat

Decisions, Decisions

I went with the key lime cupcake

Back at the Robot Supply and Repair Shop, Raina gave a fun workshop about turning your life into a comic. Well, I say fun, but for me it was quite stressful since I can't draw even a stick figure to save my own life. It was much more inspiring to watch Raina at work than to try to do any sort of drawing myself.

Raina makes an outline of a story from an audience volunteer

Raina draws a comic from the story outline right on the spot

Jen and Colby admiring Raina's work

The hilarious finished comic

Overall it was a fun day of getting to hang out with friends and of course meeting great authors and artists. Oh, and let's not forget that my day was made complete by getting a Smile t-shirt and a copy of the book signed. Yay! I can't wait to wear my Smile shirt to school.

Guenter likes Smile too

Bake Sale by Sara Varon

From Goodreads:

Cupcake’s life is pretty good. He’s got his bakery, and his band, and his best friend, Eggplant. His days are full of cooking, socializing, and playing music. But lately, Cupcake has been struggling in the kitchen. He’s sure the solution to all his problems is out there somewhere. But maybe that solution is hiding closer to home. 

I know there is a lesson or two buried within the pages of Sara Varon's latest graphic novel, but that is honestly the last thing I was thinking about as I was reading this adorable story of a cupcake's life as a bakery owner.  All I could think was how happy-making it was for a food-lover such as myself. I got such a kick out of seeing all the different foods as characters, and got even more satisfaction out of seeing that Varon writes this story using language to indicate that she might be a foodie herself.

This would be a great read for kids who are budding bakers, but it is sure to bring a smile to the faces of adults who like to satisfy their sweet tooth by creating confections in their own kitchens.


The illustrations in this graphic novel use muted, pastel colors, yet they still manage to pop off the page with their sprightliness and personality. This is the perfect book to read when you need a good cheering up. I mean, how can a talking cupcake with his own bakery, a sandwich shop-owning carrot, and a banjo-playing bagel make you anything other than happy?

And as an added bonus, Varon recognizes that reading a book like this is sure to make the reader hungry for baked goods so she includes the recipes that Cupcake makes in his bakery at the end of the book.


Bake Sale by Sara Varon
Published: August 30, 2011 by First Second
Pages: 160
Genre: Graphic Novel
Audience: Middle Grade