Babymouse, Volume 2: Our Hero (Family Comic Friday)

I dug into a classic for this week's review. The character of Babymouse isn't a stranger to my blog. I've reviewed a couple of comic samplers that have included her adventures chronicled by the brother/sister duo of Jennifer L. Holm & Matthew Holm. I've even reviewed her Christmas book. This just happens to be the first full-length regular book starring Babymouse and friends that I've ever read and reviewed.

Babymouse is like most elementary school kids. Classes are boring. Her imagination runs wild. And gym class is a source of great stress, especially when it comes time to play dodge ball! In the past, Babymouse has been able to sick her way out of gym class whenever dodge ball rolls around. Now that her coach has decreed that next week's game is mandatory, Babymouse will have to swallow her fears and play against her dreaded nemesis, Felecia- the meanest girl in the entire school! 

Well, Babymouse does have a week until that game. Maybe best buddy Wilson can train her into becoming the world's greatest dodge ball player! Maybe a massive blizzard will pop up and force school to be cancelled! Let's face it; the odds of these things happening are really, really low. Just don't forget to bring your sneakers with you, Babymouse!

This book was a lot of fun. It was extremely cute. This book was from 2005 and yet everything felt fresh and new. Babymouse's imagination knows no bounds as there are a ton of references to some awesome franchises in this graphic novel. 

I didn't plan it this way, but there's an all-new Babymouse adventure debuting in stores next week. It appears that Babymouse has grown up a little with her new series, The Big Adventures of Babymouse. Not only is the character a bit bigger, so is the format of the new graphic novels. Instead of being digest-sized, like the original series was, the continuation is more formatted to reflect the dimensions of a comic book. Volume 2: Besties will hit store shelves on October 3rd!

A world of fun in black and white and hot pink!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Squish #8: Pod Vs. Pod (Family Comic Friday)

Squish is an amoeba. He loves comic books and twinkies. His best friend, Pod, is also a type of single-celled organism that claims to have opened a hole in the space-time continuum. At first Squish doesn't believe him. But when Pod starts having really bizarre mood swings for unknown reasons, maybe there really is something to this time anomaly thing...

Meanwhile, Squish's favorite comic book hero, Super Amoeba is starting to feel his age. In order to help save the people of Small Pond, the mayor creates a drone program to do most of the grunt work for Super Amoeba. With the drones a success, it appears that there's very little for the hero to do. Is retirement in the works for Super Amoeba?

I found that Squish was a rather fun book. Taking place in the microscopic recesses of a pond is not a story setting you see everyday. The characters were enjoyable and the writing rather humorous. I can really sense the spirit of Babymouse in this series and I thought it was really clever having Babymouse and Squish interact in the other books you might enjoy section in the back of the book. (In fact, I've love to see a crossover between the two characters and their franchises) However, I did think that one element of this book was a tad inappropriate- the subject matter of mitosis.

I'm going to go ahead and spoil it. This is a 6-year old book and for parents' sake, I need to talk about a major plot point. Pod's mood swings are the result of cellular mitosis. Mitosis is the process in which single-celled microorganisms reproduce. Should a grade school child really be reading about an elementary school aged protozoa having literal babies? The mysteries over why one of the characters seems to have 4 different personalities all of a sudden is an interesting read. I just think having children have children in a children's book for readers aged 7-10 isn't a proper thing.  Even if the characters are just amoebas.

Using mitosis as a plot device does have one thing going for it. It's educational and that's something writers Jennifer L. and Matthew Holm does quite well; make books for kids fun and informative. Adding to the educational fun is a science experiment kids can do with the characters in this book (and supervising parents) as well as an activity page. 

If the young reader in your life loves Babymouse, Squish is required reading. It's fun, entertaining and educational. There just happens to be a possibly controversial element twist to the story. I'm not saying to skip Squish. Just be ready to answer some potentially uncomfortable questions about reproduction.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

A Very Babymouse Christmas

Babymouse has only one thing on her Christmas list this year. It's a Whizbang! This thing does everything from playing games to text to even math homework! And Babymouse will do anything to get one!

From writing Santa for the device to attempting to win one by decorating her locker
for Christmas- Babymouse is putting out the word that she really wants a Whizbang
for Christmas. 

In the meantime, Babymouse will learn of new holiday customs such as her best
friend Wilson's celebration of Hanukkah. They get 8 days of presents! But before the
holidays are over will Babymouse learn the true meaning of Christmas? 

This was a very cute and fast holiday graphic novel read. This book covers quite a few
holiday traditions as well as pay tribute to several holiday classics such as A Christmas Carol; in which Babymouse dreams that she is Scrooge because all she desires is that
Whizbang.

Babymouse often gets lost in her daydreams. And while these moments are very funny,
the reader sometimes also gets lost with her. The fantasies of Babymouse just happen
without any warning. Sometimes it happens right in the middle of the action. And until
you figure out that this is just Babymouse dreaming, reader's just can't figure out what's
truly going on here. 

One element that I thought was really clever was the interactions between Babymouse
and the creators of this series; the brother and sister duo of Jennifer L. and Matthew
Holm. Those moments add an element of whimsy to Babymouse that's rather delightful.

A Very Babymouse Christmas was a charming holiday story that reader's 8-12 should really love. It's quite festive and
very pink. (That's Babymouse's favorite color!) Being the 15th volume in the Babymouse
series, this a a great introduction to a mischievous and imaginative character that young
readers will want to return to time and time again. Just be aware that Babymouse's
imagination gets away from her sometimes.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.