Choo Choo Dino Crew

My wife won this children's book in a giveaway on Goodreads. I've not received any sort of reimbursement for my review. In fact, I am doing this review independent of my bride. So here goes...

Good friends Stark, the Tyrannosaurus Rex and Vivi, the Triceratops are looking for fun and adventure. Perhaps they'll even make some new friends. In order to do this, they'll take a ride on the Dino Express!

I thought Choo Choo Dino Crew was a cute little board book. But it was the premise behind this book that made me love it even more. Stark and Vivi are the names of author Bethann Pate. Since the two children are obsessed with both trains and dinosaurs, Bethann Pate mixed those two interests together into a delightful trek towards the final station on the line.

But I just have to ask: does the train run on fossil fuels?!

Full of colorful characters, children who love the big lizards and trains will want to read this book again and again. There's nothing objectionable, making for a friendly read that parents or guardians will love. Not all of the lines in the book rhyme. While that does work my orderly loving brain, I still thought that this was a charming little read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Little Jackie Lantern (Family Comic Friday)

Our friends at IDW Publishing have an awesome autumn new release for those youngest of trick-or-treaters. While Little Jackie Lantern isn’t your typical comic book, it’s a whimsical board book for readers in grades 1-3 who just can’t wait for Halloween!

Little Jackie Lantern
Written by Tom Waltz
Illustrations by Jessica Hickman
Colors by Mickey Clausen and Peter Zaragora
Published by IDW Publishing
Pages 12
Retail: $7.99

Poor Jackie Lantern. He’s been afraid of Halloween ever since he was the age of 2! It’s all those ghosts and ghouls and goblins. With help from his mom and best buddies, will this be the year Little Jackie Lantern conquerors his fear of All Hallow’s Eve and learn that sometimes being scared can also be fun?

Little Jackie Lantern is perhaps the shortest book I have ever read or reviewed for Family Comic Friday. Being from IDW Publishing, I was expecting a traditional graphic novel. Instead it’s a very short board book! I guess board books can be considered graphic novels for very young readers…

The story itself was delightful. Writer Tom Waltz pens a melodic poem about a child’s hesitations with Halloween. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle author explains that it’s okay to be afraid. Sometimes frights can even be a little fun. But someone, such as Jackie, can’t enjoy being scared if they will never face their fears.

The artwork is perfect for readers aged 5-8. Jessica Hickman’s touch is very expressive with vibrant Fall season colors. Plus, the not-scary use of bats, black cats and other Halloween fare make for an enjoyable Autumn holiday read that they’ll want to read again and again.

Little Jackie Lantern debuted in print on Wednesday, September 11th, 2019. However, as of press time, Amazon is sold out of its current inventory. The website does not expect a reorder until October 25th. It's not too late to find this great Halloween board book. But it might be a little bit of a challenge.

Happy Hunting!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

This review was concurrently published on Outrightgeekery.com. 

DC Superheroes: My First Book of Girl Power (Family Comic Friday)

  

 Sorry, it's a day late folks, but I'm on a mini-vacation with my wife in wonderful and weird Asheville, NC. After the week I've had at work, this was much, much needed. My wife's been at a conference during the day, so I've been catching up with friends, owners, and artists about new trends in comics. Oddly, enough, today's article reviews a book that I discovered later after my wife got done with her meetings and we went out to dinner. We stopped at this funky little shop called the L.O.F.T. )Lost Objects, Found Treasures) on our way back to the van. It had tons of cool stuff like a Boba Fett puzzle tower, rap star cookie cutters, bacon flavored floss, and the book I am reviewing today: DC Superheroes: My First Book of Girl Power.

     This book is one of about a dozen titles in the DC Superheroes: My First Book series. The books are board books, geared for early readers. It's also an excellent way for parents who grew up reading comics to introduce superheroes to their children without being violent or scary. 

    The series started in 2011 with My First Superman Book, followed by a Batman and a Wonder Woman edition. All three of those books are touch & feel books, meaning there are things made of different textures for children to explore while reading this book, such as Superman's cape or twine from the Dark Knight's Bat-Rope. Over the past 4 years, series creator David Katz has released books with your favorite DC heroes teaching the ABCs, shapes, and opposites. The most recent book came out in July about the importance of sleep. 

    Girl Power is the only book in the My First Series not written by the series' regular author. It's written by Julie Merberg (creator of the Mini Masters Board Books series that introduces youngsters to famous artists with titles like Painting With Picasso.) This book introduces many of the leading ladies in the DC Universe such as the well known Wonder Woman and Supergirl. It also includes some more obscure characters like Black Canary and Raven from Teen Titans. 

    The art is a bit of a toss up. In all of the books, the artwork is from DC's style guides created around 1978-1986. I recognize some of those same images were used in the creation of Kenner's awesome Super Powers line of action figures and other cool toys. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez was the genius behind much of the artwork, though his regular inker, the equally legendary Dick Giordano penciled some of the guide's artwork as well. I just wish that all of the images were different and not recycled on several pages.

     I bought this book to introduce a new member of our family to the world of superheroes. This Christmas, maybe I'll be the first to read it to them. This series has been a sleeper but from page one, the nostalgia and creativity (and educational value) is a hit. More importantly, it's geared towards girls- a valuable and grossly untapped source of potential comic book readers.  Once again, Marvel gets all of the praise and fandom for crafting adult books that appeal to women readers, but DC excedes in reaching out to the next generation with this awesome series of early reader board books that must become a part of your aspiring comic book collector's reading rotation. Boy or girl!

    Worth Consuming

    Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.