None of these are on the Cybils list, one is a sequel, one was just plucked from the library shelf, and one was a recommendation from… I have no idea who or where.
First, book two in the Gunnerkrigg Court series – Research. Excellent, as I expected. We learned more about Annie’s past and more about The Court and more about the Forest, too. I can’t wait for the third book.
Next, Fables: Legends in Exile. Don’t be fooled by this book, it’s probably not appropriate for the younger graphic novel fan. Prince Charming is a rogue and there’s a relatively graphic sex scene – it’s in Prince Charming-ish prose but younger kids won’t get it and will ask you what the heck that means, middle-ish age kids will get it and snicker or and maybe uncomfortable by it. I found it funny as hell. The whole book was funny – a young librarian told me that there was talk of making this into a TV series, no idea of that’s true but it would be terrific. I’ve just reserved book two, can’t wait to visit the Animal Farm…
Last, and a wee bit disappointing, Scheherazade. I might have just had really high expectations for this book, a compilation of comics written/drawn by women. How awesome, right? Well, yea. It was awesome but the drawings left me bored in some cases and the stories left me scratching my head. There were some great comics tucked away in here, though. And I am glad I read the book. Not every comic can speak to every person, I’m ok with that. (It was nice to see Sarah Varon’s Robot Dreams tucked inside – we read this book ages ago and really loved it. I think I’ll grab Chicken and Cat from the library next week.)
Um, yeah. I let my 9yo daughter buy and read Fables. I gave the back a cursory glance and saw fairy tale characters. My daughter loved it so I asked her to tell me more about it after she read it (nope, I didn’t read it first). Let’s just say she’s not getting the next one. I am giving those perfect, plus-one moms plenty of fodder at the PTA, I tell ya.
On the other hand, the Amulet series, Prince of Persia, and Edgar Allen Poe are getting worn out and I’m OK with that. There’s also a new Bone book called _Rose_ and it’s about the dragon in that series. My kids LOVED the Bone books. I credit it with finally hooking them on reading.