The Santa Trap
Written by Jonathan Emmet
Illustrated by Poly Bernatene
Peachtree Publishers
Macmillan Children's Books
Winter isn't the best of time for everyone, and not everyone celebrates with the Merry Postman in his best red suit. Even when he comes bearing gift to town, some people would rather he just be stopped. Thous the theme of this year's Santa Clause adventure, a little boy and his urge to stop Saint Nicolas from his predestined journey across the globe, making him pay for all the years he's never given him a gift. There's something about the holiday season that always brings out the mischief side of me. I want to see these other creatures of the snow that want for the holly jolly weather to match their cold hearts. Let's grab a few warm blankets, some chairs, and take a look at this fun children's dark comedy.
Updating Every Year: All Article have spoilers and an Illustration drawn by Mr. Forte.
Showing posts with label Children's Illustrated Novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Children's Illustrated Novel. Show all posts
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Thursday, May 12, 2016
shorts SHORT Review: Everyone Loves Bacon
Written by Kelly DiPucchio
Illustrated by Eric Wight
Published by Farrar Straus Books for Young Readers
Parent publisher Macmillan
Collectively we all love Bacon, you, me, pork, turkey, soy, duck, bacon is amazing. It's cured meat that makes the start of a day worth living. Though that's my way of living, a little hemp milk and a little belly fat burning in a frying pan, perfuming the kitchen with a beautiful wakeup call from pieces of a beast. Anyhow while on the subject of living things, let's talk about anthropomorphic beings, specifically located in a 24-hour diner. In this Children's Illustrated Novel food has gained life and Bacon has elevated to it's rightful place. This isn't the first time we've reviewed a series by Kelly DiPucchio (Zombie in Love review), though this is the life and times of Bacon, let's take this pilgrimage, so grab your own candied fare nub and enjoy!
Illustrated by Eric Wight
Published by Farrar Straus Books for Young Readers
Parent publisher Macmillan
Collectively we all love Bacon, you, me, pork, turkey, soy, duck, bacon is amazing. It's cured meat that makes the start of a day worth living. Though that's my way of living, a little hemp milk and a little belly fat burning in a frying pan, perfuming the kitchen with a beautiful wakeup call from pieces of a beast. Anyhow while on the subject of living things, let's talk about anthropomorphic beings, specifically located in a 24-hour diner. In this Children's Illustrated Novel food has gained life and Bacon has elevated to it's rightful place. This isn't the first time we've reviewed a series by Kelly DiPucchio (Zombie in Love review), though this is the life and times of Bacon, let's take this pilgrimage, so grab your own candied fare nub and enjoy!
Thursday, March 31, 2016
shorts SHORT Review: Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates
Captain Raptor and the Space Pirates
Written by Kevin O'Malley & Patrick O'Brien
Illustrated and Book Design by Patrick O'Brien
Published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
As the universe cooled and the dust fell, the celestial bodies conferee and created the planet that we now search for in this vast nebula. Yes, a planet, a whole planet of treasure, no not the mouse one, no the one with the pulp hero that's a Raptor who scours the solar system protecting the Dino planet. Yeah, this is the part two that got me into the Captain Raptor series, nothing more amazing than pulp heroes and pirates. I'm bias when it comes to all things pulp, now there's pirates, also everyone is a dinosaur or a mutant/cyborg, yeah this Children's Illustrated Novel is tailored to me. Join us on this escapade atop the hype rocket, though I'd hope it was a Galaxy Train, but here's the exciting second part of the Captain Raptor series.
This was the first book in the series that got me attracted and devoted in wanting to read the amazing adventures of this Cretaceous Space Aviator Enforcer!
Initial response, the cover for this adventure of CAPTAIN RAPTOR is of him and his team defending the Dino-world against Space Pirates. It's interesting that this will be a book about a pulp adventurer in space clashing wits and blades or better yet talons and razor sharp-teeth, in the void that separates us all between the worlds we call our solar system. Yeah, a fall into madness on the swashbuckling inky seas of the cloudy infinite void, yep this is the direction that makes sense (behind the scenes Patrick O'Brien has been making a career on his talent as a nautical portrait artist, he has a stupendous portfolio and glorious gallery that displays his work, check out his site if you get a chance)
The cover again (like the first volume of the series) is an example of what a good cover, sorry of a great cover. It's flat out enough information within the cover that one doesn't need to tell anymore of the plot. It shows our heroes and villains all of the cast on the cover, also lasers and a few planets. Now unlike the first cover this one is a little all over, in the sense that it's direct focus at the center of the cover. It's not bad, but it's the directional angles that point the vision left and right, though it bleeds off to the side that feels like a band, wrapped around the book cutting the title and credits on the cover. Again wonderfully illustrated and beautifully detailed. One last thing, there's not only dinosaurs on the cover, so there seems to be some evolution in this world.
As always in this series the first page is an amazing rendering of space, a representation of what space looks like in this imaginative part of the universe.
The following page holds the title and introduces the main crew of pirates. It's interesting to see all the different animals that comprise the pirate crew, since they're not all dinosaurs or they're animals that are from an earlier age then the present. I really like this pin-up more than the cover, since the title pops, and it's gigantic, screaming CAPTAIN RAPTOR in all capital letters then below "and the Space Pirates" that leads the eyes down to the focal point which are the cast of marauders that visually point to the credited contributors who created the Captain and the adventures that unfold. After the "second" cover we have the planet Jurassica (again) under attack (it really is this time), a shadowy force that came down from the sky (a beautiful arraignment of colors, purple and green with hints of brown to give it an ominous feeling).
The cannons fire on the crowd and land in the clearing.
"Misshapen Mutants and Reptilian Cyborgs" rage and start panic while raiding the people of their treasures and valuables. Then just as sudden blast off into the sky, the President exclaims their need for CAPTAIN RAPTOR! It's a great single full page pin-up of the Cap'n with his crew (and the Megatooth in the background).
They load up the Megatooth (their Rocketship) and introduce the crew: Professor Angleopterous, Sergeant Brickthorous, and Lieutnant Threetoe. In the last book they introduced the crew, but I didn't really like it, since it seemed to want the crew to be more ragtag, in this book they seem very professional. If I was an interplanetary space-pirate mutant cyborg I know I'd have brown pants by the thought of the Megatooth within the stratosphere of the planet that I'm at port in, though I'd know I wouldn't have time to preform any misdeeds with Captain Raptor not far away from the vessel. The rocket blasts into the sky, the Megatooth flying through the inky haze that is the dust of space, sinking deeper into the eerie colored galaxy. Then they catch up to the pirates, a wonderful spread though a horrible out come for our heroes. The blast sends them to the near by planet, hitting the ground hard, skidding through the mud. The rocket stops and the crew leave the ship to assess the damage done by the raiders.
While on the planet they find a one-armed man, (well mutant mammal) Scalawag. He claims to be able to fix the ship so they can all leave the planet. Captain Raptor takes this misplaced creature, they all board the Megatooth and send off into the nebula. Scalawag suggesting a dangerous way, Captain Raptor doesn't like the idea, but concedes and follows the direction that will bring them fastest to Jurassica.
They are met with problems in the form of Robokron!
"The Giant Robotic Space Beast"
Yeah it's a great spread of the monster attacking the Megatooth.
Captain Raptor needs to take down this monstrosity and save his crew. With heroic thoughts and a space suit, the good captain plunges into the cold darkness and attacks a panel on the robotic beast, shutting down Robokron. Their race is not over, since they still need to chase down the horde of pirates that will be returning to Jurassica. Like the last review of Captain Raptor (and the Moon Mystery) I'm going to have you all enjoy what happens next. Find out how the good Cap'n reclaimed peace on the planet that he protects.
In short, this is a series that I would want to see explored more, even if there was another creative team, though given the blessing of the original team. If this was a book series or they continued the Children's Illustrated Novel with more parts, I will suggest nothing better than this serial. It couldn't be more exciting and pleasing to the eyes and stimulating to the mind. Make time, even if you don't like pulp dinosaurs fighting mutant cyborg pirates the illustrations will sway you as did the concept and execution did to me.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out you're local library and read the books.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
Written by Kevin O'Malley & Patrick O'Brien
Illustrated and Book Design by Patrick O'Brien
Published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
As the universe cooled and the dust fell, the celestial bodies conferee and created the planet that we now search for in this vast nebula. Yes, a planet, a whole planet of treasure, no not the mouse one, no the one with the pulp hero that's a Raptor who scours the solar system protecting the Dino planet. Yeah, this is the part two that got me into the Captain Raptor series, nothing more amazing than pulp heroes and pirates. I'm bias when it comes to all things pulp, now there's pirates, also everyone is a dinosaur or a mutant/cyborg, yeah this Children's Illustrated Novel is tailored to me. Join us on this escapade atop the hype rocket, though I'd hope it was a Galaxy Train, but here's the exciting second part of the Captain Raptor series.
This was the first book in the series that got me attracted and devoted in wanting to read the amazing adventures of this Cretaceous Space Aviator Enforcer!
Initial response, the cover for this adventure of CAPTAIN RAPTOR is of him and his team defending the Dino-world against Space Pirates. It's interesting that this will be a book about a pulp adventurer in space clashing wits and blades or better yet talons and razor sharp-teeth, in the void that separates us all between the worlds we call our solar system. Yeah, a fall into madness on the swashbuckling inky seas of the cloudy infinite void, yep this is the direction that makes sense (behind the scenes Patrick O'Brien has been making a career on his talent as a nautical portrait artist, he has a stupendous portfolio and glorious gallery that displays his work, check out his site if you get a chance)
Tea Steeping isn't too shaken by things, but she knows a missing part could mean
soaring through the sky and landing or bouncing. Only one of these you walk away from...
The cover again (like the first volume of the series) is an example of what a good cover, sorry of a great cover. It's flat out enough information within the cover that one doesn't need to tell anymore of the plot. It shows our heroes and villains all of the cast on the cover, also lasers and a few planets. Now unlike the first cover this one is a little all over, in the sense that it's direct focus at the center of the cover. It's not bad, but it's the directional angles that point the vision left and right, though it bleeds off to the side that feels like a band, wrapped around the book cutting the title and credits on the cover. Again wonderfully illustrated and beautifully detailed. One last thing, there's not only dinosaurs on the cover, so there seems to be some evolution in this world.
As always in this series the first page is an amazing rendering of space, a representation of what space looks like in this imaginative part of the universe.
The following page holds the title and introduces the main crew of pirates. It's interesting to see all the different animals that comprise the pirate crew, since they're not all dinosaurs or they're animals that are from an earlier age then the present. I really like this pin-up more than the cover, since the title pops, and it's gigantic, screaming CAPTAIN RAPTOR in all capital letters then below "and the Space Pirates" that leads the eyes down to the focal point which are the cast of marauders that visually point to the credited contributors who created the Captain and the adventures that unfold. After the "second" cover we have the planet Jurassica (again) under attack (it really is this time), a shadowy force that came down from the sky (a beautiful arraignment of colors, purple and green with hints of brown to give it an ominous feeling).
The cannons fire on the crowd and land in the clearing.
"Misshapen Mutants and Reptilian Cyborgs" rage and start panic while raiding the people of their treasures and valuables. Then just as sudden blast off into the sky, the President exclaims their need for CAPTAIN RAPTOR! It's a great single full page pin-up of the Cap'n with his crew (and the Megatooth in the background).
They load up the Megatooth (their Rocketship) and introduce the crew: Professor Angleopterous, Sergeant Brickthorous, and Lieutnant Threetoe. In the last book they introduced the crew, but I didn't really like it, since it seemed to want the crew to be more ragtag, in this book they seem very professional. If I was an interplanetary space-pirate mutant cyborg I know I'd have brown pants by the thought of the Megatooth within the stratosphere of the planet that I'm at port in, though I'd know I wouldn't have time to preform any misdeeds with Captain Raptor not far away from the vessel. The rocket blasts into the sky, the Megatooth flying through the inky haze that is the dust of space, sinking deeper into the eerie colored galaxy. Then they catch up to the pirates, a wonderful spread though a horrible out come for our heroes. The blast sends them to the near by planet, hitting the ground hard, skidding through the mud. The rocket stops and the crew leave the ship to assess the damage done by the raiders.
Professor Steeping is a little changed by the events of this tale.
He's changed Gom to fit his costume, our little automaton is always game for cosplay.
While on the planet they find a one-armed man, (well mutant mammal) Scalawag. He claims to be able to fix the ship so they can all leave the planet. Captain Raptor takes this misplaced creature, they all board the Megatooth and send off into the nebula. Scalawag suggesting a dangerous way, Captain Raptor doesn't like the idea, but concedes and follows the direction that will bring them fastest to Jurassica.
They are met with problems in the form of Robokron!
"The Giant Robotic Space Beast"
Yeah it's a great spread of the monster attacking the Megatooth.
Captain Raptor needs to take down this monstrosity and save his crew. With heroic thoughts and a space suit, the good captain plunges into the cold darkness and attacks a panel on the robotic beast, shutting down Robokron. Their race is not over, since they still need to chase down the horde of pirates that will be returning to Jurassica. Like the last review of Captain Raptor (and the Moon Mystery) I'm going to have you all enjoy what happens next. Find out how the good Cap'n reclaimed peace on the planet that he protects.
In short, this is a series that I would want to see explored more, even if there was another creative team, though given the blessing of the original team. If this was a book series or they continued the Children's Illustrated Novel with more parts, I will suggest nothing better than this serial. It couldn't be more exciting and pleasing to the eyes and stimulating to the mind. Make time, even if you don't like pulp dinosaurs fighting mutant cyborg pirates the illustrations will sway you as did the concept and execution did to me.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out you're local library and read the books.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
Thursday, March 10, 2016
shorts SHORT Review: Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery
Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery
Written by Kevin O'Malley
Illustrated and Book Design by Patrick O'Brien
Published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
I've never been this impressed by a Children's Illustrated Novel, nor a Comic, nor a Production book. Think of an adventurer, then put that pulp hero in space, then turn them into a dinosaur. Yeah, that's what we're talking about this week. Dinosaurs from a far away planet and their heroic pulp hero as he rockets through space to defend the galaxy and the planet he calls home. This is my type of story, it's straight forward, it has the hero into a position that let's him seem infallible, though solve problems that are out of his hand (talons). It's a great endeavor that's fun to see well paced, crammed into thirty two pages of nebula soaring adventures.
Written by Kevin O'Malley
Illustrated and Book Design by Patrick O'Brien
Published by Walker Publishing Company, Inc.
I've never been this impressed by a Children's Illustrated Novel, nor a Comic, nor a Production book. Think of an adventurer, then put that pulp hero in space, then turn them into a dinosaur. Yeah, that's what we're talking about this week. Dinosaurs from a far away planet and their heroic pulp hero as he rockets through space to defend the galaxy and the planet he calls home. This is my type of story, it's straight forward, it has the hero into a position that let's him seem infallible, though solve problems that are out of his hand (talons). It's a great endeavor that's fun to see well paced, crammed into thirty two pages of nebula soaring adventures.
Thursday, January 21, 2016
shorts SHORT Review: Wild
Wild
by Emily Hughes
Published by Flying Eye Books,
an imprint of Nobrow Ltd.
Welcome to shorts SHORT Review this month we've been focusing on space and for the second half I wanted to focus on adventure, our more wild side. That's what I love about Space Adventures, since space is another form of nature, it's natural and potentially infinite. Though when I enter a forest it feels the same, but virtually infinite. All the plants and lives that are whispered into the wilderness is impressive and otherworldly or abnormal, alien to my person and my mind. This is why I enjoyed reading Wild by Emily Hughes, who captured the feeling of the world and the forest perfectly from the point of view of someone that would feel it's large embrace.
The first thing that everyone sees is the cover of a book, it's the number one thing to get a person to pick it up and want to live in that world. For me I wanted to know the story of our moss-haired protagonist. My initial response to the cover "front to back this is an amazing book for Illustrators and Cartoonist"! Everything about this is filled with detail and texture, the palette used ample amounts of natural colors, which is prefect for this book and all of the attributes in it.
Not even the first page and I already know that I like this book, it's interesting, it's title page with the main character (who was on the cover) is our introduction to the book as a whole. Anyhow the true first page opens to a field of flowers with a stump, tree, crow, fox, and bear, also a little baby human. A lot is drawn to my eyes, the page's use of texture, the way the pencil and pen lines blend into fur and the tree bark reaches for the Sun. It's this skillful design work and well thought out placement of the characters interacting with the page and each other that make this book amazing. The Baby grows up, well to a toddle, but grows and her hair reflect her surrounding, it's a mess of moss and leaves and tangled vines. Nothing about it says a comb had anything to do with it's current design. Like Tarzan we see that she is learning from the animals, speaking and living as if one of them, without harm or fear.
Till one day hunters snagged her hair in a bear trap, the interesting part about that is, Bear traps are outlawed. Now why this is interesting is that the time of this piece. It's a recently made book, though I think it's a period piece, set in the 1900, personally closer toward 1940 or 1950, since the attire of the characters feel like they're boarding the 1960's. This is the touch of a skilled illustrator, this is how one makes a picture pop, the characters and focal points all are cleaned and properly colored, giving a sentence on one side of the page and the other, through the drawing its self. Truly defining what the words mean and how much detail is in one part of the story.
The story starts off with a little girl that is brought up and born in nature, then is taken back to humanity and is out of place, confused and frustrated she fights her way out and dives back into the peace of nature, the wild and lives happily with those that treat her well and with the love she desires and comprehend. There's a classic question in this story "Nature V. Nurture", does one think that the little girl could have stayed with the Doctor and wife or was she always fated to live in the forest? I can talk about how I enjoy this style of illustrations and dissect each page with giddy glee, though I'll leave it all to your eyes. If you love wonderfully detail terrariums, then you will get this book and never put it down.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the links and read the book.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
by Emily Hughes
Published by Flying Eye Books,
an imprint of Nobrow Ltd.
Welcome to shorts SHORT Review this month we've been focusing on space and for the second half I wanted to focus on adventure, our more wild side. That's what I love about Space Adventures, since space is another form of nature, it's natural and potentially infinite. Though when I enter a forest it feels the same, but virtually infinite. All the plants and lives that are whispered into the wilderness is impressive and otherworldly or abnormal, alien to my person and my mind. This is why I enjoyed reading Wild by Emily Hughes, who captured the feeling of the world and the forest perfectly from the point of view of someone that would feel it's large embrace.
The first thing that everyone sees is the cover of a book, it's the number one thing to get a person to pick it up and want to live in that world. For me I wanted to know the story of our moss-haired protagonist. My initial response to the cover "front to back this is an amazing book for Illustrators and Cartoonist"! Everything about this is filled with detail and texture, the palette used ample amounts of natural colors, which is prefect for this book and all of the attributes in it.
Not even the first page and I already know that I like this book, it's interesting, it's title page with the main character (who was on the cover) is our introduction to the book as a whole. Anyhow the true first page opens to a field of flowers with a stump, tree, crow, fox, and bear, also a little baby human. A lot is drawn to my eyes, the page's use of texture, the way the pencil and pen lines blend into fur and the tree bark reaches for the Sun. It's this skillful design work and well thought out placement of the characters interacting with the page and each other that make this book amazing. The Baby grows up, well to a toddle, but grows and her hair reflect her surrounding, it's a mess of moss and leaves and tangled vines. Nothing about it says a comb had anything to do with it's current design. Like Tarzan we see that she is learning from the animals, speaking and living as if one of them, without harm or fear.
Tea Steeping pondering her chores, deciding if they're so bad after all.
Till one day hunters snagged her hair in a bear trap, the interesting part about that is, Bear traps are outlawed. Now why this is interesting is that the time of this piece. It's a recently made book, though I think it's a period piece, set in the 1900, personally closer toward 1940 or 1950, since the attire of the characters feel like they're boarding the 1960's. This is the touch of a skilled illustrator, this is how one makes a picture pop, the characters and focal points all are cleaned and properly colored, giving a sentence on one side of the page and the other, through the drawing its self. Truly defining what the words mean and how much detail is in one part of the story.
The story starts off with a little girl that is brought up and born in nature, then is taken back to humanity and is out of place, confused and frustrated she fights her way out and dives back into the peace of nature, the wild and lives happily with those that treat her well and with the love she desires and comprehend. There's a classic question in this story "Nature V. Nurture", does one think that the little girl could have stayed with the Doctor and wife or was she always fated to live in the forest? I can talk about how I enjoy this style of illustrations and dissect each page with giddy glee, though I'll leave it all to your eyes. If you love wonderfully detail terrariums, then you will get this book and never put it down.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the links and read the book.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
shorts SHORT Rreview: Samurai Santa
Samurai Santa: A very Ninja Christmas
Illustrated and Written by Rubin Pingk
Jacket design by Chloë Foglia
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review for the month of December, during this time I like to think about Santa Claus and all that he does for us. Mind you it varies from person to person and plot to plot, though in the short and long he give us hope and magic, but he wants family and peace. In this month we'll be looking at the different types of the Jolly Postman and his Flying Saucer, so get ready to feel the different life and times of Father Christmas.
This is my favorite type of Santa, the Warrior Santa, the brute, the big bad jolly man handing out presents and fists. For some reason I enjoy this version of Santa Claus the most and if there's one thing in my heart of hearts it's Santa leading an army of his own design into a fray, sword pointing toward the threat and blood boiling in his veins. The only peace on Earth will be those that rest in it, under six feet of soil or snow, yeah, it's a dark Santa, but a lovely tale.
Similar to this dream the plot talks about a desire for an epic snowball fight between young Shinobi and Samurai Santa. It's an interesting choice for Santa, since the natural enemy (and for the most part the martial training of a ninja is to kill) of the Ninja is the Samurai. Though this is a story about peace and they all seem like a more modern group of children, since they all know that Santa exists and want to be good. I've never known a snowball fight to not get rowdy, though with the proper objective and supervision the event could be a very fun way to pass the time, so I understand why Yukio (our protagonist/antagonist) would want to have an amazing winter celebration with friends in the snow.
The level of detail that was put into this Children's Illustrated Novel was very well researched and taken into account for this book. It not only allows the reader to see what Shinobi would do to blend well into their surroundings (Yukio, and his white outfit), but it also gave the feeling that this was a place that not many traveled. The use of negative space really put the perspective of the World, that ninja are secret from the world, they are hidden from sight and will finish their target no matter what, if not for just the release of leaving their home. Also that there is fields of snow, all ready for packing into that perfect snowball and hurling it (playfully) at friends. Everything feel so cut from fabric, though soft and rounds, it's a great touch to the mood and characters.
Best thing about Samurai Santa was the plot didn't feel out of place, it felt like there wasn't any talking down, that Yukio was a capable ninja and able to stop a grown man and give his friends an amazing snow battle to remember. Though we find out that Yukio didn't want to take from his friends, but have them play and enjoy life, lucky for him Santa agreed. Everything about this screams fun and takes on elements of Japanese Culture, like Santa's red War paint (since it reminds me of Kabuki or a Tengu mask or Oni designs to scare soldiers in battle), the house's alarm gong (which seemed to be influenced from theater and less on ninja history, though I wouldn't put it past them to just some sort of alarm system simular), and the Shinai (bamboo sword). This is a great book to get one into the spirit of family and into the odd antics of Santa Claus. If you're a person that wants to teach a bit of culture (in a broad form) to children and have said kids want to have good wishes come true to their loved ones, then take a look at this wonderful Children's Illustrated Novel, if not for that then for the amazing artistic talent that put it all together.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the links and read the book.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
Illustrated and Written by Rubin Pingk
Jacket design by Chloë Foglia
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review for the month of December, during this time I like to think about Santa Claus and all that he does for us. Mind you it varies from person to person and plot to plot, though in the short and long he give us hope and magic, but he wants family and peace. In this month we'll be looking at the different types of the Jolly Postman and his Flying Saucer, so get ready to feel the different life and times of Father Christmas.
This is my favorite type of Santa, the Warrior Santa, the brute, the big bad jolly man handing out presents and fists. For some reason I enjoy this version of Santa Claus the most and if there's one thing in my heart of hearts it's Santa leading an army of his own design into a fray, sword pointing toward the threat and blood boiling in his veins. The only peace on Earth will be those that rest in it, under six feet of soil or snow, yeah, it's a dark Santa, but a lovely tale.
Gom and Tea Steeping have a bout in the snow
Who will win? Snow or Sword!
Similar to this dream the plot talks about a desire for an epic snowball fight between young Shinobi and Samurai Santa. It's an interesting choice for Santa, since the natural enemy (and for the most part the martial training of a ninja is to kill) of the Ninja is the Samurai. Though this is a story about peace and they all seem like a more modern group of children, since they all know that Santa exists and want to be good. I've never known a snowball fight to not get rowdy, though with the proper objective and supervision the event could be a very fun way to pass the time, so I understand why Yukio (our protagonist/antagonist) would want to have an amazing winter celebration with friends in the snow.
Gom and Tea Steeping enjoy a nice snowball fight with a favorite treat of the group.
The level of detail that was put into this Children's Illustrated Novel was very well researched and taken into account for this book. It not only allows the reader to see what Shinobi would do to blend well into their surroundings (Yukio, and his white outfit), but it also gave the feeling that this was a place that not many traveled. The use of negative space really put the perspective of the World, that ninja are secret from the world, they are hidden from sight and will finish their target no matter what, if not for just the release of leaving their home. Also that there is fields of snow, all ready for packing into that perfect snowball and hurling it (playfully) at friends. Everything feel so cut from fabric, though soft and rounds, it's a great touch to the mood and characters.
Best thing about Samurai Santa was the plot didn't feel out of place, it felt like there wasn't any talking down, that Yukio was a capable ninja and able to stop a grown man and give his friends an amazing snow battle to remember. Though we find out that Yukio didn't want to take from his friends, but have them play and enjoy life, lucky for him Santa agreed. Everything about this screams fun and takes on elements of Japanese Culture, like Santa's red War paint (since it reminds me of Kabuki or a Tengu mask or Oni designs to scare soldiers in battle), the house's alarm gong (which seemed to be influenced from theater and less on ninja history, though I wouldn't put it past them to just some sort of alarm system simular), and the Shinai (bamboo sword). This is a great book to get one into the spirit of family and into the odd antics of Santa Claus. If you're a person that wants to teach a bit of culture (in a broad form) to children and have said kids want to have good wishes come true to their loved ones, then take a look at this wonderful Children's Illustrated Novel, if not for that then for the amazing artistic talent that put it all together.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the links and read the book.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Shorts SHORT Review: Zombie in Love
Zombie in Love
by Kelly DiPucchio and Scott Campbell
Book Design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian
Published by Atheneum Books For Young Readers
An imprint of Simon and Schuster
Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review, today we'll be talking about Zombie In Love (you can check out it's sequel here). The simplest story you could see a mile away, boy meets girl, then a quickstep to the altar. Though by the end of the book you'd want no one else in his life then the woman that found him.
In life there's a lot of radical ideas that we make up, like the abstract thought of time. Though in this Children's Illustrated Novel we join the adventures of love. That all inspiring and crushing emotion, even after death we're bound by our hearts. This is a beautiful telling of a person looking to find love in another. The best part about the main character being a Zombie is that this represents that person, their life style, their personal grooming habits, even what type of entertainment they enjoy. Majority of existence, we find people the most attractive when certain ideas mix, I'm not saying there's a "one" though in this story our main character has tried many methods and relations before she found him. Remember the plot isn't thick, our Zombie protagonist meets a Zomberella, then they get married. This is a lovely story of someone that believes there's another like them, it's literal since they're both decomposing stiffs. It would be great (in the real World) to have a literary device that would allow you to know that people in your life (romantically) would be compatible.
One of the most trivialized things about a book is the design, Children's Illustrated Novels especially. It's maybe the number one thing that I look at is the design. Designers are the ones that create the presented experience and this is what fabricates a hold on the reader from start to finish, since it will be what takes the emergence of the story and the art.
The Water-color and the design of the characters are fantastic, though water colors and Zombies, are the most cliche for contemporary books. It works so well for decay, and making situations more awkward since a corpse is making romantic advances, and creating a jouissance space that feels clammy. The character acting was well composed, which is common place for a lot of Children's Illustrated Novels, though not so fully realized in a first novel, which is a surprise to find in this book. Scott Campbell made the characters move and flow, but as an idea of motion within inaction. Though it was the background characters (extras) that stole scenes, a spectacular job of reacting to the insanity of Mortimer (our protagonist). One thing I really love are running gags, in the story the joke is an extreme closeup of the Zombie and/or the Zomberella smiling. It's such a good poke at a lot of kid's books and it gives (in a way) a homage to the Loony Tunes cartoons when needing to point out something that demanded full concentration or was incredibly grotesque.
All in all this was a wonderful story, with a more contemporary way of finding love. Since most stories rely on the characters to just happen on each other, rather than putting in effort and trying to improve or signal another's heart toward their own. In short, if you get this for the plot you will be not be challenged, though if you over think the story and enjoy the details and wonderfully water-colored pages, then you've made a fantastic addition to your collection.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the book.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
by Kelly DiPucchio and Scott Campbell
Book Design by Sonia Chaghatzbanian
Published by Atheneum Books For Young Readers
An imprint of Simon and Schuster
Welcome to the shorts SHORT Review, today we'll be talking about Zombie In Love (you can check out it's sequel here). The simplest story you could see a mile away, boy meets girl, then a quickstep to the altar. Though by the end of the book you'd want no one else in his life then the woman that found him.
In life there's a lot of radical ideas that we make up, like the abstract thought of time. Though in this Children's Illustrated Novel we join the adventures of love. That all inspiring and crushing emotion, even after death we're bound by our hearts. This is a beautiful telling of a person looking to find love in another. The best part about the main character being a Zombie is that this represents that person, their life style, their personal grooming habits, even what type of entertainment they enjoy. Majority of existence, we find people the most attractive when certain ideas mix, I'm not saying there's a "one" though in this story our main character has tried many methods and relations before she found him. Remember the plot isn't thick, our Zombie protagonist meets a Zomberella, then they get married. This is a lovely story of someone that believes there's another like them, it's literal since they're both decomposing stiffs. It would be great (in the real World) to have a literary device that would allow you to know that people in your life (romantically) would be compatible.
One of the most trivialized things about a book is the design, Children's Illustrated Novels especially. It's maybe the number one thing that I look at is the design. Designers are the ones that create the presented experience and this is what fabricates a hold on the reader from start to finish, since it will be what takes the emergence of the story and the art.
The Water-color and the design of the characters are fantastic, though water colors and Zombies, are the most cliche for contemporary books. It works so well for decay, and making situations more awkward since a corpse is making romantic advances, and creating a jouissance space that feels clammy. The character acting was well composed, which is common place for a lot of Children's Illustrated Novels, though not so fully realized in a first novel, which is a surprise to find in this book. Scott Campbell made the characters move and flow, but as an idea of motion within inaction. Though it was the background characters (extras) that stole scenes, a spectacular job of reacting to the insanity of Mortimer (our protagonist). One thing I really love are running gags, in the story the joke is an extreme closeup of the Zombie and/or the Zomberella smiling. It's such a good poke at a lot of kid's books and it gives (in a way) a homage to the Loony Tunes cartoons when needing to point out something that demanded full concentration or was incredibly grotesque.
All in all this was a wonderful story, with a more contemporary way of finding love. Since most stories rely on the characters to just happen on each other, rather than putting in effort and trying to improve or signal another's heart toward their own. In short, if you get this for the plot you will be not be challenged, though if you over think the story and enjoy the details and wonderfully water-colored pages, then you've made a fantastic addition to your collection.
I trust you enjoyed the inspection, thank you for reading.
Support the creator, check out the book.
If you want to stay up to date on my reviews, subscribe to this page.
Keep well and Stay well.
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