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Archive for the ‘Children’s Books’ Category

Dav Pilkey–The Adventures of Captain Underpants: An Epic Novel by Dav Pilkey (1997)

Posted in Children's Books, Dav Pilkey, Funny (ha ha), The Dead Milkmen, Yuck! on January 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

capnSOUNDTRACK: THE DEAD MILKMEN-“The Puking Song” (1989).

smokin_banana150I usually try to pair kids books with kids music.  And this song might be a little inappropriate for kids, but it’s in the spirit of Captain Underpants, right?

“The Puking Song” is, yes all about puking (How I love to sleep in vomit, you don’t know the joy I get from it, waking up to the smell of puke…makes me shout I love you!).  It’s doesn’t get any more vulgar than that, although it is of course, pretty gross.

It’s sung by Joe Jack Talcum, with his rather whiny/slightly out of tune/childish voice.  It comes from a B-Side (really??) on the Smoking Banana Peels EP.  Yes, it is pretty gross, but I’ll bet it’s fun to sing along to in a crowded theater.

[READ: January 14, 2013] The Adventures of Captain Underpants

Captain Underpants is perpetually on the list of banned books, which is really quite funny (except that banned books are not funny), because honestly how bad could it be.  I had never read the book before, but Clark has been reading them all lately so I thought it would be interesting to read it as both a librarian (anti-banning) and as a parent (pro-ensuring-that-it-is-appropriate).  And what I learned is that I understand why people want to ban the book, but I think it’s utterly foolish and wrongheaded to do so.

So what’s so bad about the book?  Well, it’s silly and vulgar (and full of pictures of a superhero in his underpants, gasp), but the thing that I assume bugs authority figures is that it totally mocks and abuses authority figures–which is exactly what makes kids laugh and exactly what humorless authority figures hate.

So the story is about George Beard and Harold Hutchins, two mischievous kids.  Within the first two pages, they pass by a sign that says Pick Your Own Roses and they rearrange the letters to spell Pick Our Noses.  [I have to say that the other day Clark drew a comic in which a storefront said Come Visit Our Awfully Good Store.  A boulder smashed through it which left the result: Come Visit Our Awful Store.  And I was very proud of his creativity and thanked Pilkey for that direction of his comedy].  But that’s the level of mischief we’re talking about: putting soap bubbles in the band instruments and putting helium in the football. (more…)

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Hergé–Tintin in America (1932) [translated 1962]

Posted in Adventure, Africa, Children's Books, Culture Shock, Funny (ha ha), Funny (strange), Gangsters, Hergé, Kids Corner, Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper, Michael Turner, The Diggity Dudes, Travel, WXPN 88.5 FM--Philadelphia, PA on January 13, 2013| 2 Comments »

tintin americaSOUNDTRACK: THE DIGGITY DUDES-“My Science Project” (2012).

diggityThe Diggity Dudes are getting a lot of airplay on Kids’ Corner on WXPN.  I like them in theory but I don’t really like the style of music they play–it’s a little too generic.  That being said, I do rather like the lyrics of this song.

It’s all about doing, yes, a science project.  “Measure twice or you’ll have a disaster.”  The problem is that the verses are done in a  rap style that’s not very good.  And the rhymes are awful.

I give them credit for writing about cool subjects for kids (like “To the Library” which I would have reviewed but they didn’t have it playing on their site).  But if they weren’t a kid’s band, I wouldn’t like them at all.  Despite that, I imagine they put on a great live show–they seem like they’d be a lot of fun.

[READ: Jauary 10, 2013] Tintin in America

I have known of Tintin for years (Sarah and I even have an inside joke about the boy journalist).  When we went to Brussels, we went to the art museum and saw the history of Hergé’s works (Hergé’s real name is Georges Prosper Remi) and the tons of souvenir Tintin things that are for sale. And yet I’d never read any of his stories.

I saw some in the library and decided to check out volume one.  Interestingly, this volume starts with Tintin in America. While reading it I quickly determined that this was not the first book in the series.  Indeed, America is the third book after Tintin in the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in the Congo (neither of these two are readily available in the US–the first because Hergé later felt it was too crude to redo for collections and the second because the depiction of Africans was deemed offensive).  So, most collections begin with this book (which is only a little odd because he is already well-known and the story seems to start in the middle because he dealt with some of these thugs in book 2).

But on to America. (more…)

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Barry Deutsch–Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite (2012)

Posted in Barry Deutsch, Bob Dylan, Brave Combo, Children's Books, Decadence, Demons, Graphic Novel, Religion, Short Books on January 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

herevilleSOUNDTRACK: BRAVE COMBO/BOB DYLAN-“Must Be Santa” (1991).

bob dylanBrave Combo is a fun band that mixes more styles in one album than most bands do in their career.  While they primarily play polka, the also play everything from folk to rock to klezmer.  This song is an old song from Mitch Miller, but Brave Combo speed it up and spice it up with clarinets and fun instrumental frills.  It’s fast and furious.

And if that wasn’t strange enough, Bob Dylan covered the song–and clearly covered the Brave Combo version when he made his Christmas album in 2009.  Although Brave Combo didn’t write the song, Dylan’s cover is certainly in the polka style and he includes lyrics that Brave combo added:

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen
Carter, Reagan, Bush and Clinton.

Dylan singer faster than I’ve ever heard him.  It’s a hoot.  And the video is really funny too.

[READ: January 3, 2012] Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite

I saw this book on the library shelf and the tagline (“Boldy Going Where No 11-Year-Old Orthodox Jewish Girl Has Gone Before”) made it sound like a lot of fun.  Upon reading it, I can see it’s not quite what thought it was.  It turned out to be much cooler.  This also proves to be the second book in this series, although you don’t need the first book to appreciate this one.

Mirka, an orthodox Jewish girl has been grounded (for fighting a troll with a sword.  Her stepmother, sick of her hanging around, offers to play Mirka in chess.  If Mirka wins, her punishment is over.  As with everything Mirka does, she is too brash, too hasty, which means that she will not win.  But her stepmother takes pity and allows her to go outside–if she stays out of trouble.  But because she is willful, Mirka runs right back to the troll.  The troll, angered at being defeated by such a stupid girl (his insults at her are great), creates a meteorite and sends it hurtling towards the town of Hereville.

Mirka consults with the witch who helped her defeat the troll in the first place and the witch changes the meteorite into a girl who is the exact copy of Mirka.  Although indeed, not an exact copy for Metty as she comes to be known is smarter, neater and better at basketball.  Mirka thinks it would be great to have this twin around to help with chores but Metty winds up eating all her food (they can’t both be in the same place at once) including the big feast at Shabbos and making her look bad.   (more…)

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J. Torres & J. Bone–The Collected Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures 1 (2002)

Posted in Adventure, Boredom, Children's Books, Christine Lavin, Egyptology, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, J. Bone, J. Torres, Marriage Trouble, Nazis, Oni Press, Short Books on January 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

alsion1SOUNDTRACK: CHRISTINE LAVIN AND THE MISTLETONES-A Christmas / Kwanzaa / Solstice / Chanukah / Ramadan / Boxing Day Song” (2006).

lavinI’ve always liked Christine Lavin, but she has fallen off my radar in recent years.  I’m delighted that she’s still making cool (and funny) folk music. We quickly added this to our holiday playlist.

It’s an a Capella track done in a round.  It opens with Christine wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and a happy new year (to an original melody). And then a male voice wishes you a happy Kwannza, a hip hop happy Kwanzaa (if you celebrate Kwanzaa).  A third voice sings the same melody wishing happiness to all who celebrate Solstice.  A second male voice now wishes you a happy Chanukah.

Then, in perfect harmony, third female and then male voices throw in Ramadan and, amusingly, Boxing Day.  It’s a light-hearted take on multiculturalism, all wrapped up in a pretty melody.

[READ: January 1, 2013] Alison Dare: Little Miss Adventures

I recalled the Alison Dare comics from when I used to be an Oni Press fanboy (I still love Oni Press but I can’t keep track of comics anymore).  Anyhow, Alison Dare is an all ages comic, so I brought a copy home for Clark from the library.  But he didn’t like it.  I wondered if it was because the main character was a girl, but i think it’s because the comic is black and white–he really only likes color comics.  Huh.  I also found that it may have been a little confusing for him–the writing was style was really engaging but not exactly straightforward.  Maybe in a year or so he’d enjoy it.

But I enjoyed it.

This book collects the first three Alison Dare stories: (more…)

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John Seegert–Vordak the Incomprehensible: How to Grow Up and Rule the World (2010)

Posted in Adventure, Advice, C., Children's Books, Funny (ha ha), Jeff Kinney, John Seegert, Short Books, Trout Fishing in America on January 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

vordakSOUNDTRACK: TROUT FISHING IN AMERICA-“I Got a Cheese Log” (2004).

fishesWe bought the Trout Fishing in AMerica Christmas CD (Merry Fishes to All) this year. It arrived on the day before Christmas, so we didn’t get to listen to it too much).  But I rather enjoyed the nonsense of this song–everybody else got exactly what they wanted for Christmas but “I got a cheese log.”  It’s catchy (with piano, which is a bit unexpected for them) and the punchline of the chorus has a great wanh wanh sound.

But getting only a cheese log is enough to make anyone turn evil.

[READ: December 31, 2012] Vordak the Incomprehensible

Technically, according to the cover,  the author of this book is Vordak the Incomprehensible, but I’m going by the copyright page.

C.’s school had a Scholastic book fair.  I grabbed this book (with its large $2.50 sticker on the cover) figuring I could get him a surprise gift.  Of course, the people who work the Scholastic Book Fair seem to have no idea that one might be trying to surreptitiously buy a book for the child one is with–imbeciles!  brain-dead nincompoops!! (See the book is working, I feel more evil already).  Anyhow, since C. saw it, I told him that he could “buy” it for me for Christmas.  Which he rather liked.  And so, I read it on the last day of 2012 (making sure he saw me read it).

This book is very funny and a lot of fun.  I feel like it may be a year or two too old for him to really appreciate (like Wimpy Kid)–he would certainly laugh at most of the jokes, but I think it would be really really funny with a bit more, dare I say it, life experiences.

So the book is written by Vordak the Incomprehensible, an evil mastermind who is retiring.  He is passing along every thing he knows to you, the reader, despite his utter lack of faith in your abilities. (more…)

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Jeff Kinney–Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel [#7] (2012)

Posted in Babies, Children's Books, Fears, Funny (ha ha), Holidays, Jeff Kinney, Mad Scientists, Marriage (Happy), Memoirs, Phineas and Ferb, Set at School, Short Books on December 24, 2012| Leave a Comment »

3rdSOUNDTRACK: PHINEAS AND FERB-“I Really Don’t Hate Christmas” (2009).

doofenI have grown to love Phineas and Ferb ever so much  in the past year.  Holy cow it makes me laugh so much  that I would totally watch  it even without the kids around.

This song, sung by the evil Dr Doofenshmirtz, explains how he has a backstory that makes him hate every holiday except Christmas–he just has a burning indifference to it.  The song is catchy and funny.

Of course since he is an evil scientist, he finds a reason to hate Christmas and launch his naughtyinator.  When carolers come to his door and repeat over and over that they want figgy pudding, he begins to get quite annoyed.  And we get this hilarious exchange:

CAROLERS: (singing) We won’t go until we get some, we won’t go until we get some….

DR. DOOFENSHMIRTZ: What? Are you threatening me? How dare you! No one barges into my home and demands desserts! What sort of plan is that anyway? “Let’s go to a stranger’s house, sing songs to him, and refuse to leave unless he hands us a food dish no one’s prepared since the 16th century!”

Just in time for the holidays:

[READ: December 20, 2012] Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel

Clark was more excited for this book than I was!  As soon as he saw it, he grabbed it and ran into his room to read it (for which I was both proud and a little annoyed as I wanted to read it).  I’m not sure how much he could have enjoyed it as it is all about going on a date, but he seemed to like it.

It’s not all about a date though.  It begins with Greg reminiscing about his time in the womb (a very odd thing for Clark to read, I’m sure).  rtHis mom listening to Mozart and just how much he could hear while in there.  Then he talks about his life as a wee one, which is very funny–he learned how to take the batteries out of the remote so his mom couldn’t put the educational shows back on (he’s also annoyed that Manny gets to watch whatever he wants now–no educational TV for him).

But Manny doesn’t come out on top all the time–there’s the boy who acts like a vampire at Sunday School and scares Manny to bits.  This may be why Manny only has imaginary friends (well, that and the fact that their mom reads Manny the children’s book she wrote about the boy who used to bite Greg–it  terrifies Manny).  Of course, the imaginary friends get in trouble for all the things Manny does (maybe Manny does come out on top all the time after all).

One of the funnier aspects of the Wimpy Kid series is the locations that they go to.  Like Corny’s, the family restaurant where the key is fun (not food), and the first time they went Greg almost sat on a PB&J sandwich that was never cleared away.  (And wait till you see what the family next to them are doing!). (more…)

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Mac Barnett–It Happened on a Train [Brixton Brothers Book #3] (2011) [audiobook 2011–Arte Johnson]

Posted in Adventure, Arte Johnson, Audiobooks, Children's Books, Funky Web Sites, Funny (ha ha), Gangsters, Mac Barnett, McSweeney's, Noir, Spies, Trains, Travel on December 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[LISTENED TO: December 2012] It Happened on a Train

brixton3After the raging success of Brixton Brothers Books 1 and 2 we were thrilled to get to Book 3.

Twelve-year old Steve Brixton has given up on being a detective.  His hero, the author of the Bailey Brothers mysteries has proven to be a thief and a liar and he wants nothing to do with the man anymore.  So he has bundled all of his Bailey Brothers books–his favorite books in the world–and put them in the trash.

His chum, Dana, is not that upset about the closing of the agency, especially since he has now been dating a girl named Dana (“other Dana” as Steve calls her).  Other Dana has gotten Dana into a book series about wizards and dragons which Steve simply cannot believe.

This 3rd novel proves to adhere well to the title–it does all happen on a train.  Well, most of it anyhow.  The boys have been invited to the Model U.N. meeting in San Diego.  After last book’s fake debate club ruse, Steve’s mother is very suspicious of the Model U.N., especially since no one has ever heard of it.  [It turns out that my school had a model U.N., but most of us had no idea what they did either–imagine my surprise to see that very organization appear in an episode of Community!]  The story checks out and Rick (jerk) takes this as an opportunity to bond with Stevie Brix (what, you don’t get it) by tagging along for the nine-hour train ride.

Before the train ride gets underway, Steve is approached by a surfer dude who is looking for help.  Steve hears the man’s case but tells him that he has retired (a recurring joke).  It took us a while to get to the end of the story and we had all but completely forgotten about this plot point by the time we got to the end.

Anyhow, on the train, Steve winds up talking to a girl, Claire, whose uncle is a private detective.  The girl is nice but thinks it doesn’t make sense that 12-year-old Steve is retired.  Steve is annoyed by her, and has mixed feelings about her.  But he sees that she has left her book behind, so he finds her to give it back.  But she is nowhere to be seen. (more…)

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Tony Abbott–Time Surfers series (1996-1997)

Posted in Adventure, Boredom, C., Children's Books, End of the World, Fantasy, History, Mad Scientists, NASA, Phineas and Ferb, Technology, Tony Abbott, Waffles on December 16, 2012| Leave a Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: PHINEAS AND FERB-The Twelve Days of Christmas (2009).

12daysTo get you in the mood for the holidays, I present The Phineas and Ferb Twelve Days of Christmas.  Each character gets a wish, even Perry.  And of course, Ferb’s wish on the 12th day is great.

Obviously, Doofenschmirtz is the comic relief of the song (although most of the wishes are funny in themselves).  Doofenshmirtz hilariously wishes for the entire tri-state area and then slowly backs down to one state, admitting he was overreaching at the beginning.

I can’t find a video from the show, but there are plenty cobbled together on YouTube.  Like this one.  Enjoy!

 

[READ: July 2012] Time Surfers series

We’re still working through all of the different Tony Abbott series.  And this series, Time Surfers, is another early collection of eight books about young kids going on adventures.  This series was also difficult to find (although it has recently come back into print (with much better illustrations).  The think I have yet been able to figure out about Abbott’s earlier series–they seem like he planned to do more.  Or more specifically, they seem unfinished.  I wonder if he gave up or if the publishers gave up on him.

So this series seems to have a few arcs in it.  New villains emerge, which is interesting, although as C. pointed out, what happened to Vorg from the first four books, he just seemed to go away.

Book #1, Space Bingo starts the series in an interesting way (Tony Abbott’s exposition is always interesting–indeed all of th ebooks open up with a scene the seems to be one thing but is revealed to be something else).  Ned Banks has moved to a new city far away from his home and his best friend.  He has to start a new school and he’s not too happy about it.  His sister has been calling him Nerd instead of Ned and the nickname is starting to spread, especially since such bad luck things are happening to him in school.  So he does what any clever kid would do–he creates a communicator (and tells his best friend Ernie how to make one) so that they can talk to each other whenever they want (and not have phone charges!).  When Ned turns the communicator on, however, it opens a time portal in his closet and two kids from the year 2099 come flying out. (more…)

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Adam Blade–First Hero [The Chronicles of Avantia #1] (2010)

Posted in Adam Blade, Adventure, All Songs Considered, Children's Books, Fables, Fantasy, Fears, Magic, Mates of State, Short Books, Supernatural, Threats on December 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

first herpSOUNDTRACK: MATES OF STATE-Live at the 9:30 Club, Washington DC, April 4, 2009 (2009).

mos930I enjoyed the Tiny Desk show from Mates of State quite a lot.  And this concert which is a full band (and occasionally just the husband and wife duo) was equally fun.

They play 15 songs in about an hour, some are short but there are a couple longer ones as well.    The band plays big songs with large hooks–a couple of listens and you are singing along with them.  They perform a kind of orchestrated synth pop, and while the songs are sweet-sounding, there is more to them than just hooks.

Most of this concert comes from their 2008 album Re-Arrange Us.  There’s a few tracks from  2003’s Team Boo as well.  All in all it’s a great show.  There are a bunch of songs on here that should be huge, they’re so catchy.  But Mates of State remain under the radar.  Discover them here.

[READ: November 3, 2012] First Hero

After finishing the available Beast Quest books, I learned that there was another Avantia series called The Chronicles of Avantia (four books so far).  Since Clark enjoyed the Beast Quest series so much, we decided to check this one out, too.

Well, wow is it a different beast altogether. First off, the book is much bigger.  Second, the words are more complicated and third, the action is much more violent.  This is not your second grader’s story of trudge, trudge, trudge, defeat (but not kill) the beast and then gain a prize.  Rather, our hero must avenge his father’s death before the villain literally destroys the cities of Avantia looking for the Mask of Death.

The action takes place long before the action of the Beast Quest series–so long before that they may as well not be related except for the land (although we haven’t heard of these towns either).  Even the beasts are different.

The main character in this series is a boy named Tanner.  He is the Chosen Rider of a phoenix-Beast called Firepos.  What’s interesting is that some of the story is told from Firepos’ point of view.  The main bad guy in the story is a guy named Derthsin.  Derthsin killed Tanner’s father (when Tanner was 7) and also kidnapped his mother.  There’s nothing too explicit about the death (except that Tanner witnessed it–yipes!)  The death is revisited and is certainly uncomfortable reading to a  7-year-old.   Tanner was raised by his grandmother Esme.  Esme, too, is killed by Derthsin (this one of a bit more graphic and Tanner is present) and boy was that awkward. (more…)

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The Moscow Ballet–The Russian Nutcracker (RVCC Arts, Bridgewater, NJ, December 8, 2012)

Posted in Ballet, Branchburg, NJ, C., Children's Books, E.T.A. Hoffman, Fables, Fantasy, Moscow Ballet, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russia, RVCC Arts, T., Toys on December 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: December 8, 2012] The Russian Nutcracker

nutcrackWe decided to take the kids to see The Nutcracker this year.  Fortunately, it was being performed at our beloved RVCC by the Moscow Ballet!  I saw The Nutcracker performed by the Boston Ballet about a dozen years ago, and the performance was stunning (it was also expensive).  This performance was definitely scaled down compared to that one, and it was also shorter (which was good for our kids).

I honestly don’t remember all that much from the Boston Performance (except that when the tree gets bigger, I was blown away).  There wasn’t much blowing away with this show.  As I say, it was scaled down tremendously–the stage itself was about half the size.  But that said, it was charming and the performers–especially the men–were amazing.

I really enjoyed the opening which was quite simple, with the families approaching the castle for the Christmas party–it was fun seeing the adults dressed as kids skipping about while the proper adults strolled casually.  Typically the first act is longer than the second and it’s certainly less exciting.  I don’t know the ballet well enough to know if they cut any of the scenes, but it didn’t seem quite as long as I remembered.  The kids were a little less excited by the grown up fancy ball dancing, but they held up very well.

I enjoyed the sequence where Masha (she’s not Clara in The Russian Nutcracker–I wonder just how different the two are) and her brother have a fight over the Nutcracker.  Masha’s brother was quite funny and the broken Nutcracker was amazing in his life-less-ness.  Indeed, all of the “toys” were incredible. (more…)

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