Books

Books

Wed
14
Feb

Are you a fidgeter like I am? This is the book for you!

Fidget: 101 Ways to Boost Your Creativity and Decrease Your Stress by Heather Fishel

Paperback - $14.99 ($10.99 on Amazon)

Tue
13
Feb

When Clod Makes a Friend, Pedersen Makes a Classic

Clod Makes a Friend

At the tender age of 9, young Clod's future is already written for him. It's not just that he's overly large and clumsy, but in a world where everyone has some magic, it is determined that Clod has none. That's the decree of his teacher, the Learned Yugen, who thinks it best that Clod's mother prepare him for a life of menial labor. But the cruel headmaster is wrong: Clod does have magic, it's just magic that Yugen cannot sense, and when Yugen discovers that, things get even worse for Clod, as his label gets upgraded from "worthless" to "evil."

Bullied at school, Clod takes refuge with the clay his mother brings home daily after working. And in a fit of loneliness and longing, Clod makes a friend: literally. Ada is a small girl at first, made from clay but being so much more than that while she is alive. She lasts a while then turns to ash until Clod remakes her, each time a little better and a little bigger, and each time she lasts a little longer.

Mon
12
Feb

Hooray for Baby Monkey, Private Eye!

Some days, we all have a little trouble putting on our pants.

Meet Baby Monkey, Private Eye, the cutest little sleuth in the business and presented in a format that will entertain littles and literati alike. Caldecott medalist Brian Selznick (THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, WONDERSTRUCK) teams with debut children's author David Serlin to launch a wonderful set of stories that are whimsically silly and chock-full of highbrow Easter eggs.

Baby Monkey's office is brimming with a different set of artwork and knick-knick nacks for each new adventure, themed to match the story. Older readers will appreciate this, even as they chuckle at Baby Monkey preparing for each job that is brought to him, said preparation always involving the important tasks of looking for clues, taking notes, eating a snack, and putting on pants.

Fri
09
Feb

Canterbury Classics Provide Shelf Appeal with New Bindings for Timeless Tales

Illustrated Classics

I grew up in books. They were all over the place. There were the slim hardbound Weekly Readers that regularly found their way into my collection. There were the dog-eared paperbacks in the classroom library. There were the well-read Readers' Digest anthologies and unabridged classics and Big Little Books and (yes) more comic books than a reasonable person could count (and I knew exactly how many there were).

Tue
06
Feb

Three Cheers for SPARKS!

Sparks!

No one would ever guess that the secret identity of Sparks, a heroic super-dog...

...is actually two cats!

August and Charlie are two escaped felines from a laboratory that is definitely up to no good. Their intelligence has been boosted, but August's is off the charts. So much so that when she ran back to her original home with her new friend, Charlie, only to find the house abandoned and up for sale, she sold some of the leftover items in the house online, parlayed the money in the stock market, and then bought the house for herself, all using a laptop.

But August has one irrational fear: grass. This keeps her from ever going outside unprotected. And so she built a robotic dog suit for outdoor adventuring. With her running the computer in the rear and Charlie navigating from the front, they take Sparks out to rescue babies and perform good deeds.

Wed
10
Jan

The "Ultimate" Roblox Book?

Ultimate Roblox Book

Judging a book by its cover, David Jagneaux's THE ULTIMATE ROBLOX BOOK: AN UNOFFICIAL GUIDE is visually appealing. The hard, glossy binding; bold title font, pictures, use of color, compact size, and thickness are all a huge win. You could picture this book sitting on your desk, picking it up, fanning the pages, perusing its large font, clear graphics, screenshots, explanations, bullets, and continuous use of the top seller banner throughout. Stunning to say the least.

The title of the book, at first glance, also grabs your attention. Using a power word like ULTIMATE would seem to indicate all users, at any level, would not only benefit from reading it, but that it would offer immense value. What should an ultimate guide contain? Beginning 101 account creation? How to create games? How to script? Advance power user techniques? Examples? And much more! But does it accomplish its objective, or is it just another gimmick to lure an easily persuaded gift-giver? 

Thu
04
Jan

Because Nothing Says Inclusivity Like Banning an Hispanic Author, Worldcon 76 Locks Out Jon Del Arroz

Jon Del Arroz

Jon Del Arroz is a serious science fiction author. And by serious, I mean he's taken the time and trouble to join the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America guild, something I've bothered to do, and now probably never will.

Del Arroz, an Hispanic, was planning to attend Worldcon 76, when he received notice that they were disallowing his attendance, stating he had intended to break their code of conduct. "Worldcon 76 strives to be an inclusive place in fandom, as difficult as that can be, and racist and bullying behavior is not acceptable at our Worldcon."

Because nothing says inclusivity and anti-racism like banning an Hispanic author from your event.

What triggered this reaction? What was it that Del Arroz had done to merit sucha response? Had he published a political manifesto? Posted with a frillion AK-47s on Facebook? Publicly burned a picture of Ray Bradbury?

Wed
27
Dec

LEGO Science Combines Fun and Fact for Young and Old

LEGO Science

What's cooler than a LEGO scientist minifigure that comes with two clear beakers filled with different colors? The book she comes with, of course!

The latest in the line of LEGO ADVENTURES IN THE REAL WORLD is LEGO SCIENCE, and where LEGO FARM was a Level 1 reader for beginners, LEGO SCIENCE is a emBIG book with sections devoted to chemistry, matter, space, inventions, physics, and much more! You'll be building water molecules from LEGO, learning how things work, why they work, and the often amazing ways things were discovered. You'll be given build challenges along the way -- but not just to create something, but answer science questions about them, like the kind of energy used to build your pair of racecars, and what things you could apply to make them faster.

Sat
23
Dec

Review - Rise of the Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

After defeating the evil jumbie Severine, you'd think the people on Corinne LeMar's island home would be praising her. Instead they fear her. She's half jumbie after all and can't be trusted because of it. And when children start disappearing Corinne is the first suspect on everyone's list. To clear her name and rescue the missing children, Corinne must tag up with her old friends and seek out a water jumbie, Mama D'Leau. But Mama D'Leau won't help Corinne and her friends without aking a bargain. Her friends must travel with mermaids across the ocean to Ghana to retrieve a magical object before Mama D'Leau will tell Corinne what happened to the missing children. With everything against her, Corinne must once again rely on her friends and her courage to save the missing kids and her reputation.

 

Thu
21
Dec

Nadia Fezzani and the Rise of the (Real Life) Super Hero

Real Life Super Heroes

Not a dream! Not a hoax! Not an imaginary story! The superheroes that have populated the four-color tales of the comic book pages have made the transition into reality. They go by names like Thanatos or Mr. Xtreme or Phoenix Jones. They have costumes and missions that drive them. And you may even have one operating in your city!

Author Nadia Fezzani has spent time with several of these crimefighters across the United States and Canada, and has chronicled her experiences in REAL LIFE SUPER HEROES from Dundurn. As anyone who frequents CriticalBlast knows, we have an affinity for the super hero as well as for those who appear publicly in costumes. So we were eager to speak with Ms. Fezzani and dig up a few more answers about the addition of these characters to real life society.

Is the Real Life Super Hero (RLSH) movement a fad, an extension of cosplay, or something larger--a step for societal evolution?

Wed
20
Dec

LEGO Enters the Real World to Teach Kids About Farms

LEGO Farm

In the world beyond the brick, LEGO has established itself as a place of creativity, fun, and humor. Now they're taking things a step beyond with their line of books for young readers, "LEGO Adventure in the Real World."

FARM is designated as a Level 1 reader, which translates to a market of K-1st graders, but don't expect this to be a 5-word-per-page standard kid reader. Each page is packed with photographs of farm life, overlaid with cartoon LEGO images cracking wise with traditional LEGO style humor.

The book does more than introduce youngsters to farm animals. It explains at the basic level the daily routines and machinery necessary to run a successful farm, and shows how the many different kinds of farms are important to so many aspects of our lives beyond the dinner table.

Thu
14
Dec

Unplugged Touts the Benefits of Life Off Network

Unplugged by Steve Antony

Blip is a happy little robot/console that lives daily plugged into her computer. But when a blackout causes her to trip and unplug (and fall-and-roll a distance longer than any meatball did from on top of spaghetti), she finds herself out of doors, in the sunlight, and learning new things.

Well, basically -- as per the text of the book -- she's doing pretty much all the same things she did on her computer. But she's doing them "for real" and she's having more fun doing so. So much so that, when she ultimately returns home to reconnect to her old life, she finds that she prefers the way things are when she's "unplugged."

Wed
13
Dec

Secret Hero Society Gets Trapped in Detention of Doom

Secret Hero Society Detention of Doom

Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen continue the SECRET HERO SOCIETY series that casts all your favorite DC Comics characters as middle school students. Told from the perspective of a cynical Bruce Wayne via notes, diagrams, text message continuity, and standard comic book style panels, DETENTION OF DOOM kicks things off with a handful of your heroic students getting academic awards from the Luthor foundation. Clark gets a unique looking trophy for bravery, while Bruce gets a medal for participation. (Other students can be seen in the program, including Guy Gardner for Debate and Dinah Lance for Musical Achievement.)

Thu
30
Nov

Kids Hate School? Eerie Elementary Hates Them Back!

Eerie Elementary Classes are Canceled

Sam is a hall monitor at Eerie Elementary. It's not just a job, it's an adventure.

That's because the hall monitors at the school historically have one secret job that nobody but former hall monitors understand: keeping Eerie Elementary from eating students. Only Sam and his friends Lucy and Antonio (and their mentor, former hall monitor Mister Nekobi, the janitor) know that they're really up against one of the town founders, Orson Eerie, who found a way to transfer his soul into the school building through mad science and strange magic.

Sat
25
Nov

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

Jumbies don't exist. At least that's what Corrine La Mer thinks. Jumbies are legend, trickster creatures used to scare children. But when Corinne runs into the forest and finds herself staring into a set of yellow eyes she's not so sure anymore. And when a mysterious, beautiful woman shows up at market, everyone is talking about her. Corinne doesnt know what to think. but when the beautiful woman shows up at her home and takes interest in her father, it sets Corinne on edge. And as the mysterious woman starts to take hold of Corrine's father, she must band together with her friends to save her father and her island from the Jumbies that most certainly are more than legend.

Mon
20
Nov

Why People Join Cults

Rhys Hagan

by Rhys Hagan

Isolation and dependence. Remember those words. They form the cornerstone of totalitarianism which is essential for cults to prosper. Being isolated from the outside world limits what can influence you while developing a sense of elitism due to access to, what members are led to believe is, an exclusive ‘truth’. Dependence ensures that members are convinced the knowledge and status that comes with it are only available to them through participation in group meetings. Denying the leader or doctrine often not only results in a loss of access to this ‘truth’, but also excommunication and punishment. Members end up dependent on the group for a sense of value, for socializing (as they are isolated from the rest of the world), and often for their very safety.

Sun
19
Nov

The Flash Gets His Own LEGO Activity Book, Faster Than Lightning!

Faster Than Lightning

Gorilla Grodd and Captain Cold have a lot to learn--and to teach, in this LEGO activity book built around DC Comics' "Fastest Man Alive."

With the CW series THE FLASH being better than ever, and the character's key role in the just-released JUSTICE LEAGUE movie, The Flash is getting hotter and hotter. What better way to introduce him into your LEGO collection than by picking up this fun, interactive book that shows you just what he can do using the trademarked LEGO humor. And to make it even more enticing, this book comes with a minifigure of the Scarlet Speedster himself!

Sat
11
Nov

Greatest Brick Builds Truly Highlights Amazing Creations in LEGO

Greatest Brick Builds

I live in a LEGO world. My son has thousands, separated into color-marked drawers. We made a plywood top overlay for one of his play tables and covered it with LEGO base plates. We've worked on some pretty intense kits.

Or so we thought.

Along comes THE GREATEST BRICK BUILDS: AMAZING CREATIONS IN LEGO. And not only do the contents live up to the title, they surpass it. These models aren't just creative -- they're enormous. The smallest of them begin at just over 10,000 bricks. The largest is two million! The level of detail in the model of Ohio Stadium (750,000 bricks) is astounding, and just needs the sounds of fans cheering to complete the illusion.

Fri
10
Nov

Thump: The Interview

Thump and Tweeter

A while back, we were privileged to review THUMP: THE FIRST BUNDRED DAYS, a novel concept that presents the 2016 campaign in a new setting. Rather than getting into the policy wonk details of how each campaign was run, Thump's creators -- Brett R. Smith, Timothy Lim, and Mark Pellegrini -- simplified the events to the traditional rhyming style of the children's picture book, complete with illustrations that draw from Peter Rabbit rather than from the editorial cartoon pages of your daily newspaper.

After reviewing the book, and seeing the reactions online of others once the book was released, we spoke with editor Brett R. Smith about some of the behind-the-scenes aspects of Thump -- where he came from, and where he's going from here.

What was the "secret origin" of THUMP: THE FIRST BUNDRED DAYS?

Thu
09
Nov

Overcoming Fear Focus of Andreae / Parker-Rees Children's Book, Be Brave, Little Penguin

Be Brave, Little Penguin

Little Pip-Pip is the smallest of the penguins on his corner of the Antarctic. But it's not his size that's a problem for him, but his intense fear of doing what all the other penguins are doing: getting into the water.

Pip-Pip is laughed at by his peers, but encouraged by his mother. We learn there are all sorts of very good reasons why Pip-Pip should be afraid of the water. It's cold. It's dark. And there are things that live beneath the water that might eat him. Sounds like good reasons to me for staying on the ice! But then, what kind of lesson would that be for young readers?

Told in an engaging rhyming meter and illustrated with edge-to-edge color illustrations, BE BRAVE, LITTLE PENGUIN is an adorable tale, designed in an easy-to-read fashion that encourages children to follow along and vocalize the verses.

Pages

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