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December, 2023:

Not the Early Bird

And rounding out the year with another title for young readers this time from Scout Comics: Mortimer the Lazy Bird, written by Brendan Deneen and illustrated by Marco Antonio Cortez. “This is the story of a bird, Mortimer, and a very talkative worm, Lucius, two strangers who are supposed to be enemies, but end up becoming best friends! Their adventures won’t be easy, though they will be fun!” Talk about playing with your food. [Happy 2024, everyone! Thanks for spending 2023 here with us — ye ed-otter.]

image c. 2023 Scout Comics

Don’t You Monkey With The Monkey

Another graphic novel series for young, beginning readers. We came across the Bobo and Pup-Pup series, written by Vikram Madan and illustrated by Nicola Slater. It features two young animals with very different personalities who are still best friends. The first book in the series is called We Love Bubbles. “Did you ever have a friend who likes doing something that you find completely annoying? Well, Bobo and Pup-Pup both love bubbles. Bubbles are the absolute best–on that they can agree! While Pup-Pup loves blowing them, Bobo loves popping them…way too much for Pup-Pup’s taste. It’s getting frustrating! Pup-Pup has a clever idea to stop Bobo from popping them. But, then Bobo gets carried away…literally!” Three more books in the series so far, and more on their way as well.

image c. 2023 Random House

Oys Will Be Oys

So is having a weird furry friend a wonderful thing, or more of an awkward thing? That’s the big question posed by Monster Bar Mitzvah, the new graphic novel written by Josh Anderson and illustrated by Dustin Evans. “In this unusual graphic novel for younger readers, Eli is feeling left out of the family’s preparations for his older brother’s bar mitzvah. He wants to help but can’t seem to do anything right. Then he meets the monster under his bed, and things begin to change . . . but not always for the better. Will Eli be able to get the monster under control in time for the big event, or will there just be more and more chaos? ” Find out now, in hardcover from Behrman House.

image c. 2023 Behrman House

Does He Write Scripts?

Look, sometimes we just can’t explain something — so we simply have to give it to you as we found it. Things like Timothy Dinoman Saves The Cat, written and illustrated by Steve Thueson. “To learn what these suspected supervillains want with outer-space tech, the world’s nicest iguanodon will visit a mountain fortress, a giant blimp, and a diner with excellent pancakes. On the way, he’ll even meet a really cute cat. Grab your rocket boots and your fake mustache — it’s time to crack the case with Timothy!” Find out what’s it’s all about from Lerner.

image c. 2023 Lerner Books

Wander into Wonder

A new full-color graphic novel for young readers: It’s called The Wondrous Wonders, written and illustrated by Camille Jourdy. “Hurt by her parents’ divorce and struggling to accept her new step-family, she decides to run away and live alone in the woods. But she soon discovers that she’s far from alone. Jo stumbles into a fantastical world full of tiny elves, talking foxes, and mischievous, multicolored ponies known as the Wondrous Wonders. Her new friends are on a mission: Rise up against Emperor Tomcat, the tyrannical leader who rules the enchanted forest they call home. Can Jo find the courage to vanquish an evil empire and get back to her family before dinnertime?” Find out now, in hardcover from Macmillan. (Merry Christmas and a Blessed Solstice!)

image c. 2023 First Second

One Little Spark

The Dragons of Ember City is a new full-color graphic novel series for young readers, created by Shane Richardson and Sarah Marino (both of whom are animators at Nickelodeon). The first book in the series is called Happy Spark Day. “Drake, Li, and Runa are three young dragons in Ember City, where a dragon’s spark is their special power and every dragon’s spark is unique. Ember is a city that burns brightest when its citizens use their sparks to help each other and their community. The more they use their spark, the brighter Ember City glows and provides for all its dragons. Can Drake, Li, and Runa learn to get along after uncovering their powers?” All this and more from Simon & Schuster.

image c. 2023 Aladdin Books

This Would Be… Bad…?

And now for something altogether different… Night of the Living Cat, a new black & white manga created by Hawkman and Mecha-Roots. “A virus spreads across the world, transforming all humankind into wild, slavering, furry beasts: Cats, to be precise. Those few survivors who remain human take refuge in the dark corners of the earth as they fight back against the feline horde. Kunagi, a man with no memory of his past yet a deep knowledge of cats, struggles to hold on with only his wits and a will to survive. Yet the virus transmits merely through cuddles, and Kunagi finds kitties so hard to resist! Is his willpower strong enough to withstand this hair-raising cat-tastrophe?” Find out from Seven Seas.

image c. 2023 Seven Seas Entertainment

Four Legs Good

We came across a brand-new comic from Boom! Studios called Animal Pound. It goes like this: “When animals grow tired of being caged, killed, and sold off-it’s only a matter of time before they’ve had enough… When an uprising puts a pound in control of the animals, they quickly find themselves as comrades, united against everything that walks on two legs. But with this newfound power comes a sudden challenge: how best to lay the groundwork for this new democracy as they write their first constitution!” Written by Tom King (Love Everlasting) and illustrated by award-winning artist Peter Gross (The Books of Magic), Animal Pound comes to comic shops later this week.

image c. 2023 Boom! Studios

Foster’s Not Home, but…

This came to us out of nowhere, but now we’re very, very curious. John Krasinski has written, produced, and directed a new live-action/CGI fantasy film called IF, starring Cailey Fleming. She plays a young girl who discovers that she has the ability to see people’s imaginary friends (known as IFs for short). She also discovers that the mysterious Man Upstairs (played by Ryan Reynolds) has the same ability. Now a group of IFs are begging these two special humans to help them find new kids to be with now that their own have grown up and abandoned them. As you can see from the trailer, there’s a lot of anthropomorphic interest here. It’s scheduled to be released next May.

image c. 2023 Paramount Pictures