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Books and Trade Paperbacks

Birds of a Feather Learn Together

May 9th, 2015
by rodney.
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The Avian Kingdom is a series of illustrated books for young readers created by Karen Chacek and Gabriel Garcia. In it young birds (and a friendly bat) learn about the world around them and the variety of creatures they must deal with as they grow up. The books are available in English and Spanish (and they include more than a little cross-cultural education in the mix). The official Avian Kingdom web site includes links to the books as well as various on-line educational programs and even downloadable apps for kids — and parents.

image c. 2015 Karen Chacek and Gabriel Garcia

image c. 2015 Karen Chacek and Gabriel Garcia

Timeless Tales from an Elderly Rodent

May 8th, 2015
by rodney.
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Grandpa Grey is a squirrel who specializes in spinning new fairy tales and fables. He’s the creation of author John William Wisor and illustrator Nila Brereton Hagood, and he’s also the thread weaving together their first book, Grandpa Grey’s Timeless Tales and Fabulous Fables. Among this first collection are stories about dragons, fairies, mermaids, and how God came to create pets. The Grandpa Grey web site has information about the book, illustrations from it, and a preview video for it. Grandpa Grey is represented by a custom-designed plushy toy, which is unfortunately not for sale. But the plushy toy of his eager young story listener, Baby Grey, is for sale.

image c. 2015 GrandpaGrey.com

image c. 2015 GrandpaGrey.com

All Mixed Up But Not Confused

May 7th, 2015
by rodney.
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As quite often, the creators can explain this project far better than we ever could: “Somewhere far away, in the uncharted realms of the ocean, lies the mysterious island of Mutasia. As one of the few unexplored places left on Earth, Mutasia is home to a previously unknown collection of wildlife, unique to the island of Mutasia. The inhabitants are called Mutasians and are mixed up mixes of every type of animal imaginable. As you explore the island and meet the Mutasians, you’ll discover that they are a lot more like you than you might think!” That’s the story of Mutasia. It started with an illustrated book, Mutasia: Land of Illogical and Utterly Impossible Creatures. Now it’s expanded to a book series, a line of plushy toys, several sing-along CD’s, and an animated short film on DVD called This Mish-Mash Bash. All of that and more available at the colorful and award-winning Mutasia web site, of course.

image c. 2015 Mutasia.com

image c. 2015 Mutasia.com

A Girl Among Dragon-Kind

May 6th, 2015
by rodney.
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Fans of dragons and other scalies, take note: The Legend of Oescienne is a new fantasy series for younger readers, created by author and artist Jenna Elizabeth Johnson. (She even gets to draw her own covers!) In a far-off world humans have been extinct for centuries… those who remain have long ago been turned into dragons. But then, a real human girl is born, and the evil powers that brought about the transformation long ago are sure to notice. The few dragons who know of the girl’s existence swear to protect her… but to do that, they must keep her unaware of her destiny. In fact, they must not even let her know that she is human! There’s a lot more background on the series at the author’s web site, as well as other books that she’s written. Currently The Legend of Oescienne consists of three novels, one short story collection, and one stand-alone short story (which is available for free at the web site!).

image c. 2015 by Jenna Elizabeth Johnson

image c. 2015 by Jenna E. Johnson

 

 

Two Bears, One Boy, and a Big World

Apr 16th, 2015
by rodney.
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Amber Victoria has both written and illustrated a new novel for younger readers, Twins European Adventures. It’s the first in a planned series of books about the exploits of a pair of orphaned bears who are befriended by a young human named Thomas — and then, adopted by Thomas’ family. It so happens that Thomas’ parents have jobs that require them to frequently travel the world, and of course this leads our ursine young pair to adventures in many far-flung places.  This first story, as you might guess, follows the bears and their new human family to Europe, where a series of mishaps finds the bears separated… and scrambling on a variety of trains and buses trying to find one another again! Find out more at the Twins web site, and find the book on Amazon and Createspace. The llustrations are also available as black & white prints.

illustration c. 2015 by Amber Victoria

illustration c. 2015 by Amber Victoria

Fine Art? Funny Animals.

Apr 5th, 2015
by rodney.
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It’s interesting when full-fledged fine artists turn their attention to something more whimsical, like cartoon illustration. Such is the case with painter Richard D. Sweatt, who in addition to his gallery works has taken time to write and illustrate a softcover children’s book, Fuzzy Friends. “A story about a little girl that makes friends with the little animals from the nearby woods. Everyday the little Fuzzy Friends wait for the little girl to arrive home on the school bus to greet her. The little girl loves to play with her friends and at the same time learns some valuable lessons about making good choices when it comes to choosing friends.” Check it out over at Lulu.com, then check out Mr. Sweatt’s other fine art paintings at his Enjoygram site.

image c. 2015 by Richard Sweatt

image c. 2015 by Richard Sweatt

Physics? Feh!

Mar 29th, 2015
by rodney.
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Benjamin Bear gets his way — Often by methods that are quite unusual but somehow they work. Now he’s back in his latest full-color book for kids, Brain Storms. Check it out over at the Toon Books web site: “The out-of-this-world outlook of a down-to-earth bear! Benjamin Bear can always surprise his friends, whether it’s by walking on his hands during a snowstorm or by using a tree as a parachute. His zany approach to life has earned him two Eisner Award nominations and bestseller status among kids everywhere. French star author Philippe Coudray continues to delight readers by bending the rules of common sense and breaking the laws of physics.” Also look out for the other Benjamin Bear comic books in hardcover, Fuzzy Thinking and Bright Ideas.

image c. 2015 Toon Books

image c. 2015 Toon Books

Filthy Animals of the World, Unite!

Mar 18th, 2015
by rodney.
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It’s hard to describe The Woodland Welfare Manifesto any better than Slave Labor Graphics do: “Woodland Welfare Manifesto is the story of Burnt Bear, Crazy Rabbit, and Perverted Monkey — three proletarian animals who struggle against the  corrupt capitalist system that oppresses their forest with an iron fist of injustice! Will this trio of friends triumph when working-class livelihoods are threatened, or will Crazy Rabbit’s anarchist methods threaten to make them all enemies of the state?” There you have it. Well, except to say that this full-color short graphic novel (written by Justin Sane and illustrated by John Hageman) is coming soon in trade paperback from SLG. Check out the more detailed review over at Fanboy Comics.

image c. 2015 Slave Labor Graphics

image c. 2015 Slave Labor

Before He Was a Rich Duck

Mar 14th, 2015
by rodney.
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Don Rosa is perhaps the only person associated with Disney’s Scrooge McDuck nearly as much as creator Carl Barks. Now IDW Comics bring us Don Rosa’s The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Volume 1 as their next Artists’s Edition release. What’s an Artist’s Edition? The pages are 14″ by 20″, the size of an actual comic artist’s drawing board — in other words, huge! Though the images are in black and white, they are copied from the original art in color — allowing the viewer to see things like paste-overs, blue sketch lines, editorial comments and more, straight from the artist’s original sheets. From the IDW web site: “Rosa’s Eisner-award winning work on The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck told the story of the penny-pinching mallard’s early days before he made his legendary fortune.” At over 160 pages, this hardcover edition (the first of three upcoming volumes) is headed to stores this April.

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

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