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To Solve A Problem, Be A Cat

And another graphic novel for young readers, this time from First Second: The Amazing Crafty Cat. “Sometimes school can be scary and even embarrassing, but not today. Today is Birdie’s birthday, and everything will be perfect! Birdie’s panda-riffic cupcakes are beautiful, and there’s one for everyone. She will be the star of the class. But then . . . disaster! A trip and fall on the way to school means no more cupcakes! Who can save the day? Who can make the class smile again? This is a job for Birdie’s alter ego . . . the Amazing Crafty Cat! After a quick transformation, Birdie is ready. She’s not afraid of sticky paws or paper cuts… It’s time to get crafting!” Written and illustrated by Charise Harper, The Amazing Crafty Cat is available now in hardcover.

image c. 2017 First Second

A is for Apatosaurus

But we still like Brontosaurus better! Anyway, Boom! Studios and Archaia present a new partial-color hardcover book for young readers. “A young cave girl and her triceratops set out on an adventure from A to Z and make new friends along the way-galloping goliaths, nine newts, petite plesiosaurs, and more greet them on their journey through the alphabet!” An Apple and An Adventure was written and illustrated by Martin Cendreda. It’s available now.

image c. 2017 Archaia

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He’ll Just Have To Bear With It

Recently, Andrews McMeel Publishing brought us the new adventures of a young bear having a really bad time. Here’s what they say about Tucker Grizzwell’s Worst Week Ever: “The Berenstain Bears meets The Simpsons in this rollicking yarn about one really, really terrible week. Tucker Grizzwell is having the worst week ever. He is due to attend the annual Jaws & Claws weekend with his dad, where young grizzlies learn how to be terrifying predators. Problem is, Tucker doesn’t even like to eat meat, let alone have to kill it first! Plus, didn’t some kid get eaten last year during the dumpster-diving lesson?” Things only get more complicated in this full-color graphic novel for all ages, written by Bill Schorr and illustrated by Ralph Smith.

image c. 2017 Andrews McMeel

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The Monster at the Back of This Barn

A new reprint of something we seem to have missed the first time around: A coloring book adventure comic called The Unlikley Trio — Last Barn On The Left. Here’s what we found in Previews: “Lil’Bit the mouse, Mrs. Butters the cat, and Abby the Collie dog join together to confront a scary monster that lives in the barn of their small town. Can the three friends overcome their fears and get through this adventure? Kids can be the colorist in this black and white adventure that features fun activities in the back of the book. Alterna will be donating all proceeds to the ASPCA foundation to help protect animals in need!” It’s written and illustrated by Scott West, with writing help from Callie West. On-line there’s all kinds of contradictory information about when this was published, but hopefully Alterna Comics should have it back in stores soon.

image c. 2017 Alterna Comics

 

The Wolf of Winter. Almost.

Dreamspinner Press is a publishing house that specializes in romantic LGBT fiction in a number of genres, including science fiction and fantasy. One of particular note caught our eye: Dog Days, written by T.A. Moore. According to the publisher’s web site, it goes like this: “The world ends not with a bang, but with a downpour. Tornadoes spin through the heart of London, New York cooks in a heat wave that melts tarmac, and Russia freezes under an ever-thickening layer of permafrost. People rally at first—organizing aid drops and evacuating populations—but the weather is only getting worse. In Durham, mild-mannered academic Danny Fennick has battened down to sit out the storm. He grew up in the Scottish Highlands, so he’s seen harsh winters before. Besides, he has an advantage. He’s a werewolf. Or, to be precise, a weredog. Less impressive, but still useful. Except the other werewolves don’t believe this is any ordinary winter, and they’re coming down over the Wall to mark their new territory. Including Danny’s ex, Jack — the Crown Prince Pup of the Numitor’s pack — and the prince’s brother, who wants to kill him. A wolf winter isn’t white. It’s red as blood.” And it’s available now in paperback.

image c. 2017 Dreamspinner Press

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B-E-A-RRRRR!

Patch the Steampunk Pirate Bear. Now how are you not gonna notice a title like that? Written, illustrated, and published by Matt Dean, Patch the Steampunk Pirate Bear and the Lost City of Gold is a brand new paperback book for young readers. According to Horror House Party, “Patch the Steampunk Pirate Bear and his friend, Sprocket the Mechanical Bird, sail a steam-powered airship on a great adventure sparked by a rescue mission.  Chased by his nemesis Captain Caroline, the great teddy-bear hero Patch risks everything to find the Lost City of Gold and save his friend Nikola.  But time is running out and Captain Caroline is hot on his tail!  Will Patch find Nikola and get his crew home safely before they are shipwrecked and trapped forever?” The official web site is also brand new, but it’s quickly filling up as the author travels the country promoting his book.

image c. 2017 by Matt Dean

This One You Can Call A Raccoon

Cameron Ferweda is a young author who wrote (and published!) his first book for young readers at the age of 10. Now in his teen years, he has continued to write The Great Adventures of Rocky Raccoon in three more books (so far), all of them skillfully illustrated by his dad, Michael Ferweda. According to the Rocky web site, “The Great Adventures of Rocky Raccoon is a series of spellbinding story tales of the two most unlikely of friends. Rocky and his sidekick, Buff [a frog], run into trouble at every turn of the page. Encountering pirates, monsters, and an evil duo, Rocky and Buff outwit them all. In this [first] tale, The Fight for Fang, Rocky becomes lost in a terrible storm and finds himself face to face with his worst nightmare – Fang!” The stories are also at Amazon.

image c. 2017 Zinger Digital

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Beware of the Penguin Conspiracy…

Some new discoveries from the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books… including some things that maybe Man Was Not Meant To Know!  We met author Steve Hammond, who introduced us to his new science fiction saga Rise of the Penguins. “The War of the Species has begun. An ancient race of penguin has reemerged. From this race a powerful leader declares himself Overlord and unites the penguin clans of the world. His goal: to drive the human presence away from Antarctica and to exact revenge for the atrocities of the past against penguinkind. Through shadowy alliances and manipulation the Overlord launches a full scale war against the humans. The Overlord’s tactics are ruthless even against penguins under his command. Those who don’t conform to the Overlord’s ideals are pressed into obedience or worse. In the midst of bloody conflict against the humans a small Chinstrap penguin, Lavour, begins to see the folly of war and questions the motives of the Overlord. But can one penguin bring an end to the bloodshed and change their course of the war and restore peace?” No less than six books in the series are available now from Rockhopper Books, and a seventh volume is on the way soon. Visit the author’s web site to keep up to date. And remember to treat birds nicely!

image c. 2017 Rockhopper Books

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Listen to the Masked One!

More tie-in stuff coming our way as we get closer to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol.2. Now Marvel Press give us a new hardcover illustrated book called Rocket’s Rules. “Ever wonder how to navigate a quantum asteroid field? Escape a deep-space maximum-security prison? Insult a powerful adversary without anyone catching on? You’re in luck! In this ultimate intergalactic survival guide, Rocket covers everything you need to know – including what it takes to be a good member of a team. So pay attention and read up!” It hits the shelves (like a missile!) right before the movie comes out, but you can pre-order it now over at Simon & Schuster. [Tip #1: Don’t call him a raccoon!]

image c. 2017 Marvel Press