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Young Readers

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

 

 

Painted Pets

May 3rd, 2015
by rodney.
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Laura Seeley is a classical fine artist… one who specializes in animal paintings. What’s more she’s even illustrated several books for children — Originally for various authors, but more recently for works she’s written herself. With galleries on her web site having names like “The Magic Cats”, “The Whimsy Cats”, and “A Cat Never Tells”, you can see where she’s coming from… though she does draw plenty of dogs and even whales, too! According to her web site, Best Friends Art Gallery, she plans on having pictures from her book projects up very soon.

image c. 2015 by Laura Seeley

image c. 2015 by Laura Seeley

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

The Fast and the Furriest

Mar 8th, 2015
by rodney.
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March Grand Prix is a new full-color graphic novel for young readers, published by Capstone. It comes to us from the mind of Kean Soo, creator of the award-winning comic book series Jellaby. “March Hare wants to be the fastest and furriest race-car driver around. But first, this rabbit racer must prove his skills at the speedway, on the streets, and in the desert. With pedal-to-the-metal illustrations and full-throttle action, March Grand Prix is sure to be a winner!” It’s set for publication this July in hardcover (and then a month later in trade paperback), but Capstone is releasing a special preview edition as part of this year’s Free Comic Book Day (on May 2nd).

image c. 2015 Capstone

image c. 2015 Capstone

New Disney Comics From IDW

Feb 6th, 2015
by rodney.
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IDW Publishing (busy, busy people!) have announced that after publishing the new edition of The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck by Don Rosa (coming this March) they plan to carry one with a whole new series of Disney character comics — each one beginning with “#1” from IDW, but actually they are continuations of the classic comics published by Gold Key and others. Only now featuring a slew of new artists and creators from around the world: People like Romano Scarpa, Daan Jippes, Casty, Giorgio Cavazzano, and Al Taliaferro. From the IDW web page: “April sees the debut of Uncle Scrooge #1, which will feature the best tales from creators around the world starring the iconic tycoon adventurer. Donald Duck #1 launches in May, Mickey Mouse #1 in June, and in July, Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories will maintain the original numbering and launch with #721 as the first IDW issue.” Each issue will be available in one of two covers: A regular edition, and a special edition illustrated with a Disney Parks theme (Adventureland for Uncle Scrooge #1, EPCOT Center for Donald Duck #4, and so on through the rest of the year).

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

image c. 2015 IDW Publishing

One Little Monster And Her Family

Feb 2nd, 2015
by rodney.
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Katie Cook is well-known these days as one of the main writers and sometimes artist of IDW’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic comic book series. Well, she has also created her own on-line comic series called Gronk: A Monster’s Story, which follows the adventures of a young and rather adorable monster… living out in the human world. Unable to make it as a scary thing that bumps in the night, she instead moves in with a young woman, her mischievous cat, and her friendly but very large dog. After several years on line, this full-color all-ages comic has now been collected into three softcover volumes by Action Lab Entertainment — all of them currently available at the Gronk web site.

image c. 2015 by Katie Cook

image c. 2015 by Katie Cook

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