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Paws-itively Zany

~ Beth Mitchell ~ 1 Comment

 

Dav Pilkey was in Santa Cruz today as part of his Supa-Epic Tour o’ Fun!

Larrabee and I both enjoyed his latest book, Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties. It’s a comic book about Dogman, a cop with a dog’s head, Petey, an evil cat, and Lil’ Petey, his stubbornly good clone. It has a nice message and an appealingly zany style. Larrabee’s only complaint was that it was too short. He flew through it in one sitting, chuckling all the way.

Pilkey, who has written dozens of books, is best known for his Captain Underpants series. But our family favorites are Kat Kong, a pun-filled picture book in which a giant cat goes on a rampage through the streets of Mousopolis, and Dragon’s Fat Cat, an adorable book for beginning readers about a dragon who adopts a cat.

I hope Pilkey’s visit will inspire Larrabee to draw more comic books and that someday he’ll get to tell a group of kids about his very first comic: Ocelot vs. Cloud.

From Supersleuths to Super Pranksters

~ Beth Mitchell ~ Leave a comment

If your kids are looking for a wacky, light-hearted summer read, check out these two series  from the very funny Mac Barnett:

  • The Brixton Brothers books are mysteries featuring twelve-year-old boy detective Steve Brixton. Steve is an ardent fan of the Bailey Brothers Mysteries (a Hardy Boys-esque series) from which he picks up numerous sleuthing tips as well as some useful slang (e.g., “chum”, “ace”). Steve lives in the fictional town of Ocean Park (based on Santa Cruz!). There are four books in the series, and Blaine tore through all of them a couple of summers ago.
  • The Terrible Two books (co-authored by Mac Barnett and Jory John) are set in the fictional Yawnee Valley, a town that’s famous only for cows. These humorous books feature a pair of pranksters and an overbearing principal. Larrabee read the first two books in this series this summer and is eagerly awaiting the third (to be published in early 2017).

Larrabee and I had the pleasure of hearing Mac Barnett read two of his picture books, the brand new Rules of the House and also Leo: A Ghost Story (a personal favorite!) at Bookshop Santa Cruz last month.

A Dragon, a Ninja Frog and a Giant Platypus

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Blaine, Larrabee, and I had a chance to meet Ursula Vernon a couple of years ago at Bookshop Santa Cruz. She is the author and illustrator of the tremendously fun Dragonbreath series.

She told us about how she combines ideas in her books. For example, ninjas are cool. Frogs are also cool. So, ninja frogs would make awesome villains.  (See Dragonbreath #2: Attack of the Ninja Frogs).

She also talked about how she plots her books. She said that she puts her main character into some sort of interesting situation (e.g., he falls into a pit or is attacked by ninja frogs). Then she asks herself:

  1. Why is this happening?
  2. Who is responsible?
  3. What happens next?

She proceeded to brainstorm a plot with the kids in attendance. I don’t remember all of the details, but it featured a platypus. Not just an ordinary platypus. A giant platypus. A Platypus-zilla threatening the town of Santa Cruz.

Her presentation made us want to come home and write a story. Or draw a comic book. Or read (or re-read) one of her books. Hopefully, we’ll do all of the above this summer.

Speaking of Ursula Vernon’s books, the boys and I highly recommend Dragonbreath and its sequels. These books are wacky and funny and full of adventure. They’re ideal first chapter books because they’re easy to read, with a mix of text and comic book panels.

There are eleven books in the series to date. Blaine’s personal favorite is Dragonbreath #3: Curse of the Were-wiener (yes, like a hot dog werewolf). Larrabee is just starting the series, but unlike Blaine, he doesn’t believe in reading books in order. He’s partial so far to Dragonbreath #10: Knight-napped.