Nikki and I hope you’ll join us today for Story Time with Literary Escapism, a bi-weekly feature where we showcase various children books that fall directly in the fantasy & science fiction genres, as well as books we’re enjoying with our young children. We’re talking boardbooks, picture books, those books labeled as beginner or newly independent readers, and middle grade – anything of interest to those readers who are not quite ready for the young adult genre. So we hope you’ll join us on the carpet as we share the stories that have captured our young ones imaginations.
The boys and I spent the morning at Barnes & Noble, and of course I had to buy some books. I mean, there’s a law against not buying books when going into a bookstore, right? While Psy spent his time playing with Thomas and the Monkey hanging around the TMNT event going on, I browsed around the children’s section and noticed that the section is really starting to embrace science fiction. There was a display featuring the The Zombie Chasers series by John Kloepfer and Steve Wolfhard, plus the sheer number of fantasy books that were placed to catch ones eyes was fantastic. Honestly, after walking into that children’s section today, I’m starting to wonder what I’ve been smoking when I thought there wasn’t the many SF/F books out there for the younger readers. They were everywhere.
But I know not every store is like that, especially the one near me. Needless to say, I saw quite a few books that not only caught my eye, but caught the Monkey’s eye as well. The first book he insisted I buy for him was Plants vs. Zombies: Plant Your Path by Tracey West. Monkey loves the chose your own adventure books and this was a new one neither of us had seen. Not only is the book filled with fun images, but with 20 different endings, he’ll be able to read this for awhile.
Plant for your life! Based on the bestselling game Plants vs. Zombies, this junior novel allows you to decide how to escape the zombies. Plant Your Path lets readers choose where the story will go and how it will end. Will you defeat the zombie hoard, or lose your brains? The choice is yours!
Both of the boys have been all about the Phineas and Ferb lately, so when we found the new hardcover, Phineas and Ferb The Book of Doof: How to Find an Arch Nemesis and Other Evil Advice by Scott Peterson, it became an instant “mama I want!”. We wanted to find more Phineas and Ferb chapter books when we went, and I wished we had found more than this one, because while I knew Monkey would enjoy it, I have this thing about getting the boys hardcovers. They go through books faster than I do, so I’ve been trying to avoid spending the money on the hardcovers.
However, it was really easy to distract them away from the book of doof once we found Marvel Universe Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Team-Up. Not only is it a graphic novel, but it’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The boys have been dying to see to see the movie, and since they haven’t yet, finding this book was like finding an endless supply of candy. I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s not one graphic story, but a collection of four comics that feature the Guardians – Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #18, Ultimate Spider-Man #22, Hulk: Agents of S.M.A.S.H. #4, and Incredible Hulk #271 (the 1968 comic).
It’s all-ages adventure spotlighting Marvel’s most cosmic movie stars, the Guardians of the Galaxy! When Michael Korvac escapes his alien abductors, he flees home to Earth and seeks the Avengers’ protecti on. For Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, defending Korvac will mean battling the Guardians of the Galaxy – but why? The Korvac confusion continues as Spider-Man gets involved, traveling into deep space and teaming up with the Guardians to take on Korvac…and the alien Chitauri! Plus: Hulk and his agents of S.M.A.S.H. encounter the cosmic Collector on a simulated paradise world…but can they ever escape it? And relive Rocket Raccoon’s classic debut, as the breakout big-screen star matches wily wits with the Hulk!
We also picked up another volume of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated Vol 3: The Showdown. If you have kids who are fan of the animated cartoon, then you should definitely pick up the first three volumes as they adapt the first season into graphic novel form. I’m a huge believer that graphic novels are a fabulous way to introduce kids to reading and getting them to read more. Especially when they’re just beginning. And since Psy is getting to that stage, if I can get his favorite shows in book format, I’m going to do it. *grin*
