Mighty Jack and Favorite Fairy Tales Blog Post

Mighty Jack
by Ben Hatke
First Second (September 6, 2016)
Fiction * Fairy Tale Adaptation * Graphic Novel
Audience: Ages 9 to 12 years
IndieBound | WorldCat

Description from GoodReads: 
Jack might be the only kid in the world who's dreading summer. But he's got a good reason: summer is when his single mom takes a second job and leaves him at home to watch his autistic kid sister, Maddy. It's a lot of responsibility, and it's boring, too, because Maddy doesn't talk. Ever. But then, one day at the flea market, Maddy does talk—to tell Jack to trade their mom's car for a box of mysterious seeds. It's the best mistake Jack has ever made.

What starts as a normal little garden out back behind the house quickly grows up into a wild, magical jungle with tiny onion babies running amok, huge, pink pumpkins that bite, and, on one moonlit night that changes everything…a dragon.

KK's thoughts on the book:
In June, I acquired an advanced copy of MIGHTY JACK at ALA's Annual Conference. I read the book on the plane ride home knowing that when I got home I would need to turn over the copy to the 10 year old. I will call her KK for this purpose. Since giving it to her, she has read the book at least 10 times and I have found it in bed with her at night. The book wasn't even officially out and she was asking for the sequel. Yes, I would say that she liked it. 

For this post, I sat down and asked her some questions. 

Me: What did you like the most about MIGHTY JACK?

KK: I really liked the journey that Jack is on because of a packet of seeds and what the seeds can create.

Me: Why did you read it so many times?

KK: I really liked the ending and how things kept popping up that you didn’t think would happen.

Me: What were some of your favorite parts?

KK: Jack and Maddy’s relationship: It is not like most brother and sisters but they got along really well.

When Lily helped Jack with all of the weapons and armor that her brother made for the recent Ren Fair. 

Me: Who would you recommend this book to?

KK: I would recommend it to anyone who is into action books and recommend it to all of my friends.

MIGHTY JACK is sure to be popular with young readers looking for an exciting, suspenseful read. 

When thinking about my favorite Fairy Tales and Fairy Tale adaptations, I realized I couldn't name just one. Here are four of my favorites....

A Tale Dark & Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (Dutton Books for Young Readers) - As one young reader described this..."deliciously creepy" just like a Grimm Tale should be. 

The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy (Walden Pond Press) - Prince Charming and what happens in the "happily ever after". 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (Feiwel & Friends)  - Cyborg Cinderella. Do I really need to say much more?

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal (Knopf Books for Young Readers) - A Grimm adaptation that is dark and creepy with Grimm as narrator. 

What are your favorite fairy tales or adaptations? 

Check out the other stops in the MIGHTY JACK blog tour:

Miss Print, 9/26
Teen Lit Rocks, 9/27
Charlotte’s Library, 9/28
Kid Lit Frenzy, 9/29
Librarians’ Quest, 9/30
YA Bibliophile, 10/3
Ex Libris Kate, 10/4
The Book Rat, 10/5
Love Is Not a Triangle, 10/6
The Reading Nook, 10/7

Children's Book Week Celebrates Graphic Novels

It’s Children’s Book Week – where we celebrate how amazing books for kids and teenagers are!  Macmillan's First Second is celebrating the awesomeness of kids comics this week with a blog tour that features a star-studded line-up of graphic novelists, talking about the creative process, their inspiration, and the books they love.  Follow along throughout the week to see some of your favorite comics creators – and meet new ones, too!

John Patrick Green: How did you get into illustrating comics? Do you have favorites from when you were a child?

Kory Merritt: I was writing and illustrating prose stories for Universal Press Syndicate's website, and the editors recommended me to Jess Brallier of Poptropica and FunBrain for some freelance comic illustration.  My favorite author-illustrators include Bill Peet, Shel Silverstein, and Gina Pfleegor.  My favorite writers are Terry Pratchett, Stephen King, George RR Martin, and Neil Gaiman.

JPG: As the co-creator and illustrator of Poptropica, what is the collaborative process like? Does the writer, Jack Chabert, send you a full script?  Or do you brainstorm parts of the story together? What are the pros and cons of working with a collaborator compared to being both the writer and artist of a book?

KM: For Poptropica, I only do the illustration.  The writer (Jack for the first book and Mitch Krpata for the sequels) sends me a script.  It can be fun to interpret ideas, and both Jack and Mitch are very supportive and great to work with.  I also write and illustrate my own kid's books: my print debut, The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York, was released by Andrews McMeel in fall 2015.
 
JPG: Do you have any advice for young cartoonists just getting started?

KM: Read a lot!  Not just comics and picture books, but lots of prose too (good prose allows you to use your imagination and build the characters and scenes in your head, instead of simply looking at someone else's interpretation).  Also, it's always good for an illustrator to have a "Plan B."  I taught elementary school art for six years before I had anything published in print.
 
JPG: Where do your ideas come from? Are you a constant doodler?

KM: Yes!  I doodle all the time.  When working on my own stuff, I'm most interested in animals, especially aquatic creatures.  

JPG: What other projects do you have on the horizon? Is there a subject you'd love to tackle through comics?

KM: Check out The Dreadful Fate of Jonathan York, published by Andrews McMeel.  I'm working on several middle grade picture books in the same vein.  I like to write/illustrate anything that involves wildlife, the ocean, and monsters.
 
JPG: What's on your nightstand?

KM: Old pens, a wrinkled notebook, dental floss, Stephen King's 11/22/63, Terry Pratchett's Making Money, loose change, and dust.   I should probably do some cleaning. 

For more information about John Patrick Green: Macmillan Website | author website

For more information about Kory Merritt: Abrams Website | illustrator website

Follow the tour: 

Monday, May 2nd – Forever YA featuring Gene Luen Yang

Monday, May 2nd  – Read Write Love featuring Lucas Turnbloom

Monday, May 2nd – Kid Lit Frenzy featuring Kory Merritt

Tuesday, May 3rd – Sharp Read featuring Ryan North

Tuesday, May 3rd – Teen Lit Rocks featuring MK Reed

Wednesday, May 4th – Love is Not a Triangle featuring Chris Schweizer

Wednesday, May 4th – SLJ Good Comics for Kids featuring Victoria Jamieson

Thursday, May 5th – The Book Wars featuring Judd Winick

Thursday, May 5th – SLJ Fuse #8 featuring Eric Colossal

Friday, May 6th – SLJ Scope Notes featuring Nathan Hale

Friday, May 6th – The Book Rat featuring Faith Erin Hicks

Saturday, May 7th – YA Bibliophile featuring Mike Maihack

Saturday, May 7th – Supernatural Snark featuring Sam Bosma

Sunday, May 8th – Charlotte’s Library featuring Maris Wicks

Sunday, May 8th – The Roarbots featuring Raina Telgemeier

#GNCelebration: The Eisner Awards

Every Thursday, during the month of October, join Franki & Mary Lee of A Year of Reading, and Tammy & Clare from Assessment in Perspective, and me at Kid Lit Frenzy as we celebrate graphic novels and comic books.  To read our Top 10 reasons to join in, check out the Nerdy Book Club post, here. To link up your reviews and connect with everyone participating in the #GNCelebration, visit our #GNCelebration Google Community. 

This week, I wanted to highlight the biggest award for comic books and graphic novels, The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards otherwise known as  the Eisner Award.  The award is given for creative achievement in American comic books.  The Eisner Awards were given out on July 10th at the San Diego Comic Con. You can check out a complete list of nominations, here, and of winners, here.

Here are some of the kid and teen friendly winners:

Best New Series: Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)  & Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17): Lumberjanes, by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, & Brooke A. Allen (BOOM! Box)

Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7): The Zoo Box, by Ariel Cohn & Aron Nels Steinke (First Second)

Best Publication for Kids (ages 8-12): El Deafo, by Cece Bell (Amulet/Abrams)

Best Graphic Album—New: This One Summer, by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki (First Second)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Through the Woods , by Emily Carroll (McElderry Books)

Best Writer: Gene Luen Yang, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Dark Horse); The Shadow Hero (First Second)

Best Writer/Artist: Raina Telgemeier, Sisters (Graphix/Scholastic)

Here are a couple of more that I loved and would have wanted to win:

BirdCatDog, by Lee Nordling & Meritxell Bosch (Lerner/Graphic Universe)

Ms. Marvel, by G. Willow Wilson & Adrian Alphona (Marvel) 

If you are looking for a place to start reading comic books and graphic novels for children and teens, these are some that I would highly recommend. If you are curious about more titles, you may want to explore the #GNCelebration google community. 

Looking forward to hearing about some of your favorite comic books and graphic novels.