Episode 27 - Alexis Fajardo - PCS Reads

Cartoonist Alexis Fajardo visits PCS Reads and shares about making the Kid Beowulf series.

Visit pcsreads.blogspot.com/2018/07/ep27.html to listen and for more details about the episode. 

Subscribe to PCS Reads through Apple Podcasts.

5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior

5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior is the beginning of an epic quest that unites three kids Oona Lee--a clumsy sand-dancer with a destiny, An Tzu--a musically magical boy from the poorest of slums who is slowly turning invisible, and Jax Amboy--a beloved Starball player with a big secret. Together they embark on a magic adventure connecting 5 worlds.

"One by one the five great beacons went dark and the Gods were gone. And none would ever again light the shining Beacons, save a Warrior of Sand, crowned with living fire..."

This series is destined to have well worn covers and never enough copies in my library. To start the word of mouth among readers in your life, hand 5 Worlds to fans of Kazu Kibuishi's Amulet or Faith Erin Hick's Nameless City.


You may know that I like to watch for 5s in kidlit and always enjoy a good #fivespotting.

So the first book in the 5 Worlds series had me intrigued right from the start with its beautiful swirly 5 on the cover.

While the 5 in 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior may have initially caught my attention, it was the following 5 things that made me a serious 5 Worlds fan:

1. Truly lucious artwork


2. Sand dancing!

3. Controlling plants with music!

4. An epic magical adventure that has already captivated the readers in my life

5. The promise of more in 5 Worlds: The Cobalt Prince

Enter to win a copy of 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior

Visit the 5 Worlds Tumblr

Find 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior on...

2015 Kids Read Comics! Festival

This week the 5Family is headed to Ann Arbor, Michigan for Kids Read Comics!

Click to go to the KRC website

 We have been anticipating this trip since the drive home from Kid Read Comics! last year and everyone in House5 enthusiastically agreed, "we should go again next year!"


5 reasons why Kids Read Comics! is so awesome:

• Amazing lineup of comics creators!
• intimate setting (this is nothing like a crowded comic-con) with programing specifically for KIDS!
• talented local kids "tabling" in artist alley 
• located in lovely Ann Arbor hosted by the fabulous Ann Arbor Public Library
  AND
• it's FREE!

If you are anywhere close to Ann Arbor on June 20th & 21st, be sure to swing by and join in the fun.

Take a look at all of the awesome programing and visiting comics creators for this year's KRC!

Here are a few highlights from our trip to KRC! last year:

Kickoff Event with Matt Holm

Babymouse!!!

Drawing station in the library

Quick Draw Event with Gregg Schigiel, Jacob Chabot & Jerzy Drozd

Me on a panel for a live taping of the Comics are Great Podcast

Souvenir! Hand made Ann Arbor Shirt by a young local comic artist

Book Signing with Matt Holm

Falling asleep reading comics

Kids, There is still time to cast your vote for the 2015 Kids Comics Revolution Awards!

Friday5: Ricky Ricotta Redux

#Friday5 for February 7th:
5 Things to Know about the Ricky Ricotta Redux

By far the most popular item I brought home from ALA Midwinter was an advanced reader copy of  Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot illustrated anew by the fantabulous Dan Santat.

We were already big Ricky Ricotta fans AND big Dan Santat fans at House5, so this was bound to be pretty exciting.

So here are 5 things to know about the Ricky Ricotta Redux:

#1 - Just in case you had book shelves created specifically to fit your Ricky Ricotta collection, the trim size on the new version is the same. ~whew!~

#2 - Same great story, only now with full color awesomeness!

#3 - Giant Mouse Robots… always just plain cool!

#4 - Some Flip-o-Rama sections now have been replaced with graphic novel sequences created by Dan Santat.

before

after (reminder: this is a photo from the ARC - not final full color art)

#5 - Don't worry, the Flip-O-Rama goodness isn't gone. It's just packed into an epic final battle in Chapter 12. 

Word on the Street:

The Dan Santat-ified versions of the first 4 Ricky Ricotta books will hit shelves in May 2014 with new books every other month after that - including two entirely new books in January and March of 2015!

And that makes all of us at House5 want to go hug a giant mouse robot.

Obligatory disclaimer: All photos of the Dan Santat illustrated version of Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot were taken of an ARC and thus may be subject to change, but probably not, 'cause they're awesome. 

Friday5: El Deafo by Cece Bell

#Friday5 for January 31th:
My Favorite #fivespotting of ALA Midwinter

Many of you know that I like to see the number 5 out in the world. 

My favorite #fivespotting of ALA midwinter is the 5 above that appears in El Deafo, a Graphic Novel coming out this September by the fabulous Cece Bell. 

El Deafo tells the story of a young rabbit named Cece who experiences severe hearing loss at age 4 after a brief illness.

Ok… so, yes, I have only read the sampler (the first 50 pages), but reading the first 50 pages caused me to break into a run just to go tell someone how amazing it was.

Put this one on your radar and set an alarm for September.
It's gonna be awesome!

El Deafo info

The Bud totally absorbed by the El Deafo sampler. 

It is Monday - November 25th

Visit Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers to find out more about It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? and link to other participating blogs.

Recently I traveled out to Hartford, CT for AASl 2013. 

Graphic novels and audio books are my favorites while traveling. 

(I have a tendency toward motion sickness when reading pages of standard text while flying)

During this trip I enjoyed some amazing titles:

I enjoyed this as an audio book. The narrator is fabulous - it is his voice in the book trailer below.

I am a first round Cybils judge in the Fiction Picture Books category, 

so there are teetering piles of picture books all around my house.

More on this soon.

Big Bad Ironclad! by Nathan Hale

Big Bad Ironclad!

from Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales

by Nathan Hale

What it's about:
The race between the North and the South during the Civil War to develop an ironclad warship and all the battles along the way.

What I loved:
1. A Lovable cast of narrators (the spy Nathan Hale, the Provost, and the Hangman) who keep popping in to add commentary on the story

2. Clever ways (through both the art and writing) to help the reader keep all the historical characters straight.

3. Action - my young readers will love that Nathan Hale left out all the boring bits!

4. Shout outs to librarians, research and bibliographies

5. Lots of Humor, as well as multiple references to underwater toilets.

This book grabbed me from the first frame with its goofy hangman character who loves Children's Story Hour - all the way to the back matter where author Nathan Hale admits to outsourcing his research for the book to adorable babies.

More information about Big Bad Ironclad!, the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series, and the 1828 Election Throwdown Showdown webcomic on Hale's Website: