Capstone – Page 2 – Mom Read It

Early Reader, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade

The Joker’s Dozen: A Batman Choose Your Own Adventure!

Posted on February 11, 2015February 11, 2015 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Joker’s Dozen, by Laurie S. Sutton/illus. by Ethen Beavers (2015, Capstone) $6.95, ISBN: 9781434297112

Recommended for ages 7-12

The Joker is back! This time, he’s turning the good people of Gotham City into giggling thieves! It’s up to you to help Batman this time- is he outnumbered, or are the odds pretty evenly matched? What weapon should he use? Will he save the city, or will Joker have the last laugh? You make the call, you choose the adventure!

This is a pretty quick and easy read for young readers who are comfortable with chapter books. Unlike traditional Choose Your Own Adventure Books, these are really just different scenarios, not really affected by the choices you make. Which, for a younger reader, is probably the best way to go. With 12 different endings, this will be a book that kids will get a different experience with time and again- there are a multitude of different choices and stories readers can create!

This is a fun book to have handy for the kid who’s always bored. (You know the kid.) There’s some great Batman artwork from DC comic artist Ethen Beavers, with fast-paced storytelling and a sense of control over the story. For only $6.95, expect this book to see some action, in your home, classroom, or library.

Non-Fiction, Teen

Peek into the mind of a teen with The Isobel Journal

Posted on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Isobel Journal, by Isobel Harrop (Capstone, August 2014). $16.95, ISBN: 9781630790035

Recommended for ages 12+

The Isobel Journal is a real-life journal from Isobel Harrop, “just a girl from where nothing really happened”. She lives in Britain, and shares her journal here with readers, who get a glimpse of her thoughts on herself, her friends, otters, and love. It’s filled with her artwork – she loves to sketch – and tidbits about her family and friends. I like her sketches, juxtaposed over photos, like the pages featuring her dog and cat. They’re fun pieces that bring art and life together.

Isobel is a teen girl – she likes to collect things, like photos and ticket stubs, and stick them in her journal. She likes to draw on herself. She daydreams, she explores. She’s got a fun, friendly sensibility that comes right through the page. Some reviewers have called this book random, but isn’t that the point of a journal? Isobel invites readers into her world, and in so doing, brings readers together – because what feels like not far too long ago (but in actuality, is), I was a teenage girl doing the same things, and reading this journal made me smile and think about that.

The Isobel Journal is a fun, quirky book that teen girls will get a kick out of looking through. Take a look at the book trailer!

Fiction, Tween Reads

Catwoman’s Nine Lives is great fun for intermediate readers!

Posted on June 4, 2014June 4, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Catwoman’s Nine Lives, by Matthew K. Manning (Capstone, August 2014). $5.95, ISBN: 9781434291363

Recommended for ages 7-12

Catwoman’s at it again. After giving Batman the slip during a chase, she comes home to find Penguin waiting for her, with a proposal – steal the Ventriloquist’s Dummy, Scarface. It will render him helpless and eliminate the competition he poses to Penguin. Never able to turn down the chance for a good score, Catwoman accepts, and touches off a war! The Ventriloquist wants revenge against Penguin, and Penguin has no intention of backing down. Will Catwoman turn to Batman for help, or will she allow a bloody crime war to rage unchecked?

This book is a fun read; a great combination of chapter book and graphic novel, it will hold readers’ interests with the fast-paced action and Luciano Vecchio’s intense art. Vecchio is well-versed in DC artwork, handling art duties on Beware the Batman, Young Justice, and the Green Lantern Animated Series. Matthew K. Manning, the Bat-scribe here, is a well-known comic writer whose work I really like; here, he doesn’t talk down or over his audience. He’s right where the kids need him to be, and, with Vecchio, creates a fun adventure.

Enhanced content, including comics terms and a glossary of words used in the story, and discussion questions, means this book will be one of the hottest book on the shelves at school libraries. The book can easily be applied to Common Core lessons, including discussions of sequences of events for younger readers and ambiguous morality for more intermediate audiences.

Capstone’s Capstone Kids website is a great resource, with activities and character bios for all their properties, including sections on the DC Superheroes and Super Pets.

The book will be published on August 1, but in the meantime, there are more Capstone DC titles – hit your libraries and bookstores to find some! They’re a great way to ease kids into summer reading!

Teen

Book Expo Approaches! What are you going to look for?

Posted on May 10, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I love BEA. I’ve been lucky enough to go to a few, having worked in publishing before my new career as a librarian, and I never tire of it. The books, the people that are so excited about books – readers, publishers, sellers, librarians – we all love books, and BEA is one big book party, with lots of little book parties going on simultaneously.

This year, BEA is really special and exciting for me, because it’s my first year as a librarian, so I’ll be there looking for children’s and middle grade books that I can bring to my patrons – my “kids”, and some YA that I can recommend to my counterpart, the YA librarian at Pomonok. And I’m also excited, because I’m going on a press pass! How cool is that? So let’s start the reporting now!

I received an e-mail from Capstone with some signings, and I’m excited, because Isobel Harrop will be there signing copies of her book, The Isobel Journal. I’ve got this on NetGalley, and have been looking forward to reading it. It’s on the list of things to read before BookExpo! It’s a graphic novel-ish type book, so it technically comes under my purview, even though it’s YA.

Capstone is also having a book giveaway for their September book, Katie Woo’s Big Idea Journal: A place for your best stories, drawings, doodles and plans, which I absolutely need to get because the Katie Woo books do gangbusters at my library! I may even have a book giveaway for the kids. I also just learned that the Capstone website has Katie Woo printables, which is PERFECT – my kids love coloring in the library, and I think they’re getting tired of my usual printables.

Capstone is also announcing their new YA imprint, Switch Press, at BEA, so I want to see what that’s all about. I notice that they’re including graphic novels under the imprint, so I’m hoping I can bring back some news and maybe a couple of giveaways for our teens.

What’s everyone else doing at BookExpo? I have a planner to fill!

Fiction, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Minerva Mint: The Order of the Owls

Posted on March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Minerva Mint: The Order of the Owls, by Elisa Puricelli Guerra/illus. by Gabo Leon Bernstein, Capstone Young Readers Group (2014), $9.95, ISBN: 9781623700386

Recommended for ages 8-10

Minerva Mint: The Order of the Owls is the first book in a new middle-grade series about an eccentric young girl named Minerva Mint, her two friends, Thomasina Crowley and Ravi Kapoor, and the mysteries that the group solves together; the most important being to find Minerva’s parents.

Minerva was found, as an infant, in a bag in Victoria Station. She lives in Lizard Manor -a large, ramshackle mansion that has seen better days – with Mrs. Flopps, the station custodian who discovered Minerva. Minerva meets Ravi and Thomasina, and the three become fast friends. Thomasina shares Minerva’s adventurous spirit and Ravi, a bit more level-headed and fearful, comes along for the ride at first because of his crush on Thomasina. He grows into himself during the group’s first adventures, but I’m pretty sure we’ll still see him as the voice of reason in the group.

This first book establishes the characters and the underlying mystery that will permeate the series – who are Minerva’s parents, and why did they leave her as an infant? There are some clues in the bag Minerva was found in, and she tries to put the pieces together. Thomasina and Ravi are sworn to help her, but Minerva is no damsel in distress; she can handle after years of fending off various long lost “parents” who come to the home in search of the valuable real estate and imagined riches in Lizard Manor.

The story is fast-paced and light, perfect for a middle-grade read about friendship with some mystery thrown in. Minerva is a quirky, fun character that will appeal to girls who want to step outside the “girly” model. Thomasina – pretty, blonde, wealthy Thomasina – is an adventurous spirit and a friendly, outgoing girl, which is a relief if you’re tired of the seemingly obligatory mean girls popping up as dramatic foils. Ravi is a shy, fearful boy who allows himself to be drawn out by the two girls. The group’s valued friendship sends a good message to younger readers about sticking together.

Gabo Leon Bernstein’s black and white illustrations are adorable and add to the story, giving us characters to bond with and creepy, fun landscapes. His illustrations advance the plot and fire up the imagination.

I look forward to more Minerva Mint books, and luckily, there are a two in progress: Merlin’s Island and The Legend of Black Bart. The publishers website offers extras, including character profiles, a book trailer, and downloadable clues sheet and a secret club contract that readers can use for their own secret societies!

Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Jellaby: The Lost Monster – a story of friendship, in graphic form, from Kean Soo and Capstone

Posted on February 17, 2014February 18, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Capstone is bringing Kean Soon’s Jellaby back to print, and I couldn’t be happier. I came across the book on NetGalley, and am so happy that Capstone gave me the chance to read it. Jellaby: The Lost Monster is the first volume in the Jellaby series. The all-ages story about friendship also tackles some big issues within a safe space for kids.

Read the rest of my review over at WhatchaReading!