parody – Mom Read It

Nostalgia for us Gen X folk, hilarious for teens: My Little Occult Book Club

Posted on September 3, 2020 by Rosemary Kiladitis

My Little Occult Book Club: A Creepy Collection, by Steven Rhodes (Aug. 2020, Chronicle Books), $14.95, ISBN: 9781797203256

Ages 12+

This is just gut-busting uproarious. Anyone who has fond memories of Scholastic book club flyers and a quirky sense of humor will get a kick out of My Little Occult Book Club, which is set up to look just like one of those old school catalogs. From the oh-so-familiar order form to the ever-popular gift with purchase – in this case, free voodoo dolls and Hail Santa! badges – My Little Occult Book Club is full of laughs. There are even activities, like a “Connect the Dots” showing “what abomination Julie has unleashed into the world” and a “Go to Hell!” maze where readers can navigate little Patrick to the gates of Perdition, and As Seen on TV mail-order forms NOT for X-Ray Specs or Sea Monkeys, but Alien-Attracting Helmets and Cursed Videocassettes. The retro ’70s-80s art is straight up hilarious and nostalgic; titles the B.M.Hex Gang (cover image), Cult Music Sing-Along (in stereo!), and Let’s Summon Demons are snort-cackle hilarious. The product descriptions must have been a joy to write, because they’re just too much fun to read, like the list of “favorite nursery rhymes”: “Mary Sacrificed a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Magic, and Polly Put the Cauldron On”.

Teens will get a laugh out of these, and their parents (like me) will laugh out loud, then feel really, really old, then laugh out loud all over again. My Little Occult Book Club is just too much fun. Now, can we please get a My Little Occult Book Club Pin-Up Book, so I can hang some up these up at home? Pair this with Paperbacks From Hell for a heck of a display!

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MAD Magazine gives Superman a Miserable, Rotten, No Fun, Really Bad Day

Posted on October 10, 2017September 13, 2017 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Superman and the Miserable, Rotten, no Fun, Really Bad Day, by Dave Croatto/Illustrated by Tom Richmond, (Oct. 2017, Mad Magazine), $14.99, ISBN: 9781401276119

Recommended for readers 5+

MAD Magazine, I love you. I grew up laughing at your Star Wars parodies, your Spy vs. Spy comics, and host of jokes I probably didn’t get until I was older. And now, you bring me a series of superhero parodies based on childhood classics. You get me. You really, really get me.

The fun began with last year’s Goodnight, Batcave: narrated in the gentle bedtime style of Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon, we peeked into Batman’s bedtime routine. Now, we get Superman having the lousiest day ever in the style of Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and it is hilarious. Whether he’s listening to kids argue over who the better hero is – Batman or The Flash – or being relegated to monitor duty by the Justice League, Superman has the same petulant, endearing voice that makes Alexander such a fun storytime read. Supes tends to get dinged a lot by Batfans (cough, cough) that call him a boy scout, and seeing that reflected here is just perfect. Lois and Jimmy Olsen get sent on super cool assignments, while Clark goes to a flower show. Where Alexander is ready to move to Australia, Supes is ready to abandon it all for the Fortress of Solitude. But as with all the best bedtime stories, Ma is there to tell him that some days are like that, and sends him off to bed – and hopefully, a better day the next day.

Tom Richmond’s classic MAD-style artwork meets Ray Cruz – the illustrator on Judith Viorst’s Alexander books – gives an instantly recognizable feel to the story – even the cover is a perfect sendup of the original. This is absolutely perfect for a Superhero Storytime, or just a really fun laugh-along. Read it in the same pouty voice that you use for Alexander, and make sure to be extra offended by the Batman-is-Better inferences.

What’s next? Make Way for Lanterns? Where the Amazons Are? I NEED MORE.

Fiction, Fiction, Humor, Intermediate, Middle Grade

A Dark Knight bedtime parody: Goodnight Batcave

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Goodnight Batcave, by Dave Croatto/Illustrated by Tom Richmond, (Oct. 2016, MAD Magazine), $14.99, ISBN: 9781401270100

Recommended for ages 5+

“In the great gray cave, there were a lot of bats, and souvenirs saved…”

Margaret Wise Brown could never have seen this coming: her sweet bedtime story has been turned into seemingly countless tongue-in-cheek retellings, including Goodnight iPad and Goodnight Goon. Goodnight Batcave is MAD Magazine’s take on the sleepytime classic and takes readers inside Batman’s inner sanctum, The Batcave. Batman’s wiped out and ready for bed, but his rogues gallery – including both fan favorites and old reliables, from Joker to Bane – just won’t behave and decide to attack the Batcave, maybe in the hopes of catching Bats unawares for the night? Using Goodnight Moon‘s familiar rhythm, Dave Croatto hilariously inserts Batman references that any fan worth their Bat-insignia pajamas will love. Bats flips and whips, knocks out knaves and bowls Penguins down the stairs. At the end of the night, Alfred is there, as always, to send Master Bruce off to sleep.

Tom Richmond’s art is classic MAD style, with exaggerated facial expressions and a superhero chin that you could land a Bat-Plane on. There are fantastic little references and Easter eggs for fans, including a nice showing by Ace, the Bat-Hound, and a quietly, ever-present Bat-mite, who snuggles up to Bats when their shift is finally over. The giant penny and T-Rex are there, and – this is MAD, after all – Alfred E. Neuman makes a cameo.

Younger Bat-fans will get a kick out of the fun take on a Bat-time story, and grown-up Batfans will love having this one on their bookshelves alongside favorite graphic novels and trade paperbacks.