Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers: kids

Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Let loose your inner snark with... CATWAD by Jim Benton!

Hi guys!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're shining the spotlight on a title that published March 2019 via Scholastic Inc and while geared towards the kiddos, it packs a SERIOUS amount of adult punniness into a delightfully funny package! From cover to cover there is something to capture the mind and tickle the funny bone while still imparting messages of goodwill and kindness. SO, if you're ready to meet and greet today's book of choice...let's shine that spotlight on...

Catwad

Catwad, Book 1

Jim Benton

9781338326024

Scholastic

Seriously guys, this one was a random purchase from our local Target store one weekend when I was just browsing the aisles. Suddenly, I peered to my right and my eyes couldn't believe...well, MY EYES! There...in the book racks...was a face that only a mother could love...or perhaps a reader with a penchant for understanding that behind that curmudgeonly look would lie something TOTALLY AWESOME. The author's name rang a bell, but why exactly, I couldn't be sure. I reached, I touched, I flipped a page or two, and the rest is history because yes, it followed me home and didn't last the night.

Do you remember Happy Bunny? You know, that sarcastic little bunny of joy that smiled through the worst of times and brought a chuckle to your day? Yeah, that's from this guy, as is the Dear Dumb Diary series, Franky K. Stein series, and a plethora of other odds and ends. Once the connection was made, the light bulb above my head shattered because I knew I made the right decision in grabbing this book. Being the first in the series, we are introduced to Catwad and his seemingly constant companion, Blurmp. If peas in a pod could be any different, these two are it. Where Catwad finds the downside, Blurmp sees the sunny...and between these pages, we're discovering just how close of friends they are... *smirk...snort...giggle* ...and while yes, it is good for kiddos with the bright colors, humorous images, and simple story telling style, it suitably fits a much older audience as well! Just try to keep a straight face as Blurmp tries to get Catwad to RELAX. Attempt not to giggle as Blurmp breaks it down with his favorite playlist in OH YEAH. See Halloween pumpkin carving in a new light after reading through JACK...and the list goes on and on!

So, if you like a side of snark with your humor, this is totally the book for you! But seriously...if Catwad DARES you to do something, you might think twice about it before actually DOING it...

😾 😽 😼 😻 😺 😹 😸

About the author...

©JimBenton - although not HIM exactly

Benton began his career in a custom design t-shirt shop where he started designing his own characters. At the same time, Jim did illustrations and artwork for magazines and newspapers. People magazine named him "the most visible cartoonist in America" .

Benton also created greeting cards and worked in the magazine and publishing industry. In 1998, his SpyDogs characters became an animated series, The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs, that aired on Fox Kids. Licensing his own creations brought them widespread attention on products, such as It's Happy Bunny, The Misters, Just Jimmy and more.

Benton currently lives in Michigan, where he operates out of his own studio.

SITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

😾 😽 😼 😻 😺 😹 😸

Special thanks to me, myself, and I for purchasing this one on the spot because seriously, it was SO MUCH FUN! Book one is on sale now, and book two looks like it's set to drop September 2019 (egads! Such a long wait!), so you've plenty of time to catch up with this fantastically fun duo...whether Catwad likes it or not!

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond by Max Brallier

Hi there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're joining ranks with Penguin Young Readers for a stop along their current tour starring the latest release in The Last Kids on Earth series. It's BOOK FOUR featuring the motley crew of kiddos we've come to know and love, along with their monster friends...and foes. Cue the dark and sinister music because today's evil plan unfolding is DEFINITELY a whopper (ha...whopper...movie candy pun...it'll make sense when you read it)! So, ladies and gents, Middle Grade Fantasy Fiction fans of all ages, grab your winterized action gear and prepare for battle in...

The Last Kids on Earth and the Cosmic Beyond

The Last Kids on Earth, Book 4

Max Brallier

Illustrated by

Douglas Holgate

9780425292082

Viking Books for Young Readers

About the book...

It's the first winter after the Monster Apocalypse. For Jack and his buddies, that means sled catapults, epic snowball battles, and one monstrous Christmas celebration. But their winter wonderland turns dark when a villainess begins hunting them. And this villainess is different--she's a human.

When the villainess steals Jack's prized monster-slaying tool, the Louisville Slicer, he vows to get it back. But it won't be easy. Jack and his friends soon discover that the Louisville Slicer is the key to a dark plan that threatens the entire world--and beyond . . .

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It's beginning to look a lot like...Christmas?

Yep, Christmas...I mean, it comes every year and it's just about to reach that milestone mark for these kids, but what's a holiday without the presents, decorations, and a little...okay, A LOT of possibly-earth-ending-drama to make your day? Am I right? Okay, so not really, but all those elements DO exist here, and our group of friends are gonna have to pull together once again if they'll all going to make it out alive. Oh yes, there is the my-friend-is-turning-zombie issue to deal with on top of the earth-ending-drama formerly mentioned, and this time, despite their best efforts, they may simply be too late... *-*

So, now that I have you on the edge of that cliffhanger, let me tell you this...the story was once again...AWESOME! We had drama (loads), friendly banter (both human and monster), surprises galore (hello villainess, creepy eyeball thingy, and wait...why is there a portal over here?!), familiar faces (who's a good monster doggy!), and once again introductions that we wish we could forget (hello big ugly monster thingy...oh and look, there's that portal thingy again....). We learn that our newfound monster friends are rather scared of winter (who knew!), sometimes the bigger they are the harder they...struggle to maintain their balance thereby throwing off the old adage and confusing everyone, and that our REAL FAMILY isn't simply whose blood we share, but whom we CHOOSE to be a part of our circle. As a side note, we also learn that just because there are shared interests in geekdom nation awesomeness...doesn't mean there is a glimmer of goodness that's gonna shine like the sun, okay? Okay. Too bad Jack and his crew don't go in knowing that little pearl...

Long story short, AWESOMENESS RESIDES WITHIN THESE PAGES! It's got monsters, zombies, big baddies, and bigger baddies...but also a lot of heart. So if you're ready to end some monster sized plans for world domination, join the gang for some kick butt fun!

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About the author...

Max Brallier (maxbrallier.com) is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books and games, including the previous books in The Last Kids on Earth series. He is the creator and writer of Galactic Hot Dogs, an ongoing middle-grade web serial and book series with Aladdin. He writes for licensed properties including Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Uncle Grandpa. Under the pen name Jack Chabert, he is the creator and author of the Eerie Elementary series for Scholastic Books. In the olden days, he worked in the marketing department at St. Martin's Press. Max lives just outside of New York City with his wife and daughter.

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About the illustrator...

Douglas Holgate has been a freelance comic book artist and illustrator based in Melbourne, Australia, for more than ten years. He's illustrated books for publishers including HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster, and comics for Image, Dynamite, Abrams, and Penguin Random House.

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Special thanks Friya at Penguin Young Readers for the copy for review and the chance to bring this tour to you. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the series, or the publisher, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now via Viking Children's Books, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or at a virtual retailer of your choosing. Be sure to check out the other stops on the tour for more OUT OF THIS WORLD fun!

WEEK ONE

September 11 – Dream Reader Kids

September 12 – Mommy Ramblings

September 13 – Jrsbookreviews

September 14 – LivtheBookNerd

WEEK TWO

September 17 – Gravity Bread

September 18 – Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers

September 19 – The O.W.L.

September 20 – A to Z Book Reviews

September 21 – Pink Polka Dot Books

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!

Monday, October 23, 2017

PYR BLOG TOUR: The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King by Max Brallier

HI there!

Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.

Today, we're joining a Penguin Young Readers blog tour already in progress featuring the latest addition to a VERY popular series. It stars none other than Jack Sullivan, Defender of the Realm, Master, Creator, and Keeper of All Things Fun...and perhaps even more importantly this time around, Protector of Friends (and Friendship). So, if you're ready to face the powers of evil, battle hordes of zombies, and desperately try to escape the clutches of the newest menace in a post-monster-apocalypse world, I suggest you hang on because today's book of choice is front and center...

The Last Kids on Earth and the Nightmare King

The Last Kids on Earth, Book 3

Max Brallier

9780425288719

Viking

About the book...

When Jack and his friends find a one-way radio broadcasting live updates, they realize they might not be the last kids on Earth after all. June, Quint, and Dirk are thrilled because this means they could get to see their parents again someday, but Jack is bummed. Living in a tree house with his best friends, racing through town on tricked-out Go-Karts, playing tug-of-war with monsters, successfully battling the Destroyer of Worlds--it's the happiest he's ever been, and he doesn't want it to end. If Jack can make his friends understand how fun it is here, maybe they'll never want to leave him. And if he teams up with the probably extremely evil King Wretch monster--a monster who's capable of giving him visions, even predicting the future--maybe he can do just that...

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If you've been following the series thus far, you KNOW the fun you're in store for. Monsters, zombies, evil warlords from other dimensions trying their darnedest to make our world theirs, and everything else in between. You also know that while Max is a monster slayer extraordinaire, he isn't delusional enough to think he can do it all by himself. I mean, initially he had to, but once he started gathering the "last kids on earth", a motley crew of friends, former foes, and potential flames, he discovered not only what a force of many can accomplish versus a single soul with a slugger blade (despite his uber sized intent), but also the power of friendship...and darn it all, he liked it. After all, it's not a feeling he was exactly familiar with in the "before" as it were, so when things start to seem a little "end of monster apocalypse" this time around, you can't help but feel for him.

That's right. It could be the end of the end of the world, or at least their single status standing, by the the time we reach book's end, and while Jack doesn't harbor crazy notions of wanting to fight monsters the rest of his days, he's not exactly ready to give up the companionship, the togetherness, the family he's found in his little group. His mission is clear...save the world as they know it once again from the evil other dimensional warlord AND show his friends that sticking together is the only way they will truly be happy, other humans potentially alive out there be darned. Oh boy...if you can't guess already, things are gonna get interesting.

In the end, it was a great add to the growing series, perfect for boys and girls alike. For me, while the monster infused adventure was just as thrilling, fun, and funny as always, I enjoyed the hidden emotional depth of this one. It added another dimension to Jack's character, showed growth even in a time of adultlessness, and ultimately endeared him and the others to us THAT much more. Let's not forget about the AWESOME COOL illustrations scattered throughout that let you fully immerse yourself in every off the wall, daring, risk filled self imposed mission they undertake in the name of survival...and entertainment.

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About the author...

Max Brallier (www.maxbrallier.com) is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty books and games, including the first two books in The Last Kids on Earth series. He is the creator and writer of Galactic Hot Dogs, an ongoing middle-grade web serial and book series with Aladdin. He writes for licensed properties including Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Uncle Grandpa. Under the pen name Jack Chabert, he is the creator and author of the Eerie Elementary series for Scholastic Books. In the olden days, he worked in the marketing department at St. Martin's Press. Max lives in New York City with his wife.

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