Take note. There will be a CRAFT-MERGENCY; plenty of drama from Anya; a healthy snack "another way of saying it's good for you and tastes bad" which, by the way,  is enjoyed by everyone;  and an important lesson learned about friendship. ​
Back pages include directions for making each of the six monster crafts described in the text. With great characters, clever dialog, and simple craft projects, Charise Mericle Harper has a created a graphic novel series for young craft and comic enthusiasts.

Several years ago I worked at a school in Manhattan's Lower East Side. I loved that neighborhood, filled with mamas and papas walking their little ones to school. I loved the rich diversity of cultures. I loved the strong family ethic. This is a community of people who live and work together. I loved the feeling of neighborhood and connection that I experienced whenever I stepped off the F Train at Delancey and Essex Streets.
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My memories of that place awakened in me a sense of nostalgia as I savored McGhee's simple text and Lamaître muted color palette. It's a story filled with warmth and compassion. Each page provides plenty of white space, allowing time to appreciate the softly rendered drawings. While my time in the Lower East Side enriched my appreciation for the story, this picture book also rekindled memories of my time with that community. I compared photos of New York City life with Lamaître's illustrations. Each representation, regardless of the medium, portrays a strong sense of home, community, and interconnection.

Now I live on the coast in South Texas, an environment that is both different and the same when compared to the neighborhoods I knew in Manhattan.  The temperatures and coastal waters are much warmer. There are many more open and undeveloped land areas as well as some very distinctive types of vegetation. But in both New York and South Texas I can experience everyday encounters with kindness and courage.

Discover life in the city with these books.

Rock Craft

Want more picture books featuring rocks? Try out one of these delightful tales.

She manages to locate Lint Bear within the tumbling clothes. PinchnSqueeze becomes convinced that he is alive and she commences a series of torture-like operations, certain that she can bring the doll to life.
​Lint Boy is determined to rescue his friend from the clutches of this evil woman. He sets out on his noble task with assistance from the captive dolls and battalion of lost socks. Armed with courage and a very sharp needle Lint Boy succeeds.
The book's design and page layout have a unique style that is a visual treat. There is a art nouveau feel to the text and image arrangement as well as to the individual panel shapes and ornamentation. Soft pastels fit nicely with the sweet fabric characters.
​There are just enough chilling details to make the villain truly evil. But the fanciful setting and the charming characters keep the story well within the realm of fantasy. Lint Boy is destined to enjoy a prosperous life on bookshelves everywhere. Thank you Aileen Leijten for this delightful graphic novel gem.

Okay, I couldn't resist. Creating with lint is an entirely new craft concept for me. I consider lint as merely a fluffy amalgam of fiber that needs to be removed from the dryer. Can this really be the basis for a craft? Not one to shrink from taking on a new creative challenge, I reasoned that lint has been through a wash cycle and the heat of the dryer. It must be clean enough to work with. Let's do this!

Viola!  Meet my version of Lint Boy (thank you white bathroom mats lint) and Lint Bear (thank you casual clothes lint). They were so fun and easy to make.  However, for a group project I would suggest forgoing lint and using old mismatched socks. They work well with the story.  Cut the clean discarded socks up and assemble your own Lint Buddies using buttons, scraps of felt, thread and a glue gun.

Dolls That Will Creep You Out:  Just the right amount of horror for younger readers

​​Hales' anxiety over the situation begins to manifest itself with increasing stomach aches and repetitive coping mechanisms. She also grapples with a complicated sibling relationship. Shannon eventually decides to leave "the group." Later she finds new friends who accept and appreciate her.

LeUyen Pham's realistic style is reminiscent of Raina Telgemeier. It is revealing to observe the progresion of changes as Shannon grows from a child into a middle school student. Dark panels are particularly effective in invoking the gloomy periods in Hales' young life.

Anyone who has felt different, been excluded, or questioned their self-worth will identify with Shannon Hales' personal journey to find herself and discover her Real Friends.

Raina, Shannon, Astrid, Abby, and Jun: I absolutely adore each and every main character in this selection of graphic novels featuring girls in middle grades. They are more than characters in books. They are real girls with real life issues. While my specific circumstances may have been a bit different, I can relate to the desire to find a place among like-minded peers: to be valued and included within a circle of friends.
Below is a book display featuring some of these middle school protagonists.
I used a paper doll template, available with a variety of hair and skin tones. It can be downloaded free from Kiki & Company. With a wee bit of paper scraps and markers I created an arrangement featuring some of these young heroines.
Get ready for an onslaught of book requests and obtain multiple copies of each title. This Middle Grade Girl Up display will send these graphic novels to flying off the shelves and into the hearts of young readers everywhere.

There are many excellent books that portray the struggles of young girls moving away from childhood.  Several of these stories use the graphic novel format, allowing the reader to experience in both visual and text format the pains of discovering true friendship and finding oneself.  Here are a few books to get you started.

Play the "Who said that?" game. Select quotations spoken by the main character in each book. Can you match the quotation with the girl who said it? Sometimes it can be quite tricky to select the correct attribution for the quote. Have copies of books handy to verify the answers.

But wait. There is more....

​Sturm has ingeniously included mini comics at the bottom of each page. Each mini strip, three or four panels in length, asks a question such as: What super power would you want? If your friend was a cookie what kind with they be? Ape and Armadillo take turns giving their responses. A bonus comic at the conclusion of the story revolves around that old "psychic" number guessing games. Armadillo and Ape turn the game on its head. Guessing numbers has never been so much fun!

But wait. There is more...

Check out this bonus material which includes an interview with James Sturm who draws while he answers questions from Maria Russo and those viewing the live broadcast. Wow! He can draw and think and talk at the same time!
Be sure check out the templates which young readers can use to create their own comics based on the mini strips running along the bottom of each Ape and Armadillo page.

Nominees for 2017 Eisner Award: Publication for Early Readers

Ape and Armadillo Take Over the World joins four other books nominated for this year's Eisner Award for Publication for Young Readers. The winner will be announced ​Friday, July 21 2017 at Comic-Con International. Which comic will win? Stay tuned.

​Use this book to celebrate individual differences and as a craft activity: creating collages using recycled materials.

The story can also be used to explore idioms describing close relationships. Getting along "like peas and carrots" has been popularized by the movie Forrest Gump. It's a fun concept to play around with. Young readers can try creating their own relationship memes. Here are a few ideas to get the discussion going. Images: Personalization Mall.

The dialog is presented in speech balloons. Panels filled with corny jokes, expressive characters, and escalating drama can only mean one thing: Readers Theater.  Make some mouse ears.  Better yet, encourage students to make ears that fit the personalities of these three wacky rodents. You can also add some pipe-cleaner spectacles and a hat. Viola!
​Side-splitting entertainment that will leave youngsters begging for repeat performances.