Tracy says: One of the reasons the girls didn’t read SIDEKICKS or ZOOM’S ACADEMY (which, by the way, is not a comic, which I found out after I bought it) is that they spent so much time reading PS238. Other reviewers have called it the best comic out today, and I have a hard time disagreeing with that assessment. The stories, the humor, the art – it all adds up to a truly satisfying comic book for anyone and everyone – and how often does that happen, I ask you? It’s one of the few books that we have all read more than once.

Tyler is the son of a pair of great superheroes but he has no powers. His parents ship him off to PS238, the government’s secret underground elementary “School for Metaprodigy Children”. If the storyline sounds familiar to you, you’re not the only one. My feeling is that Disney owes Aaron Williams some money.

Sarah says: PS238 is a great comic book about kids who have superpowers. Their school is under a regular school. There’s one kid, Tyler, who doesn’t have any superpowers, but he goes to the underground school. His parents are superheroes – they want him to have superpowers and he doesn’t and they know that he might not. There are lots of cool kids at PS238. I like Bernard, the son of a guy like Hulk. Bernard is a large creature who is really strong and has blue muscles.

Shelby says: And he’s like a dog because he drools a lot and chews on a bunch of things and he stinks up bathrooms. PS238 is a great comic book – it’s really funny. Their school is three miles underground, underneath a regular elementary school. The kids from underground go up to the elementary school to have lunch and recess. I like the locker elevator that they have to go down to school in. They have hologram disguises so they look like regular kids but Bernard still acts like Bernard.

Sarah says: My favorite character is Zodon. I like Zodon because he has a chip in his head that makes him say weird and funny words instead of swearing. Zodon is one of the kids at PS238 who wants to take over the world.

Shelby says: Zodon and Von Fogg are both kids of supervillains. They give out applications on the playground for kids to be their minions. I liked Zodon, too. He says stuff like, “What the gumball’s goin’ on?” When Zodon was gonna get beat up by some kid in the regular school, the kid punched him and hurt himself because Zodon is made of metal.

Sarah says: Then one of the teachers tells Zodon to pretend that he’s hurt.

Shelby says: Then Zodon says, “Oh, ow, that hurts. Ow. Ow. Ow,” really lamely. It cracked me up.

Sarah says: One of my favorite stories was when Zodon was putting food in his mouth when he was in his disguise overground in the regular kids’ lunchroom. It didn’t look like he was putting it in his mouth, it looked like he was putting it in his shirt. In another story Zodon steals Captain Clarinet’s cape and puts it up the flagpole. When Captain Clarinet goes to get it, a plane runs into him, but he flies fastly and puts the plane safely on the ground.

Shelby says: There’s this alien kid who comes in a spaceship. He talks in a weird language and my mom decoded it. My mom’s a geek! I like the guy who can travel back in time. He can bring people from the past into the future, so people from the future can see people from the past. I like the art because it’s really cute.

Tracy says: For being highly entertaining, funny, endearing, and just plain fun, we give PS238 the highest recommendation for all ages.

SPIRALBOUND (AARON RENIER, TOP SHELF)

Shelby says: SPIRALBOUND is about all these animals that are like people, but there are no people in it. All the kids that want to can go into an art class and make something. There will be an art show to put all their creations into, but the place where the teacher wants to put it has a monster in the pond next to it. All the parents want to get the teacher because they think the monster’s going to eat their children. There’s an elephant named Turnip – he’s really shy and he’s frustrated and angry when his art doesn’t turn out the way he wants it to be, kinda like me. There’s a bunny named Anna – she works for a secret newspaper that has underground tunnels. There was a bird named Emily, and she takes pictures for the newspaper. There’s a dog named Stucky, who is making a submarine in the art show. The monster was cool looking – it was like a huge alligator. Little kids might be a little scared of the monster, but then they’ll figure out what’s going on. I liked it because the art was good and the story was good.

Sarah says: I haven’t finished SPIRALBOUND yet, but I like it so far. My favorite sculpture that the elephant does is the rabbit and bird. Too bad it broke. My favorite character is Turnip’s dad, the elephant, who owns the bookstore. I like him ‘cause he always shouts and he’s a lot bigger than everyone else. I like the secret passageways that the newspaper people have to go through. It would be cool if they were real in my town! When I was reading it, it made me want to do a sculpture like the animals in the book. I’m looking forward to finding out what really happens. I don’t really think there’s a real monster. I think it’s probably a shadow. I think that it’s for all ages would be fun for everyone.

And people say there are no good all ages comics out there. (Okay, so it’s technically a graphic novel, but you know what I mean.) SPIRALBOUND works at all levels and speaks to all ages. The world AARON RENIER has created feels so real that by the time I finished reading the book, I felt like I’d lived there for years. The characters may be cute animals, but he gives them emotional complexity – it was particularly nice for Shelby to see Turnip’s frustration in his striving for artistic expression; she really knew where he was coming from. I gave SPIRALBOUND to Sarah and fifteen minutes later she came running up asking if we had any clay. She spent the next hour sculpting – how’s that for artistic inspiration? SPIRALBOUND may be a bit long for the littlest tykes, but anyone who can pay attention for an hour or so will love it. Highly recommended for everyone with an attention span.

YOTSUBA&! (ADV MANGA)

Thanks to loyal reader Christopher for suggesting this one! This was our first true manga. At first the girls were a bit put off by reading “backwards” and did complain a bit. Once they got used to it, well, they still didn’t like it but they dealt with it as best they could. I enjoyed it, but the translations are a bit awkward at times and the girls had to ask me to explain what was going on more than once. The best chapter is the last, when Yotsuba and catches cicadas and, of course, releases them in the house. Recommended for all ages, especially those who like to read backward.

Shelby says: YOTSUBA&! is about a little girl with green hair and she doesn’t really know any manners. She and her dad move into a new house and she has some cool neighbors and they tell her about the air conditioner and glow-ball warming. It was funny. There’s this guy who’s their friend named Jumbo – he’s really, really, really tall. I didn’t get most of it – why were they fighting and the next page he’s sitting on the floor? It was easy to read backwards after I got used to it, but I still didn’t understand some of it because it sometimes did one thing that’s totally different from the next thing. YOTSUBA is very funny for little kids and some big kids.

Sarah says: YOTSUBA is about a little girl in Japan who doesn’t understand anything about life. I liked the story where she catches cicadas. When she brings them back to her neighbor’s house, she opens the can that they are in and they fly all over the neighbor’s house. I really liked it when the bathroom door lock was broken and the neighbor girl had to go out the window and she got stuck. That cracked me up. Then the dad came home and helped her out. Her sister laughed at her. Sisters are like that sometimes. As soon as I got used to reading Japanese style, my eyes adjusted to it. On the first story, I couldn’t understand very much, but all the rest of the stories were okay. It’s for all ages and it’s funny and cute.

BUMPERBOY LOSES HIS MARBLES (DEBBIE HUEY, ADHOUSE BOOKS)

Shelby says: BUMPERBOY is about this guy that is in a white suit and it looks like his head is an egg and he has a dog named Bumperpup who wears a suit, too. Bumperboy and his friend Gordy have to go to a marble tournament, but Bumperboy loses his marbles. Actually, evil Frederik the chicken makes him lose them. They have to go through a borp hole to find them all before the tournament. In the whole book there are lots of sayings that mean, “go crazy.” It was fun to find them all. BUMPERBOY is good for anybody who likes cute things and simple things.

Sarah says: Bumperboy and Bumperpup go in the borpholes. They go to The Great Oak and see Ol’Rupert, then they go to a swampy pond and see Jeannie the swimmer, then they go to Onomatoland and see Bam and Bop, and they get most of the marbles back except his Grandma’s shooter. They go to the tournament and Frederick has Bumperboy’s Grandma’s lucky shooter, so they have to try to get it back. I like Frederik because he’s the only bad guy in the story and he always cheats in funny ways. It never works. I also like Bumperpup because he’s a very cute puppy who always reminds Bumperboy of what he needs. He barks in pictures. Probably three year olds and up would like this book because it tells lots of funny jokes and it’s cute.

Tracy says: Love it, love it, love it. The character design of Bumperboy and Bumperpup are enough to make me love this book, but the story is just as simple and satisfying. There isn’t even a hint of cynicism or snarkiness here, just honest fun and “cheaters never prosper” optimism. The clarity of right vs. wrong sometimes feels good in a complex world, and when DEBBIE HUEY combines that clarity with adorable characters, great puns, and marbles, it makes for a very engaging read. I was especially impressed with the art. It’s deceptively simple – there’s a lot more going on than the cuteness might lead you to believe – and the panel layouts are some of the most creative and effective I’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for a way to hook little kids (or big kids!) on comics, this is a perfect gift. Highest recommendation for all ages – buy this book now! (Note: If you want to look this book up at Amazon, you have to put a space between “Bumper” and “boy.”)

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