Review: Muppet Robin Hood by Tim Beedle

by Carol5 Comments
(Suggested reading level: Grades 4 and up) I actually learned one thing from this comic- I need to read Robin Hood. Apparently all I actually know about Robin Hood comes from cultural references and the Disney movie where Robin Hood is a fox. Of course, I'd like to see that movie again too. I wonder if our library has it. Anyway, the story was cute enough. Robin is of course Kermit and the merry men are an odd assortment of Muppets. Maid Marian could be none other than Miss Piggy. It's fun, but not my favorite of the Muppet graphic novels I've read. The art in this one, done by Armand Villavert, Jr., just wasn't my cup of tea. Some of the characters, especially Gonzo and Sam the Eagle, just didn't look right to me. It was an enjoyable read though. And I do love the Muppets. Muppet Graphic Novel 112 pages Published 2009 3 out of 5 stars Purchase at Amazon or an Indie bookstore. I borrowed...
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Review: Muppet Snow White by Jesse Blaze Snider

by Carol4 Comments
(Suggested Reading Level: Grades 4 and up) Last time I reviewed a Muppet book, I forgot to mention a few things on my list of belongings. I have six glasses with picture from The Great Muppet Caper that McDonalds was giving away back in the 80s, a bunch of Sesame Street beanie babies, a couple Pez dispensers, and a fabric Kermit book we got when Amber was a baby. Oh, and a Kermit the Frog puppet. I think that's it. I adore the Muppet remakes of classic stories. This time it's Snow White, and I do think that Miss Piggy is perfect as the evil stepmother. Of course the story has a few Muppet twists and I just flat out enjoyed it. It's light-hearted and funny. I read it with Amber - yes, comic books are really tough to read aloud, but that's life. It's worth it when the story's good. You may think you know the Snow White story, but not the...
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Muppet Peter Pan by Grace Randolph and Amy Mebberson

by Carol5 Comments
Muppet Peter Pan by Grace Randolph, Amy Mebberson, and other very talented people (Suggested Reading Level: Grades 4 and up) I love the Muppets, as just about anyone who knows me will tell you. I have almost all the various movies and DVDs of The Muppet Show, I have at least two Muppet t-shirts, have worn out two Kermit purses, have a Muppets in Space playset with Miss Piggy, a Kermit puppet, a Gonzo Pez dispenser, not to mention my Kermit hat that totally embarrasses Amber every time I wear it. Wow, when I list it like that it seems a little crazy. Anyway, so when I saw this book at The Written Word, I had to read it with Amber. This graphic novel was just a blast. It's based on Peter Pan, but takes plenty of liberties with the story as you can imagine. Kermit is Peter Pan, selfish, but still cute. Miss Piggy is a bossy, karate master Piggytink, who is...
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Bayou Vol 1 by Jeremy Love

by Carol11 Comments
Bayou Vol 1 by Jeremy Love I don't read many graphic novels, but after seeing reading wonderful reviews I couldn't resist this one. The heroine of the story is Lee, a young black girl living in Mississippi in the 1930's. She lives with her father a sharecropper until the day when Lee's white playmate  disappears in the Bayou. Lee's father is accused and put in jail, and it's up to Lee to find Lily and prove her father's innocence. The horrors Lee has to face are real, racism, hatred, lynchings, but they're also mythical, magical. The monsters are real, some terrifying, some helpful. This is where, if I'm honest I kind of got lost in the swamp myself. Jeremy Love says in an interview that the story leaves the real world  and "we then move to the world of Dixie. Dixie is a strange Southern neverland that exists parallel to our own. The world was formed from the blood,...
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Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

by Carol5 Comments
Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi I don't read many graphic novels, but after seeing a few reviews of this one, I knew I had to pick it up. Sartrapi allows us to spend the afternoon with a group of nine Iranian women, relatives, neighbors and friends. We sit in on their discussions of the men they've known and loved, known and haven't loved, relationship choices they've made. Each story is told with humor, but the woman still deal with the reality of not truly having the freedom and independence that I take for granted. The women tell stories of escaping arranged marriages, of faking virginity, of loving men who are married to others. Their stories are touching, but for me even more important and universal was the support they gave each other. They didn't judge, they may have laughed at each other, but they were each still accepted and supported, no matter what decisions they made in life. The stories also show that women...
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Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willinghams

by Carol4 Comments
Fables Vol. 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham I don't read many comics or graphic novels, but this one was a blast. It takes place after "happily ever after." The famous folks of legends and fairy tales are living in exile in New York after being forced from their lands by and evil creature, the Adversary. The characters who can disguise themselves as normal mundane humans live in an exclusive apartment building; the ones who can't live on a farm in upstate. The trouble starts when Jack, of beanstalk fame, reports a crime. Rose Red is missing and probably dead, judging from the blood in her apartment. Snow White, the deputy mayor, and Bigby Wolf, the detective formerly known as the Big Bad Wolf, need to get to the bottom of the mystery. This was a fun read. We meet lots of familiar characters, but each is now dealing with real-world problems. Jack needs money; Prince Charming is a cad; Snow...
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