Book Review: BIG NATE: A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED WEDGIE

Lincoln Peirce's continuing misadventures of middle schooler Nate Wright continue in BIG NATE: A GOOD OLD-FASHIONED WEDGIE.  In this collection, some of the storylines include Francis really annoying everyone with his strict adherence to grammar; Chad's grandma puts him on a strict diet;  Nate's grandpa comes to stay with him and his dad while grandma is on a senior bus trip; Nate's baseball team gets a new pitcher that turns out to be a girl he has a crush on; and Jenny moves back from Seattle and Nate sets his sights on gaining her affection, even though she immediately begins dating Artur. The "Big Nate" comics have gotten better over time and this is a nice collection of them. When purchased new, this book contains a "Big Nate" poster.

Graphic Novel Review: FOWL LANGUAGE: THE STRUGGLE IS REAL

FOWL LANGUAGE: THE STRUGGLE IS REAL is the second book collection of the comic strip "Fowl Language."  The strip examines the life of being a parent of two precocious children. However, the author does so by re-imagining his family as a family of ducks. The book begins with an introduction by the author. The inside back cover of the book features a short biography of the author. In between, are 120 pages (there's 126 total pages in the book, but the intro stuff is 6 pages long) of pure parental hilarity. This comic and the book are not intended for children as there are several foul words used throughout. I enjoyed reading FOWL LANGUAGE: THE STRUGGLE IS REAL and look forward to other "Fowl Language" books.

Children's Book Review: SAIL AWAY DRAGON

Girl and Dragon are best friends. They are so close that they even share the very same dream of sailing away to the "Far-est Far Away." So, Dragon comes to Girl and he becomes the SAIL AWAY DRAGON and her his crew and they sail through the oceans to reach the far-est far away, traveling for a year and a day. They have many adventures and make several new friends. SAIL AWAY DRAGON wasn't quite the story I was expecting it to be. It's not a bad story, but it's not as funny or adventurous as I thought it was going to be. Instead, the book is more like the same poetic dream that Girl and Dragon share: light and breezy.

Calendar Review: PEANUTS 2017-2018 MONTHLY/WEEKLY PLANNING CALENDAR

For the past several years I have been a diligent purchaser of the annual "Peanuts Weekly Planner Calendar."  Those calendars have been my weekly calendar and are what I have used to keep track of all the various duties, events, etc. that I have had to do and attend. This year, the "Peanuts Weekly Planner Calendar" has been completely revamped by the publisher and we now have the PEANUTS 2017-18 MONTHLY/WEEKLY PLANNING CALENDAR.

Gone is the horizontal look of the old "Peanuts Weekly Planner Calendar." The new format features a more traditional book look, typical of most weekly planners. The full colored comics, colored outlays, and slick paper are replaced with smaller, black and white comics, with a high quality paper, but without the glossy finish. Outside of black and white, the only color in the new PEANUS 2017-2018 MONTHLY/WEEKLY PLANNING CALENDAR is Charlie Brown yellow.

Initially, I wasn't for sure if I was going to like the changes made to the calendar. However, I really do like it now. The first several pages contain monthly postings for July 2017 – December 2018. This is followed by the actual weekly planner part of the calendar. Although they are smaller and in black and white, there is a comic for each week of the year.  The space given for each day of the week is about the same as it was in the old calendars.  At the end of the calendar there is a place for contacts and notes. The calendar also has an elastic/bungee place holder.

Overall, while the PEANUTS 2017-18 MONTHLY/WEEKLY PLANNING CALENDAR is a huge format change, I actually like the new design and intend to continue purchasing and using these calendars in the future.

Children's Book Review: TREES by Lemniscates

The narrator of TREES is a blackbird. The bird illustrates the good things that trees do.  The book also describes some of the places live and how trees communicate.

Calendar Review: STAR TREK 2018 POSTER CALENDAR: 50 ARTISTS. 50 YEARS

The STAR TREK 2018 POSTER CALENDAR: 50 ARTISTS. 50 YEARS. is a wall calendar that features 12 different Star Trek posters by 12 different artists. Each of the poster prints are detachable from the calendar and fit a 11" x 14" frame. This is definitely an old school Star Trek calendar as 9 out of the 12 months allude back to the original crew of the original Star Trek series. Two of the posters allude to "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the other remaining calendar (for June) is a mosaic of villains and enemies throughout the Star Trek canon from Klingons to the Borg (and yes, the Gorn is there, too!).  STAR TREK 2018 POSTER CALENDAR: 50 ARTISTS. 50 YEARS. is a nice item to own for any fan of the original Star Trek series who also appreciates visual art.