Book Review: UNICORN ON A ROLL by Dana Simpson

UNICORN ON A ROLL is the second collection of "Phoebe and Her Unicorn" comics. The adventures that began when a unicorn, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils, befriended the young human girl, Phoebe, continue. This comic is a traditional old-school comic full of wit, intelligence, and heart. While there are unicorns, the characters are well-developed and not just comic caricatures. Some of the big stories in this collection include Phoebe having to write Valentines, Phoebe being invited to a unicorn birthday party, and Phoebe being cast in the lead of her school play. I enjoy the "Phoebe and Her Unicorn" comics and look forward to reading more of Phoebe and Marigold's adventures together.

Book Review: 99 STORMTROOPERS JOIN THE EMPIRE

99 STORMTROOPERS JOIN THE EMPIRE is a book that combines the "counting" rhymes of "Ten Little Indians" with Star Wars. In this book, 99 Stormtroopers join the Empire and they are all eventually killed until there is only one left who is given a very cushy assignment. The book references all of the Star Wars movies (at the time of the book's printing) from the original "Star Wars" to the prequel movies to "The Force Awakens" and "Rogue One." Personally, I think my favorite of the deaths are the 36 who were sent to Alderaan. 99 STORMTROOPERS JOIN THE EMPIRE makes a great gift book for any Star Wars fan.

Calendar Review: HAMILTON 2018 WALL CALENDAR

The HAMILTON 2018 WALL CALENDAR features images from the show of the cast with lyrics from some of the songs. On the actual calendar part of the calendar, dates that are somewhat connected to the events featured in the musical. For instance, Hamilton's birthday and the death of George Washington. It should be noted that not all of the images featured on the back cover of the calendar are the images actually in the calendar. I don't know why, but instead of featuring the original cast members, the calendar features actors in different productions who have played the different roles. For those who are strict fans of the original Broadway show, this is an issue. However, for those who have seen the show at a different locale and just enjoy the music of the show, this probably isn’t as big a deal. However, it really is false advertising.

Calendar Review: THE PEANUTS 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR

The PEANUTS 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR features a Peanuts comic strip for each day of the week of the year, except Saturdays and Sundays which are featured on one page. Besides the Peanuts comic strip, the PEANUTS 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR also features a little piece of trivia, riddle, or joke on the back of each page. There's also a small illustration of either one of the Peanuts gang in the bottom-left-hand corner of the calendar. Even with the comic strip, illustration, and the date there's more than enough space to right appointments, reminders, or notes. Great gift for a Peanuts fan.

Calendar Review: THE ARGYLE SWEATER 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR

More lighthearted and pop-cultured infused than Gary Larson's "The Far Side", "The Argyle Sweater" is one of my favorite one-panel comic strips currently published in newspapers. With THE ARGYLE SWEATER 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR I can enjoy a little of "The Argyle Sweater" each day without having to have a newspaper around or search around the Internet. There are a little over 300 comics found here (Saturdays and Sundays only have one comic between the two days). Also, there's a little fun fact, piece of advice, word puzzle, soduko, etc. found on the back of each calendar day.

Calendar Review: SPORCLE 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR

Until last year, I was unaware of Sporcle. For those who are like I was, Sporcle is an online trivia website. The site is mainly devoted to all kinds of trivia quizzes. The

SPORCLE 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR is a smaller and printed version of many of the quizzes you might find on Sporcle. There's a variety of challenges from word unscrambles (which often show up on Mondays), a list of naming four-letter words for a particular category (these usually show up on Wednesdays), matching games, choose the right answer game, listing all of the particular items in a certain category (for instance, can you name the seven states that only have one representative in the U.S. House of Representatives), and the Friday Challenge which is a general trivia question. I really enjoy trivia and participating in trivia nights. With that said, the SPORCLE 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR really isn't like classical trivia and at times some of the games really aren't trivia (for instance, some of the word unscrambles or choose the correct word). It is different and kind of entertaining, so I understand the appeal, but personally I prefer the JEOPARDY 2018 DAY-TO-DAY CALENDAR or the 2018 TRIVIAL PURSUIT: MASTER EDITION CALENDAR.