Summer Reading: Princess Candy: Tales of a Sugar Hero (graphic novel)

In the midst of a summer when most of the big kids' movies coming out are boy-centric - that is to say, boys lead and girls serve as sidekicks/decorations - Princess Candy: Tales of a Sugar Hero is a welcome reprieve for little girls who would like to see themselves as the hero for a change.

Halo Nightly receives a very special present from her late Aunt Pandora on her eleventh birthday: a box containing jar upon jar of...candy. Each jar is labeled with a Spanish word indicating a force of nature, and as Halo soon finds out, each also bestows upon her a very special superhero power! As Halo navigates through problems that arise at Midnight Elementary School throughout the four stories in Tales of a Sugar Hero, she meets up with superpowered meanies including the Marshmallow Mermaid and cheating teacher's pet Doozie Hiss. Can any resist the do-gooder powers of Princess Candy?

While there are some typical 'little girl' thrills in the book - candy! becoming a 'princess' superhero! crush on a school basketball player! candy! - this snappy comic brings readers into a girl-power world. All of the main characters, including the villains, are girls. And Halo's attitude towards herself is unthinkable - she likes herself just the way she is! (Even if she thinks of herself as 'nice and average.')When Grandma suggests taking Halo to a hair salon so that they can both get their 'hair done,' Nightly politely declines, telling Grandma, "I sort of like the way I am."

These kitschy stories include snappy, tongue-in-cheek humor (some of which only Mom or Dad might pick up on), clean, brightly-colored illustrations, and clearly defined characters. The stories could have used a little more development in places. Halo seems particularly unsurprised to hear from Grandma that a deceased Aunt has left her a birthday present, for instance. And she also makes an offhanded comment once about not having any friends at school. What's that about?  Basketball player Cody semes to like her just fine. I'm also a little curious to know why the candies are labeled in Spanish, since there doesn't seem to be any other tie to the language or culture in these stories. But overall the stories are humorous, colorful and entertaining - a fun read for summer or any old time.

This book is intended for children reading at a primary school reading level, though the interest level is probably for children a little older. I shared it with my daughter, who's entering first grade, and my son, entering third, and neither could get enough of it. They've both been through several of the stories more than once, and spend a lot of time enjoying the artwork as they read. We have a winner!

Publisher's info:

Title:		Tales of a Sugar Hero
Publisher:		Capstone
Imprint:		Stone Arch Books
Pub Date:		08/01/2011
ISBN:		9781434234582

Written by Michael Dahl and Scott Nickel
Illustrated by Jeff Crowther

Disclaimer: The publisher has provided me with a complimentary galley of this book for review purposes. My opinions are solely my own.

Summer Reading: Eating the Rainbow and Too Many Pears!

We are a reading family, and this summer the kids and I are absorbing new books as fast as we can for all of the summer reading programs we've joined! Last night's reads were both published by a company called Star Bright Books, and though the books are targeted for different age groups, all three kids had a ball reading both of them together.

It can be a challenge to get little ones to eat a variety of foods, or harder yet, try new ones, and Eating the Rainbow is here to help! This brightly-colored chunky board book features a variety of beautiful babies snacking on an even more varied selection of healthy foods including fruits, vegetables, grains and dairy products. Each two-page spread highlights foods of a particular color, encouraging little readers to identify both the colors and the foods pictured. Children are as excited to recognize common fare such as oranges and grapes as they are to learn new foods, like litchis, coconut or figs. The publisher suggests this book for the 0-2 age range, but three-year-old Franklin laughed each time the page was turned and he got to 'discover' the next color, and even the big kids enjoyed seeing photos of foods they'd never heard of before. The interesting, colorful and simply-presented content makes this beautiful book the kind Franklin will pick up and pore over in the car even when there's no one reading it to him. I especially appreciate a line on the back of the book reminding me to "Make sure your child sees you eating a rainbow of foods!" I feel inspired to head out to Ledgewood farms now and see if I can lay my hands on some litchis and maybe a guava! What's summertime for, if not to experiment a little?

Publisher information on the book:
EATING THE RAINBOW
ISBN 978-1-59572-174-7
20 pages, 5 3/4"x5 3/4", ages 0-2
Board Book, $6.95
Note: this title is available in English, French/English, Portuguese/English, Spanish, Spanish/English and Vietnamese/English

Our second book of the night, Too Many Pears! by Jackie French, is a lighthearted story about a friendly-looking but mischievous cow named Pamela, who might just eat all of the pears if Amy doesn't stop her! Though all of our kids enjoyed the story (advertised for the 3-7 year old crowd), our six-year-old daughter laughed out loud at the funny illustrations, the myriad ways Pamela finds to nibble on pears, and also at the surprising appearance of a wombat in the story (have we ever seen a wombat in a story before??) There might even be a little lesson about eating too much in here...maybe! An enjoyable summer read, and a perfectly respectable inclusion on the well-read child's summer reading log!

Publisher information on the book:
TOO MANY PEARS!
by Jackie French
illustrated by Bruce Whatley
ISBN 978-1-932065-47-3
32 pages, 10 1/4"x9 1/8", ages 3-7
Hardback, $16.95; paperback available

This title is available in English, Japanese/English, Portuguese/English, Spanish/English