Librarians: Mimi Smartypants needs our Help!
Mimi Smartypants is my favorite blogger. I want to say more about her writing and why I enjoy it, but everything I type comes out like: “blarg! cliche! gush! gush!”
So, I’ll just skip that and mention that she recently asked for comic book recommendations for her daughter. This woman needs a librarian! We are compelled to help! Here’s a thumbnail reference interview:
- The little girl in question is Preschool age
- Ideally, avoid mainstream comics. You know, ones with TV tie-ins or superheros.
- She currently enjoys The Far Side, and Sam and Max
- Violence/weapons are to be avoided.
I took a crack at it. Let me know what you think in the comments, and I’ll ship the whole list off to her Miminess at the end of the week as a tribute of librarianly esteem.
These are comics I have personally read and recommend. I take full responsibility if you think they suck. I avoided the Bone series, despite the cute drawings because those Stupid Rat Creatures can be pretty scary. Stupid, stupid rat creatures.
Librarian Powers: Activate!
Clan Apis – A view of life as a honeybee but without looking like a Mark Trail comic strip. Hilariously written by an entomology grad student who is allergic to bees. Great for kids, fun for adults.
Pogo Possum – I learned to read with these cartoons. Which gave me a rather unusual grasp of the Queen’s English. Still, you don’t have to be old enough to read to appreciate the indelible Albert Alligator and Porkypine.
Castle Waiting – These are the sweetest stories ever. Great art, gentle tales with subtle feminist undertones. Sort of the anti-Optic Nerve.
Liberty Meadows – Frank Cho. Why not? Talking frogs are funny.
Ok, go ahead. You try.
Related posts:
- Cat and Girl Cat and Girl is possibly the smartest comic out there. Why aren’t you reading it right now? Plus, if...
- Procrastination fodder ot something important to do? Great! You can put it off indefinitely by following these handy links. Please Insert Your...
- Take my Comics…please I’ve started a library at work. My cataloging system is the whiteboard over my desk. My patrons are co-workers and...
- Librarians Rock on This American Life…sort of lobberingly-addictive radio program This American Life featured Michigan Libraries this weekend. I was painting the downstairs closet (braincell-killing homeowner goodness!)...
- Advantages to dating Librarians The webcomic xkcd has the goods on librarians this week: The Advantages to Dating Librarians It’s true. It’s so so...
December 7th, 2006 at 12:27 am
I would vote for Babymouse.
December 7th, 2006 at 8:40 am
Gargh, not Frank “Pointless Cheesecake” Cho!
My vote? Jeff Smith’s _Bone_.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:01 am
I vote for the Adventures of Tintin series by Herge. They’re classics!
December 7th, 2006 at 11:29 am
I vote for Owly by Andy Runton. Excellent for the age group with some moral lessons to boot.
http://www.andyrunton.com/
December 7th, 2006 at 4:52 pm
I second the Tintin vote. I also like Asterix: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterix
December 7th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
I second the vote for Asterix. Also Calvin and Hobbes, I loved them.
December 7th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
My little one really likes Jill Thompson’s Scary Godmother. It really helped with the monster in my closet problem.
December 7th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
the castle waiting looks great, but I’d debate the appropriateness for the age. it suggests 9th grade and up, and I’m wondering about subject matter for my 8 yr old, let alone a preschooler (I’m also debating buying it for my 8 yr old – perhaps I’ll try to melcat it and read it first). Of course, I don’t read her blog. if she’s not got a problem with it, it looks great.
clan apis is definitely something my daughter would have liked as a preschooler, and would probably like now. (in kindergarden every library book she brought home was a science book of some sort)
December 8th, 2006 at 2:57 am
Might be a little too old but anything of Calvin and Hobbes is funny! Parent or older sibling could explain if necessary but the pictures are great! (I think we all know this).
December 8th, 2006 at 11:50 am
Pogo Possum! I too learned to read with Pogo, and still love it. Who wouldn’t?! I agree with others who recommended Tintin and Calvin and Hobbes. They’ve been my daughter’s favorite for years.
December 9th, 2006 at 11:07 am
How about Big Fat Little Lit, an anthology of comics and games by both comics artists and children’s book illustrators? Review from Myles Smith, 10 year-old, here: http://www.washtimes.com/entertainment/20061110-090600-8466r.htm
December 9th, 2006 at 4:35 pm
I recommend PS238 by Aaron Williams. Young super heroes in a super hero school or, as he calls it, a “school for metaprodigy children.” Like “Sky High,” the Disney movie of a couple of years ago, except much better and the fact that he’s been drawing this a lot longer. I especially like his comic timing.
I’d recommend Nodwick on the same grounds, except for the “violence and weapons” clause.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:42 pm
Why not the ‘Archie’/Betty & Veronica comics series? They are still popular and still ’squeaky clean’, and even though they have been published for ages (60 years?), I don’t consider them ‘mainstream’.
Also, my son loves the collected Garfield books. He’s 11.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:43 pm
oh, and they aren’t comics, but the I-Spy series of books have pre-school editions, too. Great for building visual discernment skills.
December 12th, 2006 at 10:37 am
I am going to weigh in with Yotsuba&!
The series is about a four-year-old girl who doesn’t seem to know much about “Earthly things” and explores everything she can get her hands on. Series was panned by SLJ, but that is sometimes a good sign….
http://tinyurl.com/y3kzgu
December 15th, 2006 at 5:26 pm
I recommend Yotsuba&!, and Pinky and Stinky by James Kochalka. Cute astronaut piggies!
December 16th, 2006 at 1:38 pm
I was so intrigued by the website by Castle Waiting author Linda Medley that I checked the book out on Wednesday. Finished it Thursday, laughing like a loon. My daughter (12), hovered around, anxious to get her hands on the book. But I wanted to see if it was age-appropriate, and by golly it is. It’s very sweet, sometimes sad, always interesting. My daughter plowed through it by noon on Friday. Now we’re off to buy our own copy.
In other words, this is a great story!