Podcast appearances and mentions of Svetlana Chmakova

In this episode, Brenna tells listeners about the middle school graphic novel Brave by Svetlana Chmakova. In his daydreams, Jensen is the biggest hero that ever was, saving the world and his friends on a daily basis. But his middle school reality is VERY different — math is hard, getting along with friends is hard ... Even finding a partner for the class project is a big problem when you always get picked last. And the pressure's on even more once the school newspaper's dynamic duo, Jenny and Akilah, draw Jensen into the whirlwind of school news, social experiment projects, and behind-the-scenes club drama. Jensen's always played the middle school game one level at a time, but suddenly, someone's cranked up the difficulty setting. Will those daring daydreams of his finally work in his favour, or will he have to find real solutions to his real-life problems? Find this title in the FVRL collection: https://fvrl.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S21C1742606

Welcome to the Shelf Care Interview, an occasional conversation series where Booklist talks to book people. This Shelf Care Interview is sponsored by Yen Press. Svetlana Chmakova was born and raised in Russia until the age of 16 when her family immigrated to Canada. She quickly made a name for herself with works like DRAMACON, NIGHTSCHOOL, the manga adaptation of James Patterson's WITCH & WIZARD, and the web comic CHASING RAINBOWS. She graduated from Sheridan College with a three-year Classical Animation Diploma. The first book in the Berrybrook Middle School series, AWKWARD, has been a runaway critical success and was named one of YALSA's 2016 Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens.

Sweat and Soap on Kintetsu Yamadan toimistotyöntekijöistä kertova parisuhdesarja, joka kertoo heikon itsetunnon parantamisesta ja avoimen kommunikoimisen tärkeydestä. Ajankohtaisina aiheina puhumme uudesta omien sarjakuvien julkaisualustasta Manga Plus Creatorsista, Tokyopopin muinaisen Rising Stars of Manga -kisan henkiinherättämisestä sekä piirtäjästä, joka ei ollut myynyt ensimmäisessä Comiketissaan yhtään omakustannetta. Lukujonossa on tänä vuonna alkanut nouseva Jump-tulokas, rakugoteemainen Akane-banashi. --- Kommentoi | Twitter | Instagram --- - Anastasia-musikaali Tampereen Teatterissa - Don Bluthin Anastasia - Suoraan VHS-jakeluun tehty spinoff-leffa Bartok Suurenmoinen - Ei tämä Anastacia - Jakso 21, jossa puhuimme alkukuulumisissa Tampereen Teatterin Notre Damen kellonsoittaja -sovituksesta - Once upon a December (YouTube) - Journey to the Past (YouTube) - In the Dark of the Night (YouTube) - Joutsenlampi-kohtaus (Quartet at the Ballet) (YouTube) 13:54 – SWEAT AND SOAP: ESITTELY - Sweat and Soap - Sarjan julkaisuhistoria (kuva) - Päähenkilöiden hahmoprofiilit (kuva) - Kotaro tykkää haistella Asakoa (kuva) - Mysterious Girlfriend X 18:06 – SWEAT AND SOAP: SUKUPUOLINÄKÖKULMA - Manic Pixie Dream Girl -tropee - Jakso 27, jossa puhuimme sarjasta Everyone's Getting Married - Tässä sarjassa miehen tehtävä ei ole demonstroida miehekkyyttään kantamalla vastuu kaikesta ilman että asioista puhutaan yhdessä (kuva) - Kaoru Mori ja jakso 8, jossa puhuimme hänen sarjastaan Aron morsiamet - Asakon kurvikkuus on paljon esillä, mutta ei ällösti (kuva, NSFW) 24:24 – SWEAT AND SOAP: TEEMAT - Konfliktit selviävät puhumalla ja avoin kommunikointi on ratkaisu ongelmiin (kuva) - Ei mitään yllätyskosintoja (kuva) - Asakon koulukiusaamiskokemukset (kuva) - Traumaattinen uusi kohtaaminen kiusaajan kanssa… (kuva) - …saa Asakon sulkeutumaan uudestaan… (kuva) - …mikä uhkaa pitemmän päälle parisuhdetta (kuva) - Asako suhtautuu hikoiluunsa neuroottisesti (kuva) - Kaikki tajuavat heti, että Asakolla on treffit töiden jälkeen (kuva) - Kotaron kanto (kuva) 36:14 – SWEAT AND SOAP: PARISUHTEEN ETENEMINEN - Miksi muutatte yhteen ettekä suoraan mene naimisiin? (kuva) 42:18 – SWEAT AND SOAP: IHMISIÄ KAIKKI MUUTKIN OVAT - Asako ajattelee ensin, että Kotaro elää ihan eri maailmassa… (kuva) - …mutta myöhemmin selviää, että Kotaron työkaveri Ichisekin on ihaillut Asakoa (kuva) - Ensitapaaminen Asakon perheen kanssa on Asakon isälle ihan yhtä jännä paikka kuin Kotarolle (kuva) 45:08 – SWEAT AND SOAP: KOTARO - Kotaron aiemmat parisuhteet eivät ole kestäneet (kuva) 47:58 – SWEAT AND SOAP: YKSINUOTTISUUS 53:34 – SWEAT AND SOAP: SIVUHAHMOT - Asakon osastopäällikkö Okura, sarjan paras poika (kuva) - Floristigaijinjäbä aiheuttaa vähän konfliktia, vaikka onkin lopulta ihan hyvä tyyppi (kuva) - Juonitteleva asuntovälittäjä (kuva) - Tulisieluinen hääsuunnittelija näyttää Go Nagai -hahmolta (kuva) - Asakon entinen koulukaveri näyttää Titaanien sodan Ymiriltä (kuva) - Asakon isän yksinäisyys (kuva) - Kotaron äiti on sokea (kuva) 01:04:38 – SWEAT AND SOAP: KULTTUURIOPPEJA - Nana - Fly Me to the Moon - Jakso 16 ja jakso 69, joissa puhuimme Takane & Hanasta 01:08:33 – SWEAT AND SOAP: TAIDE - Veikeitä ilmeitä ja eleitä (kuva) - Mangakan ohjeita avustajille (kuva) - Kintetsu Yamadan Twitteristä löytyy timelapse-videoita digitaalisesta työskentelystä ja ulkomaalaisten julkaisujen ihmettelyä - Kintetsu Yamadan K-18-Twitter (ei erityisen tuhma) - Joskus näyttää siltä kuin nännit olisi pyyhitty pois jälkikäteen, ehkä? (kuva, NSFW) - Yllättävän komeaa liikkeenkuvausta (kuva) 01:14:41 – SWEAT AND SOAP: YHTEENVETO - Kintetsu Yamadan uudempi sarja Kasane to Subaru - Jakso 67, jossa puhuimme Genshikenistä 01:20:28 – MANGA PLUS CREATORS - Manga Plus - Manga Plus Creators - ANN:n uutinen Manga Plus Creators -alustasta - Horion Manga Plus Creators -alustalla - Sword Princess Amaltea - AIIOSWAND: The Witchery of Mana Manga Plus Creators -alustalla (ensimmäinen luku on nauhoittamisen jälkeen lisätty Creatorsiin, mutta kakkoslukua ei edelleen tämän jakson päivämääränä näytä löytyvän Creatorsista eikä Mangadexistä) - Manga Moguran twiitti siitä, miten Manga Plus Creatorsiin oltiin ladattu skanlaatioita 01:28:43 – RISING STARS OF MANGA - ANN:n artikkeli Rising Stars of Manga -kisan paluusta - Rising Stars of Manga Wikipediassa - ANN:n artikkeli TokyoPopin vanhasta Manga Pilot -sopimuksesta - The Beatin artikkeli TokyoPopin vanhasta Manga Pilot -sopimuksesta - Tammen Hokuto Manga -kilpailun voittajatyöt julkaistiin kahdessa pokkarissa - Mainittuja länsimaisia mangatyylisiä sarjoja: - Bizenghast - Divalicious - Peach Fuzz - Mark of the Succubus - The Dreaming - Dramacon (jonka tekijä Svetlana Chmakova tunnetaan nykyisin Berrybrook Middle School -sarjakuvasarjastaan) - Schmakovan Yen Pressille tekemä Nightschool - MBQ, jonka tekijä Felipe Smith teki sittemmin Peepo Choo -mangan Japanissa Kodansha-kustantajan Morning Two -lehteen - Goldfisch - Erica Friedmanin Twitter-ketju 01:44:21 – EKAA KERTAA COMIKETISSA - SoraNews 24 -sivuston artikkeli - Ryoumein twiitti - Jakso 67, jossa puhuimme Genshikenistä 01:49:53 – HAMPAANKOLOSSA - Jakso 72, jossa puhuimme ajankohtaisosiossa animesovitusten uskollisuudesta - Baccano! - The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya - Jakso 67, jossa puhuimme ajankohtaisosiossa mangan kääntäjien kreditoimisesta - My Love Mix-Up -sarjan kääntäjä Jan Cash kommentoi kääntäjien kreditoimista Twitterissä - Jakso 44, jossa puhuimme ajankohtaisosiossa siitä, miten My Hero Academian kääntäjä Caleb Cook kiusattiin ulos Twitteristä 01:58:09 – KUULIJAKOMMENTTI: KUOLEMANPELI-ISEKAI - Jakso 72, jossa puhuimme kuolemanpelisarjoista - My-Hime - The Weakest Contestant of All Space and Time - Isekai Death Game ni tensou sarete tsurai 01:59:38 – KUULIJAKOMMENTTI: CORNERED MOUSE - Jakso 71, jossa puhuimme: - pääaiheena sarjasta The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese ja sen jatko-osasta The Carp on the Chopping Block Jumps Twice, - ajankohtaisosiossa Japanin eniten myydyistä mangasarjoista vuonna 2021, ja - kuulijakommenttiosiossa jenkkinäkökulmasta esilläpitämisestä podcastin keskusteluissa 02:07:31 – KUULIJAKOMMENTTI: TOKYO REVENGERS - Runon Twitter-kommenttiketju - Jakso 64, jossa puhuimme sarjasta Poissa - Erased - Jakso 20, jossa puhuimme sarjasta The Case Study of Vanitas - Jakso 50, jossa puhuimme sarjasta Kuroshitsuji - Jakso 66, jossa puhuimme ajankohtaisosiossa Ranskan mangamarkkinasta vuonna 2021 02:11:05 – KUULIJAKOMMENTTI: JENKKINÄKÖKULMA JA SHOW NOTET - Anni K:n Twitter-kommenttiketju - Anni K:n Sandman-Muumi-fanartti, jonka Neil Gaiman retweettasi 02:15:17 – KUULIJAKOMMENTTEJA: HARRASTUSKUPLAT - Jakso 70, jossa puhuimme: - alussa suomalaisesta harrastusskenestä, ja - ajankohtaisosiossa siitä, miten ranskalainen mangakustantaja Kaze uudelleenbrändätään Crunchyrollin alle - Jarmon Twitter-kommenttiketju - Anni K:n Twitter-kommentti 02:28:46 – KUULIJAKOMMENTTI: CRUNCHYROLL JA MANGA - Marumujun Twitter-kommentti - Crunchyrollin tiedote kuluttajien mahdollisuudesta tilata keskeneräisten mangasarjojensa pokkareihinsa uudet Crunchyroll-brändin irtokannet (ranskaksi) - Kazen Twitter-ilmoitus siitä, että lukijoiden huoli on kuultu ja asiaa mietitään (ranskaksi) 02:36:49 – LUKUJONOSSA: AKANE-BANASHI - Akane-banashi Manga Plus -palvelussa - Klassinen rakugo-tarina Shinigami Kyotaro Yanagidan esittämänä (YouTube) - Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju - Act-Age ja jakso 32, jossa puhuimme sarjan lopettamisesta kesken ahdistelutapauksen vuoksi - Jakso 70, jossa puhuimme lukujonossa RuriDragonista - Suurin osa rakugo-tarinoista kertoo elämästä Edo-kaudella, ja piirrostyylin vaihtelu auttaa kuvittamaan sitä (kuva) - Akanen on opittava, että rakugo on yleisön miellyttämistä, joten yleisö pitää ottaa huomioon (kuva) - Kun tämä on opittu, Akane onnistuu esiintymään jo vanhuksillekin (kuva) - Jugemu on vaikea tarina kerrottavaksi, koska kaikki tietävät sen, eikä se ole erityisen hauska - mutta juuri siksi sillä naurattaminen on haaste (kuva) - Jugemun moderni, siistitty versio englanniksi esitettynä (YouTube) - Jakso 57, jossa puhuimme Blue Periodista 02:55:02 – LOPETUS

We're very excited about this weeks guest.  If you love graphic novels and manga, you'll remember TokyoPop and perhaps a comic by the name of Dramacon?  This week, the artist behind that title as well as Brave, Awkward, and now her newest young adult graphic novel, Enemies joins us!  It's Svetlana Chmakova!!  We talked about first conventions, being left outside a hotel waiting at 5:30am and the first time we met.

Books talked about in this episode: Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy If We Survive by Andrew Klavan One Piece by Eiichirō Oda Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Curtis Speechless by Adam P. Schmitt Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black by Marcus and Julian Sedgwick Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto Wonder by J. R. Palacio Deadline by Chris Crutcher Scream All Night by Derek Milman Dragon Ball Z by Akira Toriyama A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (female main protagonist with strong male protagonist) The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman A Silent Voice Volume 1 by Yoshitoki Oima Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (female main protagonist with strong male protagonist) When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson The Boy Who Steals Houses by C. G. Drews Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova  

A description of Awkward, from Kindle: "Cardinal rule #1 for surviving school: Don't get noticed by the mean kids.Cardinal rule #2 for surviving school: Seek out groups with similar interests and join them.On her first day at her new school, Penelope--Peppi--Torres reminds herself of these basics. But when she trips into a quiet boy in the hall, Jaime Thompson, she's already broken the first rule, and the mean kids start calling her the "nerder girlfriend." How does she handle this crisis? By shoving poor Jaime and running away! Falling back on rule two and surrounding herself with new friends in the art club, Peppi still can't help feeling ashamed about the way she treated Jaime. Things are already awkward enough between the two, but to make matters worse, he's a member of her own club's archrivals--the science club! And when the two clubs go to war, Peppi realizes that sometimes you have to break the rules to survive middle school!" Book 1 in a series! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this episode, we chat about changing our COVID-19 procedures and opening the library to more year groups. We also mention great books to suggest to year 8 & 9. We then go on to review what we have been reading: 'The Soup Movement' by Ben Davis (7.53), 'Crush' by Svetlana Chmakova (10.17), 'All your twisted secrets' by Diana Urban (11.43) and 'Foxes' by M.A Bennett (13.40). As always let us know your thoughts. You can find us on twitter @lounge_learning

“An American experience isn’t just a white experience. But so much media shows that only white people have a basic American experience while people of color have struggled, and that’s not all it is.” - Francina Simone Francina Simone believes in one thing: authenticity. She writes YA stories full of humor and hard life lessons with sprinkles of truth that make us all feel understood. Her craft focuses on stories about girls throwing caution to the wind to discover exactly who they are and what it means to love. Francina is also known for her BookTube channel, where she discusses controversial topics in books. Her brand new novel SMASH IT! is out now from Inkyard Press. Connect with Francina on her website, YouTube, or Instagram. Francina's book recommendations:  Heirs of Fate by Amara Luciano Awkward, Brave, and Crush by Svetlana Chmakova   Shop all our authors' books and book recommendations on our Bookshop.org page! -- Check out our Read. Resist. Vote. series featuring progressive woman candidates. We donate 5% of all our sales to a different feminist organization each month. Our November charity is Native Women's Wilderness. Get $5 off your Feminist Book Club Box with the code PODCAST at feministbookclub.com/shop. Our November book of the month is BRAIDING SWEETGRASS by Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer.   --   Website: http://www.feministbookclub.com Instagram: @feministbookclubbox Twitter: @fmnstbookclub Facebook: /feministbookclubbox Pinterest: feministbookclub Goodreads: Renee // Feminist Book Club Box and Podcast Email newsletter: http://bit.ly/FBCemailupdates Bookshop.org shop: Feminist Book Club Bookshop -- This podcast is produced on the native land of the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples.   Logo and web design by Shatterboxx  Editing support from Phalin Oliver Original music by @iam.onyxrose

This week, Courtney and Erin dive into two great graphic novels, The Daughters of Ys by M.T. Anderson and Jo Rioux and Brave by Svetlana Chmakova. They chat about library life, their favorite trick or treat spots from youth and things they liked and disliked in this week's reads. Please feel free to join the conversation, anytime, by emailing teentitletalk@gmail.com This podcast was created by Erin Robinson and Courtney Wason in association with the Derry Public Library, and is usually hosted and produced by Derry-CAM, Derry Community Access Media: Empowering Independent Voices. This episode, however, was done solo via Zoom, which explains the difference in audio. The theme, which you didn't hear today, was created and performed by Banded Starling. Did you enjoy this podcast? Don't forget to follow, rate and review to have our endless love and gratitude.

This week on J-Ya, Rachel presents Be Wary of the Silent Woods by Svetlana Chmakova, a graphic novel that tackles the woes of middle school in a particularly supernatural way. Borrow a print copy by going to www.chattlibrary.org (http://chattanooga.polarislibrary.com/polaris/search/title.aspx?ctx=1.1033.0.0.5&pos=1)

This week we will be pitting old against new and arguing about which is better, the new generation of realistic fiction graphic novels (think Raina Telgemeier, Svetlana Chmakova, Vera Brosgol), or more traditional superhero/superpower comics a la DC, Marvel and others. Our student panel of Angelina, Tove, and Ben will be joined this week by young adult graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese, Boxers/Saints, the Secret Coders series, the Avatar: the last airbender series, and more recently, Superman Smashes the Klan.

My podcast is about a book called Brave.

In this episode my guest is my daughter Katie Garrett. Katie and I talk about how to get your child to enjoy reading and what they should be reading. Katie has a degree in Elementary Education from Benedictine College. She has a master's degree in Literacy. She has taught 1st grade, 3rd grade and has been a reading specialist. She is currently the Librarian at a private Catholic grade and middle school. Reading List Authors for the littles (3 - 8yr): Mo Willems- Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Jon Klassen- This is not my Hat Drew Daywalt: The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors BJ Novak: The Book with no Pictures Patricia Polacco: Thank you Mr. Falker, The Keeping Quilt, etc Peter H. Reynolds: The Word Collector Books with no words to inspire the imagination: David Weisner: Tuesday or Flotsam Aaron Becker: Journey Jerry Pinkney: The Lion and the Mouse Authors for intermediate kids (8+): C.S. Lewis: Chronicles of Narnia Kwame Alexander: Sports (He also writes some young adult to check the age range) Derek Jeter: The Contract Sports Kate DiCamillo: Mercy Watson series Jeff Kinney: Diary of a Wimpy Kid (High-interest low-level read) Rachel Russell: Dork Diaries James Patterson: Dog Diaries, Max Einstien (A girl scientist), Treasure Hunters Chris Grabenstein: Escape for Mr. Limoncello's Library Nadia Hashimi: The Sky at our Feet Joan Bauer: Soar  Young Adult Authors (12+): Alan Gratz: Code of Honor Ruta Sepetys: Between Shades of Gray Jennifer Nielsen: False Prince trilogy, A Night Divided, Traitor's Game Ally Carter: Not if I Save You First or Gallagher Girls Rick Riordan: (for the mythology lovers) Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase (Norse), Kane Chronicles (Egyptian), Trials of Apollo (Greek) Victoria Aveyard: Red Queen series Suzanne Collins: Gregor the Overlander Gordon Korman: Restart, Ungifted, Schooled James Patterson: Middles School the Worst… Maximum Ride, I Funny April Henry: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die Graphic Novels: Great for struggling readers who still need some picture help to comprehend the story: Dog Man (1st grade+) Dav Pilkey The Babysitters Club Ann M Martin (4th grade +) Sisters, Smile, Guts Raina Telgemeier (4th grade+) Brave and awkward Svetlana Chmakova (5th grade+) Bone Jeff Smith (Young Adult) Non-Fiction stories: Courage and Defiance The Boys Who Challenged Hitler Code Word Courage Who was.../What was… series I am… series Remember it's ultimately up to you to determine what is appropriate for your child. Just because the CAN read it doesn't mean they SHOULD. Be prepared to have discussions and address any topics that are counter to the Catholic faith and moral teachings or use language that would be seriously frowned upon in today's world or in your home. Links for Articles on Harry Potter: Our Sunday Visitor: https://www.osvnews.com/2010/07/08/can-catholics-read-harry-potter/  Link for Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/homepage Share the podcast with your friends and family.  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on the show on iTunes. This will help create more awareness of the show. God Bless! The Regular Catholic Guy

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for educators, librarians, parents, and everyone who loves middle grade books!  My goal is to help you connect kids between 8-12 with fantastic reads because I believe that a book can change the trajectory of a child’s life.  And I want to help you introduce kids to those amazing, life-shaping books and bring you inspiring (and fun!) conversations with the authors and educators who make that magic happen. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two tween girls, a 5th grade teacher, and finally beginning my summer vacation!! Before we begin, I have a few quick announcements! First - a reminder that Monday nights are the #MGBookChat Twitter chats with some really amazing topics coming up this summer like STEM in Middle Grade, Inspiring Kids to Write, Grief in Middle Grade, and several Open Chats where you can bring your own topic to discuss. So if you are like me and have a tendency to forget those sort of things, set a reminder on your phone for Mondays at 9pm EST and check out #MGBookChat on Twitter. Second - I will be at NerdCampMI this July 8th & 9th - so if you are headed that way this summer, please please do say hi. And finally - I am really excited to tell you that I will be rejoining the All the Wonders team as their Podcast Network Developer to produce a new array of shows cultivating a wider variety of perspectives and stories in the world of children’s literature. First up is All the Wonders This Week -  a brief, topical show released every Tuesday where a guest and I will chat about all things wondrous and new in the world of children’s literature. So stay tuned for that this summer! But - no worries - Books Between isn’t going anywhere! This is episode #74 and today’s show features the Top 20 books that my students loved this year, a reflection on what went right and what went wrong for me this last school year, and a conversation with Rajani LaRocca - author of Midsummer’s Mayhem.   Top 20 Student Favorites Let’s start with the top 20 books that my 5th grade students loved and recommended this school year. Because it’s one thing for an adult to enjoy a book, but for it to really make an impact, it has to connect with its intended audience. There have been plenty of books that I loved, but for some reason didn’t seem to resonate with middle grade readers.  Honestly, I think THIS list is way more valuable than ANY list that any adult puts out.   I couple notes before we begin. My students have pretty much free choice to read what they want in class and for homework at night, but we did have two book clubs this year - one in the fall featuring immigrant and refugee experiences and then we just wrapped up our fantasy book clubs. So that context likely influenced what books they had most exposure to. Also - our four main read alouds this year were Home of the Brave, a non-fiction title called When Lunch Fights Back, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and The Thief of Always.  Only two of those made it into this Top 20.   And there are only six graphic novels on this list, which might surprise some adults who like to complain to me that “all kids read these days are those graphic novels”. (Can you hear my eyes rolling?)   I also want to be transparent about how I calculated this “Top 20”. So, at the end of the year, we did various wrap-up and reflection activities. In mid-June, I send out a quick survey one morning asking them for their top reads of the year. They also worked on an end-of-the-year reflection celebration slideshow and one slide was devoted to sharing their favorite books. Also, each student worked on a “Top 10 List” (or” Top 5 List” or whatever - an idea I got from Colby Sharp) listing their most highly recommended books of the year - recommended for their current class and to be shared with the incoming 5th graders. So… I tallied up each time a title was mentioned in any of those places. And here are the top 20 titles my 5th graders loved and recommended.   Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi This graphic novel is still a strong favorite with my fifth graders. Maybe slightly less so this year, but I think that’s because a LOT of them already read it in 4th grade.    Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Still going strong! Admittedly, not every mention was book one, but the series is a perennial favorite among my students and one that they love to reread in between other books.    Ghost by Jason Reynolds The Track Series has gained a lot of momentum this year - and mainly through word of mouth. It was one of our school’s ProjectLIT selections so there was some buzz around that, but only one of my students was able to make it to those meetings so the popularity of this title is due strictly to kids recommending it to other kids.    Escape from Aleppo by N. H. Senzai This title was one of the immigrant /refugee themed book club selections from the fall and even though just four kids read it in that club, it was quickly passed around after that. If you know children who enjoyed books like Refugee or Amal Unbound, Escape from Aleppo is a great next book to introduce them to next.   Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Every child that picked this book up and read it, ended up calling it a favorite.    The Books of Elsewhere by Jacqueline West This title was one of our Fantasy Book Club options and it really lends itself to fabulous discussions if you’re looking to round out that genre.   Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder I will admit - I was totally surprised this made the top 20. Not because I don’t like it - I LOVE this book, but I didn’t really witness it being read or talked about a lot past September or October. But clearly it made a lasting impact on those that did read it.   Dog Man by Dav Pilkey In the same vein as Diary of a Wimpy Kid, this series of books are the go-to rereads when a student isn’t sure what they want to read next. It’s one of those comfort reads that always winds up back in their book boxes.   Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol This graphic novel was passed from kid to kid this year with so many of them reading it multiple times.   Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin Which was a second shocker to me because this novel is a class read-aloud in 3rd grade. So all the love for this one came from students who remembered it fondly and reread it. Maybe because I happened to have a few copies in our room? Which reminds me to make sure to have those previous year’s titles available in our classroom library.   Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins Another one of our hot fantasy book club picks - this series is a winner. Year and after kids fall in love with the characters! And it will make you fall in love with a cockroach. That’s some powerful writing!   Smile by Raina Telgemeier Still…. after all these years. This book has that special spark.   Crush by Svetlana Chmakova  When this graphic novel came out in this past October, I bought one copy and immediately the kids grabbed a pen and paper and started their own waiting list.    The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix  The credit for this book’s popularity falls squarely to a book trailer that our school librarian showed our class. It got us all sooo hooked that I splurged a bit and bought three copies for our classroom. And it just took off from there. In fact, I haven’t even read the darn thing yet because I could never get my hands on a copy. And actually, I think it’s the only title on this list that I haven’t read.    Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson Because…. of course!  And actually, our classroom copy of this book didn’t even make it past March. The spine cracked and then the pages started falling apart, so I’ve got to get another copy for the fall. It was clearly well-loved.    Blended by Sharon Draper Whoa did this novel take my class by storm!  And it wasn’t part of a book club, it wasn’t a read aloud, it didn’t have a snazzy book trailer - it just really resonated with kids. And they just kept recommending it to each other.   Front Desk by Kelly Yang This was THE hot title this fall!  It was one of the choices for our immigrant/refugee book clubs but unlike some of the other titles, this one had a huge resurgence after the clubs ended with kids rereading and passing it along to their friends all through the year. It was constantly in someone’s book box.    The Unicorn Rescue Society by Adam Gidwitz & Hatem Aly This was another fantasy book club option. And I think, the popularity of this book is really due to the fact that it had a phenomenal book trailer that hooked kids with it’s humor. It was also a shorter book with lots of great illustrations so kids quickly finished it, passed it along and were on to the next in the series.    Okay - we are down to the top two. And not surprisingly, they are both class read alouds. It makes sense that the books every child read or listened to would be high on a list of class favorites. But as I said before, two of our read alouds didn’t make the cut so these two truly did connect with the class.   The Thief of Always by Clive Barker Oh my word is this book amazing!  And for many students - it’s their first foray into horror. The chapter illustrations are gruesome and disturbing and wonderful…. If you know kids that like scary books with that paranormal twist… who like something a little weird - this book is perfect!  And it makes a really great read aloud.   Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling I added this one as a read aloud this year since it was the 20th anniversary, and I honestly wasn’t sure if the kids were going to like it.  That first book does have a slow start, but it was by far their top rated read aloud and the title most frequently found on their favorites lists and their recommended lists.  Harry’s still got the magic.   Reflection   One of the most important aspects of our last few weeks together at school is time for student reflection and feedback for me and my own reflection on what went well this past year and… what did not.    First, let me share with you 5 things that stood out in my students’ final feedback survey. And yes, this is information from a particular class, but I think you’ll find something useful to take away from their responses as well. When asked what they liked most about class, the top responses were Flash-light Fridays (where we turned off all the lights and they got to read with flashlights anywhere in the room), the read alouds, all the Harry Potter activities (house sorting, trying Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, I sent them acceptance letters to Hogawarts, etc.), and doing the one-pagers. When asked what changes I should make for next year, they suggested more book clubs, students getting to vote on our read alouds, and… many of them said they don’t like sitting in groups. That they wanted to be spread out more and have their own space. (Which is interesting - because a couple years ago I came REALLY close to doing away with individual desks and switching to tables and mainly flexible seating options that have been very popular and whenever I have brought that up, my students have consistently told me - they like their own desk and their own space.) When asked “Did you read more or less than last year?”, 33% said a little more and 50% said a lot more. And only one child said that they read less this year.  When asked how I could be a better teacher, the most common responses were to give more reading time, read more books aloud, and a suggestion to ask kids to read even more each night. When asked what books we should have more of in our classroom library, they wanted more scary books, more books with magic, more books in a series, more poetry, and of course, more graphic novels.   So those were some big takeaways from the feedback from my students. And of course, as I reflect and revise and look for professional development opportunities over the summer, I pair their feedback with the things I saw going well and also things that did not. Here are some “wins” and some “fails” from this past year. A win - the book clubs centered around immigrant and refugee stories. Students learned a lot, had a new perspective on events they may see in the news, and bottom line - just really enjoyed those books.  Since many students requested more book clubs, I am considering adding another round or two - perhaps centered around neurodiversity and understanding ourselves and others.  A fail - not reading nearly enough poetry and nonfiction. So if I think about expanding book clubs, perhaps shifting a little to a poetry reading club or clubs that want to explore a particular nonfiction topic might be a way to go.  A win - read alouds kicked butt this year.  After three times reading aloud Thief of Always, I had the voices down, and I finally felt like I knew that story inside and out and could take them places this year that I never would have even realized the first time we read it together. That just reinforces to me how much can be gained be rereading a text multiple times.    A fail - not reading enough shorter texts - picture books and short stories. And also, every single one of our read alouds this year featured a male protagonist. And I am NOT letting that happen again next year. Or ANY year! Nooo way! A win - when a student told me she wanted to read books with gay, trans, and queer characters, within 3 minutes I was able to gather a huge stack from our classroom library to plop on her desk so she could find something that might appeal to her.  A fail - she didn’t know we had that many titles! I had book-talked many of them, but next year - maybe I’ll have a “Read with Pride” bin to rotate some of those titles in and out.  I want to be careful to not “other” those stories and separate all of them, but I do want students to be able to find them easily.  A win - students read far more diversely this year than any prior year. And I had many, many boys who without much reservation read Baby Sitter’s Club books, and books about girls getting their periods, and other novels with female protagonists that in year’s past might be met with push-back and laughter.  I am maybe seeing a possible cultural shift there. Maybe. I’m hoping.  A fail - not taking enough time to explicitly explore bias and structural racism, the impact of social norms and honestly - all the things that are tricky to talk about but that NEED to be talked about.  And that was better this year, but still not enough.   And I know this is not the work of a summer but the work of a whole career, a whole lifetime.    And as always, we are learning together so I’d really love to hear from you about any feedback you received from the children you work with, what your successes and misses were this past year, and what books your kids loved. You can connect with me on Twitter or Instagram - our handle is @books_between or email me at booksbetween@gmail.com and I’d love to share your ideas. Rajani LaRocca - Interview Outline   Joining me this week is debut author Rajani LaRocca! We chat about baking, Shakespeare, the novels that influenced her as a child, writing ideas for kids, her unparalleled skill at finding the perfect GIF, and  of course - her debut novel Midsummer’s Mayhem!   Take a listen.   Midsummer’s Mayhem   For our listeners who have not yet read Midsummer’s Mayhem - what is this story about?   You novel has so many elements that I love - a bit of mystery, a dash of earthy magic,  - it’s like The Great British Baking Show meets Shakespeare! And the recipes are so mouth-watering, so unique! Did you actually make all of the recipes in the book? Can we talk about Vik?!  I had no idea until the very end which way he was going to go. I love how you created this mystery surrounding him that was multi-sensory - not just visual, but musical, and the earthy scents of the forest….   Mimi is very inspired by Puffy Fay - her celebrity chef idol. Who is your celebrity writing idol?   A very important question - do you say “JIF” or “GIF”?   However you say it, you are the QUEEN of the Gif!!   Your Writing Life   You said recently, “Often when I sit down to write a chapter, something surprising happens, and things go in a completely different direction than I’d planned.”  What was one of those moments in Midsummer’s Mayhem?   My students and kids are always eager to hear writing advice from authors.  What’s a tip or trick that you’ve picked up along the way that has helped your writing?    What are you working on now?   Your Reading Life   You’ve mentioned before that the books you read as a child helped shape who you are today. What were some of those books?   What are some books that you’ve read lately that you’d recommend to our listeners?   Thank you!   Links:   Rajani’s website - https://www.rajanilarocca.com Rajani on Twitter - @rajanilarocca Rajani on Instagram - @rajanilarocca   Books and topics we chatted about: A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L’Engle) Meet the Austins (Madeleine L’Engle) The Arm of the Starfish (Madeleine L’Engle) The Westing Game (Ellen Raskin) The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis) Amar Chitra Katha graphic novels The Simple Art of Flying (Cory Leonardo) Seventh Grade vs the Galaxy (Joshua Levy) Caterpillar Summer (Gillian McDunn) Planet Earth Is Blue (Nicole Panteleakos Super Jake and the King of Chaos (Naomi Milliner) All of Me (Chris Baron)   Closing   Alright - that’s it for our show this week. If you have a question about how to connect middle grade readers to books they will love or an idea about a guest we should have or a topic we should cover, I would love to hear from you. You can email me at booksbetween@gmail.com or message me on Twitter/Instagram at the handle @Books_Between.   Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews and a full transcript of all the other parts of our show at MGBookVillage.org.  And, if you are liking the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher.   Talk with you soon!  Bye!  

In this episode we talk about Dramacon by Svetlana Chmakova

It turns out that comics are good for kids.    Dr. Katie Monnin is here to tell you that art and language belong together, more than ever. She’s spent her career creating books on both how and why incorporating new graphic novels enhance visual learning and writing skills in students. More than that-- she’s also worked hard with a community of teachers to develop resources so teaching with graphic novels feels attainable and accessible to anyone.   Tune in for an energizing interview with Katie, and walk away with a plethora of tips and resources to bring into your first graphic novel lesson.     Show Highlights:   Katie explains what Pop Culture Classroom is and what it does Why it’s important to let kids read graphic novels What students learn from graphic novels Kate shares a powerful story of how the 9/11 attack changed her perception of the need for graphic novels How graphic novels are different from traditional cartoons Tips for developing quality lessons plan for graphic novels Katie shares about panels, gutters, and balloons, and their place in the classroom How to find the balance of art and language in the study of graphic novels The graphic novel artists and publishers Katie recommends for teachers starting out A bit about the Denver Comic Con and why it’s worth attending Ways to get started teaching in your own classroom using graphic novels     Links Mentioned in the Show:   Pop Culture Classroom Email Katie: katie.monnin@popcultureclassroom.org  Find books by Katie Monnin Diamond Bookshelf Lesson Plans Toon Books Sara Varon As The Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman Lion Forge Books Brave by Svetlana Chmakova  Maus by Art Spiegelman Blankets by Craig Thompson Spill Zone by Alex Puvilland Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi Denver Comic Con 2018 Art Class Curator

Intro Hi everyone and welcome to Books Between - a podcast for teachers, parents, librarians, and anyone who wants to connect kids between 8-12 to books they will love. I’m your host, Corrina Allen - a mom of two and a teacher of 23. And last weekend, I had the huge pleasure of meeting and having lunch with Amy Skelding from the KidLit Drink Night Podcast! We had apple cider martinis and spent hours chatting about Parks & Rec and Harry Potter and Wegmans and everything we’ve been reading and everything we want to read. So if you haven’t yet had the chance to check out her show, Alan Gratz - the author of Refugee and Ban This Book, is her most recent guest and he is just phenomenal. So make sure you subscribe to Kid Lit Drink Night. This is Episode #37 and today I am welcoming author Orli Zuravicky to the show to chat about her paranormal middle grade series Happily Ever After, and then I am sharing with you three new books about the power and perils of friendship. Before we start today’s interview, I am excited to tell you that this month’s episodes are sponsored by WriteAbout.com - a writing community and digital platform that is perfect for classrooms.  And their school platform can connect every child in your school to build that community of writers. Write About for Schools makes it really easy for kids to read and respond to each other’s published writing.  So, if you or someone you know is looking for a way to bring your school together by celebrating student authors, definitely check out WriteAbout.com. And at the end of the show, I’ll share with you the fall themed creative writing that my students are writing about. Main Topic - A Conversation with Orli Zuravichy Today I am so happy to welcome Orli Zuravicky to the podcast. She is a senior editor at Scholastic and the author of several books including the recently published middle grade series Happily Ever Afterlife. Take a listen. Happily Ever After Series Your new middle grade series Happily Ever Afterlife was released last year and now has two new books coming out this fall. For those listening who aren’t familiar with the series, can you tell us a bit about it?   One of the reasons that I love paranormal stories is that phase of figuring out the rules of the world the story is set in. For example, there is no interaction between the ghost world and the previous world, once someone becomes a ghost, they stay that age forever…. How did you decide on the parameters of the afterlife in this book? With a book that is essentially about a middle school girl dying, it could have gone very dark. But it’s an upbeat and fun read. How did you strike that balance to avoid having the story be too morbid? What is next for Lucy and the others students at Limbo Central Middle School?   Scholastic So you work at Scholastic! What do you do there? What is your day like? So I follow you on Instagram - which I recommend everyone do - and I have a couple questions: What amazing polish do you have on your nails right now?   I notice you have a lot of Parks & Rec references on there - Who is your favorite character?   Your Writing Life You previously wrote a couple of board books.. What made you decide to try a paranormal middle grade? Right now my 5th graders have been working on writing narratives - personal narratives and stories. What is one piece of advice you would give them about how to make their stories come alive?   What are you working on now? Your Reading Life What were some of your favorite books as a child? What have you been reading lately that you’ve liked?   Thank You!   Episode Links: Orli Zurvicky’s website Books We Chatted About: Lyle, Lyle Crocodile by Bernard Waber Corduroy by Don Freeman Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans Eloise by Kay Thompson & Hilary Knight The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace Baby-Sitters Club Series Sweet Valley High Series Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood The Diary of Anne Frank Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds   Book Talk - Three Novels about the Power and Perils of Friendship In this section of the show, I share with you three books centered around a theme and discuss three things to love about each book. This week I am featuring three books about the power and perils of friendship. They are Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker by Shelley Johannes, Brave by Svetlana Chmakova, and Real Friends by Shannon Hale.   Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker   Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker is the first in a new series by debut author Shelley Johannes. It’s about a unique middle child who climbs out of every box imposed on her, loves the word WOW, and has a knack for seeing the positive possibilities in any situation.  Beatrice has big plans for her first day of 3rd grade, but…. those plans get derailed when her best friend Lenny shows up to school NOT wearing the black ninja outfit to match Beatrice’s AND with a new friend, Chloe. Suddenly, Lenny seems less interested in their top-secret playground mission and more interested in sparkly clothes and playing veterinarian with her cool new friend.  Here are three things to love about Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker: The playful language!  Johannes really gets the tone right here.  There’s light touches of rhyme and alliteration and it’s just fun to read!  Here’s a bit from the beginning to give you a taste:  “Beatrice Zinker always did her best thinking upside down. It worked like magic, and she never questioned it. It worked like poof. It worked like presto. It worked like shazam - on every problem, every pickle, and each and every jam.” The illustrations!  I just love the movement and the shapes and the orange tints throughout. There’s long-legged Beatrice suspending from trees, her strict triangular teacher, Mrs. Tamarack and cute wide-stanced Lenny. There are pictures on just about every page! Beatrice’s attitude!  When we first learn of her super secret spying mission, it’s not entirely clear what her plans are.  But, the way that plays out and how that ties in with the situation with the new girl, Chloe… I don’t want to say too much and spoil it for you, but…I love it! And I think you and your students will, too.   This book about an upside down zany girl who has a knack for seeing the upside in everything would be a great read aloud and perfect for kids in about grades 2-5.   Brave   Another new book touching on the themes of fraught friendships is Brave by Svetlana Chmakova. This graphic novel is set in the same universe at Chmakova’s debut middle grade graphic novel Awkward, but this novel focuses on the character Jensen. In his daydreams, Jensen is a swashbuckling hero with dreams of becoming an astronaut or saving his schoolmates from the zombie apocalypse! But, in real life, he’s having a tough time in middle school - math class is hard, his art club friends seem to be ditching him, and he’s being harassed by two boys at school. Here are three reasons to love Brave:   The diversity of characters! Throughout the pages there is a huge range of skin tones and hairstyles. One of the trio of friends who run the school newspaper, Akilah, wears a hijab. She is absolutely my favorite character aside from Jensen. (And I really hope she gets her own book someday!) She’s bold and wants to be a voice for justice. And she also handles her friend and vlog co-host, Jenny, very well. Jenny can be, umm… a little intense. I also love the diversity of body types all throughout. Our main guy, Jensen, is overweight and some of the bullies call him cruel names because of that. Or rather - I should say - because they’re jerks and the insults just reference that. And I love how the story is not about Jensen wanting to lose weight to attempt to fit in. And characters that you think are going to fill a stereotype surprise you! Like Jorge - Jensen’s partner in English class who at first glance, seems like a big jock who just wants to do a project on baseball. But the sports part is actually not what he wants to focus on! The depth in the minor characters in this book are really remarkable. How this book really sheds light on the fact that friends can be some of the biggest harassers! And I think the author does a deft job of helping readers reflect on bullying through the survey Jensen takes as part of the social studies project Jenny is working on called The Lizard Brain Culture in Middle School. In a very accessible way, it brings forth ideas like normalized behavior and in our society where cultural norms and gender norms and political norms are changing quickly, I think the reflecting that happens in this book is a good thing. The small thread in this book about the dress code. At one point, Felicity gets suspended for wearing a skirt deemed too short. So, the school is in an uproar and they put together a petition to get her back. Personally, I loved that several of the teachers were just as upset and used the opportunity to have their class discuss it and discuss the long history of controlling what women wear.   Brave  warms your heart, makes you laugh, and gets you thinking about what you want to see in the world. The call-backs to the first book, Awkward, are fun if you’ve read it, but kids absolutely don’t have to have read Awkward at all to enjoy this book. If you have a child who loves to draw or one who has trouble finding that group to fit into or a child who has been a target of bullies, Brave would be a perfect story to share with them. And - I just saw the other day that the third book will be out next fall. It features Jorge and is called Crush. Can’t wait for that one! Real Friends And finally - THE hot graphic novel read of this summer (the one that my daughter was up half the night reading with her flashlight) was the autobiographical novel Real Friends written by Shannon Hale with artwork by LeUyen Pham. This book tells the story of young elementary school Shannon as she struggles to break out of her middle child loneliness and make good friends at school and at home. This book is about the power of friendship - in both a positive and a negative way.  Here are three things to love about Real Friends: How Shannon Hale understands those seemingly small but socially HUGE details that happen in the lives of friends. Such as who sits next to who at lunch, who gets invited to whose house, the intentional but unseen by teachers jabs in gym class, the ranking, and the lying… ugh… After Shannon’s first Kindergarten friend Adrienne moves and then comes back, she gets attached to what’s called The Group - these popular girls lead by Jen and her friend Jennifer.  Adrienne is clearly IN, but Shannon is sometimes OUT.   How this book is not just about Shannon learning how to make good friends, but also about her learning how to BE a good friend. Early on after her first real friend Adrienne, moves away, she makes friends with Tammy. A girl that I think is in foster care and there’s hints about how challenging her life is. Tammy joins Shannon’s class and they become friends but Tammy is FAR more attached to Shannon while Shannon is still pining for Adrienne and is cold to her and makes her feel bad when they say good-bye for that last time. I appreciated that this book was honest with her own mistakes. And when I was finished reading, I wondered a lot about Tammy. The Wendy section. The final chapter is about Shannon’s older sister Wendy who can be amazing but who also has this incredible mean streak - hitting and scaring and forced tickling. Shannon feels like there’s this wild bear unleashed in their home that no one else sees. And that doesn’t exactly change but evolves in a way that I think a lot of children can relate to who have complicated relationships with their siblings. That piece of the story reminded me a lot of Swing It, Sunny so if you have fans of that book, this would be another great title to have them check out.   So if you are looking for some great new books to introduce to your readers that have the universal and timeless theme of friendship absolutely check out Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker, Brave, and Real Friends.   Closing Alright  - that wraps up our show this week. We have some great interviews and book talks coming up this fall on topics like the Anne of Green Gables graphic novel and the timeless appeal of The Baby-Sitters Club. And our Q&A section will be back next episode! Thank you so much for joining me this week. You can find an outline of interviews, and a transcript of all the other parts of this show along with all of our previous episodes at AlltheWonders.com.  And, if you like the show, please help others find us too by telling a friend, sharing on social media, or leaving a rating on iTunes or Stitcher. And thanks again to WriteAbout.com for supporting the podcast this month - when you visit their website you’ll find fantastic ideas to get your students excited about writing. Tomorrow I am surprising my students by bringing in 6 pumpkins - one for each group. Their goal - to write a story featuring that pumpkin. It could be spooky, it could be funny and it includes my students who don’t celebrate Halloween. We’ll have some special guest judges and the winner of each group gets to keep the pumpkin.   See you in two weeks!  Bye!

Comic creator Melissa McCommon drops in to talk about her webcomic "Epic Chaos", background, and creative process. About Melissa; Melissa McCommon is a California based artist with over 5 years of experience as a professional freelance illustrator and comic creator working on a number of projects for companies such as Scattered Comics, and more recently providing coloring assistance for the Eisner nominated graphic novel "Awkward" by Svetlana Chmakova. When not working on other peoples projects, Melissa can be found working on her own projects, such as her webcomic "Epic Chaos!" (relaunching in early 2017 at epicchaoswebcomic.com), and her Patreon only autobiographical series "Confessions of a Comic Artist". Besides her obsession with all things comics and art supplies, Melissa enjoys fruity teas, cats, and going to conventions.

The creator of Dramacon and Nightschool, Svetlana Chmakova, sits down with Patrick Delahanty at Bakuretsu Con 2009 to talk about non-fictional conventions. This is the video of the entire interview, part of which was seen in the December 2009 episode of the AnimeCons.com Podcast.

The creator of Dramacon and Nightschool, Svetlana Chmakova, sits down with Patrick Delahanty at Bakuretsu Con 2009 to talk about non-fictional conventions. This is the video of the entire interview, part of which was seen in the December 2009 episode of the AnimeCons.com Podcast.

The creator of Dramacon and Nightschool, Svetlana Chmakova, sits down with Patrick Delahanty at Bakuretsu Con 2009 to talk about non-fictional conventions. This is the video of the entire interview, part of which was seen in the December 2009 episode of the AnimeCons.com Podcast.

The creator of Dramacon and Nightschool, Svetlana Chmakova, sits down with Patrick Delahanty at Bakuretsu Con 2009 to talk about non-fictional conventions. This is the video of the entire interview, part of which was seen in the December 2009 episode of the AnimeCons.com Podcast.

Magazine review of the second part (The Korean and OEL titles) of the Yen Plus December 2008 issue. First up in this issue is an interview with Ryukishi07, the creator and author of Higurashi, and Karin Suzuragi, the artist of the Higurashi manga.   Now on to the reviews: Sarasah by Ruy Ryang, Chapter 5: Ari, (or should I say Ji-Hae) has finally found the ancestor of Seung-Hyu, and boy is he naked! No, don't worry, it's just because he's bathing in a pond. She looks away in embarrassment, and when she turns around, he's disappeared. She and Mita frantically begin to search for him in the nearby town without knowing his name or anything. Does she find him? Well, let's just say by the end of the chapter, Ari ends up in bed with him. I'm still really liking this series and all the mysteries that come with it, even though Ari dressed as a boy brings up all the cross dressing cliches you can think of. My Grade: B Pig Bride by Kookhwa Huh & Sujin Kim, Chapter 5:  Si-Joon's life becomes more complicated when his parents not only approve of his "marriage" to Mu-Yeon, but actively work to have them consummate it! The thing is that a priest has told them that if the couple doesn't get married Si-Joon could die within a year. His parents, not wishing him to come to any harm, have decided to move things along by allowing Mu-Yeon to move in... and even sleep in Si-Joon's room. We also get to see another side of Doe-Doe, Si-Joon's love interest, and you just be shocked to learn what she is really like. The art is beautiful and wispy and the laughs are good in this 5th chapter. Si-Joon reminds me a lot of Koushi from Sumomomo, Momomo because he appears to be fighting a losing fight against his destiny. Both characters are trying to escape the environment they are in, but you sense that their fates are inevitable. But the fight is what makes them funny. The clever twist of making Doe-Doe have an evil side also makes the title more interesting. My Grade: B+ Legend by Kara and Woo SooJung, Chapter 1: "The Thousand Year Old Legend": The Bulkirin is a creature that was summoned by a selfish king to fulfill a wish. Pretty soon, more and more people asked for wishes. In fact, so many asked that the Bulkirin went crazy and turned evil, destroying 50% of humanity. It took a hero brandishing the "seven blade sword" to bring the monster under control. The tale opens long ago with a young boy named No-Ah Joo confronting the man that kidnapped his sister, only to be asked about the seven blade sword which has been broken into pieces. Flash forward to modern times where a young 15-year-old girl named Eon-Gyo Sung has visions of the sword while she is daydreaming in class... Well, this preview chapter did its job. Color me intrigued. Reading this intro to the series got me interested and is definitely going to motivate me to buy the first volume. I do get the sneaking suspicion that it's gonna turn out to be in the Inuyasha mode though. I bet Eon is going to meet the reincarnation of the No-ah character and they're gonna travel around the country looking for the pieces of the sword, all the while being hounded by the guy that kidnapped No-ah's sister. The excellent art will probably make up for that though. My Grade: B One Fine Day by Sirial, Chapter 7: "Typhoon in a Tiny Teacup" No-Ah gets a letter in the mail stating that an old friend (enemy?) is coming by for a visit. Apparently it's a childhood friend whose magic has unpredictable and sometimes dangerous results. We find out that Mr. and Mrs Raspberry, the walking talking birds, were actually human at one time before the friend cursed them! No-Ah decides to take off before he gets there, leaving his "pets" behind to fend for themselves. Why is this title even being printed? It is so horrible and meaningless. Did Yen have to make some sort of backroom deal where they had to agree to print it. It is truly the worst Korean or Japanese title I have ever read. It did get a nano-bit better with the arrival of someone who might actually be bad to contrast with all the creampuff characters in the title. My Grade: D Night School by Svetlana Chmakova, Chapter 5: Sarah is acclimating herself a little better to her position as she negotiates a deal with Ronee, the unofficial school boss to get a Night School yearbook printed. Things aren't all good though, as Sarah is led down a magical staircase that might just wipe her from existence. This is the first chapter of Night School that has actually looked finished. There aren't too many open panels with character dissolves like earlier installments. Too many times Chmakova's work suffers from poor panel layout and laziness. She seems to be trying to experiment but the pages come out jumbled and messy. It seems like she is getting better though. As for the story, it's almost as cluttered and confusing as Jack Frost. You have all these characters and factions running around, but none of the mythology of the world has been set out. The effect of this that the "who", "what", "why" questions are currently unanswered. And then you have dumb froo froo, like vampire parents getting upset about the yearbook because their kids don't show up in photographs. Hopefully, the disappearance of Sarah makes this title better. My Grade: C+ Maximum Ride by James Patterson & Narae Lee, Chapter 5: Max is taken in by Ella and her mom. Ella is the kid she saved from gang members a couple of issues back, which got her shot. Fang and Nudge are still waiting for Max to catch up, not knowing that she is wounded and staying with Ella. They decide to go find her but are detoured when Nudge finds out her own mother may be nearby. Ok, this seems to be the most lackadaisical and incompetent rescue ever. Poor Angel. Who knows what horrible tortures she is going through back at the School? Well, actually, we do know, but her "family" doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get her back. Max gets shot helping a stranger. Fang and Nudge take a detour to look for Nudge's mom. It just doesn't seem like anyone is in any hurry. Angel will probably be dead or mutated even further by the time they reach her. It's pretty bad when you have to admit that a blind guy and a fart challenged kid have taken the most action in the series. My Grade: C+ Jack Frost by Jinho Ko, Chapter 5: "Genie and Hansen" While Jack Frost battles Blood Pirate Avid in a duel to the death, Noh-A (decapitated as usual) and Hansen have to take on Avid's "meals". His meals are the zombies that are produced by his bite. They only have two driving urges: to obey Avid's will and to eat human flesh! Hansen is going to have to take on a whole army of the undead, all the while juggling Noh-A's head. First up, the story sucks on this title. No idea what is going on STILL. But I can understand one thing. A dude battling for his life against hungry zombies! I get it-- dude with gun shooting undead. So since the story was brought down to dog level I could deal with it. Hopefully, some day Ko will throw us a bone. My Grade: B+