Benjamin Harper

The Frog Prince's Curse, first in a series of "Far Out Fairy Tales," is intended for young readers but this adult found it to be a fun read as well. The volume is slender, it takes but a moment to read, but it is a wonderful, magical tale about Swampelina, a bog witch, and her friends . The artwork and characters are delightful The story is a fun one about friendship and how one can't judge a person solely on outward appearance. Princess Swampelina likes creepy, crawlie things and cultivates many thorny, insect-eating plants in her swamp realm. She throws a birthday party and her vampire, skeleton, zombie and other friends attend. For a brief book, The Frog Prince's Curse is filled with many fun details and incidents.

I also really enjoyed the additional materials at the back of the book: a synopsis and brief history of the original Brothers Grimm "The Frog Prince" from 1812, a brief series of questions that asks readers to review the text and artwork to answer them, and a glossary of words. All elements intended to deepen and enrich a reader's experience.

The Frog Prince's Curse was sufficiently delightful that I intend to seek out the other "Far Out Fairy Tales" graphic novels.… (mere)

This is the fun sequel to Bug Girl. Although I didn't read the 1st book I was able to understand what was happening in this story, although it does reference what happened in the 1st book a few times.I believe kids will enjoy the story and be able to relate to the characters as well. About every 5 chapters or so there is a bug fact included.
Amanda and Emily are preteens, who in the 1st book begin getting bug superpowers. In this sequel there is strain in this duo's relationship, as Emily starts hanging out with a bully at school, and becomes obsessed with becoming popular. Besides all this, Amanda also has other things to deal with, such as, protecting the polluted lake in her town, and trying to figure out why some popular girls in school are disappearing.… (mere)

This was SO GOOD.

Now, I might be slightly biased seeing as how I am completely in love with all things Poe and "The Tell-Tale Heart" is my all time favorite story. Still, I feel like that makes me even more picky about how it's presented.

The art in this graphic novel is magnificent. Our narrator is so real looking, so harried and wild, that it makes his stance as an unreliable person all the more vivid. Each panel was excellent. The blue eye, oh that evil blue eye, was piercing in its color. Add in some wonderful panel placement choices, and you had a graphic novel that I flew through.

MORE! I want more. "Murders in the Rue Mourge" and "The Pit and the Pendulum" are the two others in this series that I haven't tackled yet. That will soon be remedied.… (mere)