Michael TownsendRecensioni

EducatingParents.org rating: Under Review

This graphic novel explains in a clear yet engaging way the history behind the United States role of President, the role of the President in the government, how they are elected, information about the white house, etc. I would use this book in a 5th grade classroom setting or a 6-7th grade setting. I think it would be an awesome choice within a classroom library, and although I would not use this book as a daily read aloud, I think portioning up the book into the various topics and chapters can support different units when studying the United States government and its' history.

I know this is a kid’s book. That being said, when I saw President Lincoln being carried by a stork, I knew I had to read it (you can judge a book by its cover!). And it certainly lived up to that cover. Equal parts informative and humorous, this is the perfect book to trick your kid into learning. Or, if your education has failed you, as mine has (on the government front), it’s a good refresher on all that you should have learned way back in high school. Granted, this book focuses on the president, but it does give an overview of the creation of the United States government, the three branches (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial), the voting system, and so much more! (the book likes to present itself as a nonsensical book filled with random presidential facts, and while all of that is true, it is also filled with useful and important information *gasp*).

One caveat. The book can treat sensitive topics rather crassly. Basically the only topic Michael Townsend can take seriously is the threat of a nuclear war. Townsend (author extraordinaire) finds humor in topics that some might find offensive. The crassest part – in my own personal opinion – was when he made light of American Revolutionaries freezing and starving (“I can’t feel my legs” (50) being a literal line from the book).

Besides the PC blunders, this book is an entertaining refresher on the basic government that we should all know (and I hope I’m not the only one who doesn’t).

(Note: Although I am referring to this as a book, it is technically a graphic novel. DEAL WITH IT)

A lot of publishers are jumping onto the "easy readers in comic format" with varying degrees of success. I've been skeptical about some of them, but they've turned out to be quite popular, and even more important, I've been finding parents slowly starting to be more willing to let their kids read them, so I'm looking for more in this genre.

This is from a new series, Jump-Into-Chapters that I thought I'd take a look at. The main character, Mr. Ball, is...a ball. He rather reminds me of the Mr. Happy etc. characters. In the introduction, we meet Mr. Ball and his cat, Ms. Kitty Cow, who goes crazy when she eats hot dogs. In the first chapter (part 1) Mr. Ball and his friends go to a circus and love it so much they decide to have their own circus - and Mr. Ball volunteers to tame a wild and scary animal! In part 2, he is trying to decide upon a big, fierce animal. His friends tell stories to dissuade him, but he chooses to take a Giant, Fire-Breathing Tweety Blob! The next two chapters involve Mr. Ball's attempts to tame and capture a Tweety Blob, his ignominious failure, and his friends' rescue. He thanks them all and decides to tame Ms. Kitty Cow to start with. A brief epilogue hints at more adventures of Mr. Ball to come.

The art has a light, cartoon touch. There are squiggly arrows showing where to begin each chapter and the movements and speech bubbles are large and exaggerated, helping beginning readers follow the story in both words and pictures. Lots of visual cues keep readers abreast of the story. The book itself is a slightly oversized, hardcover easy reader shape. It will stand out on the shelf, being a little larger and thicker, but not too noticeably.

Verdict: This was personally a little too silly for my tastes, but kids will gobble it up. It will be especially attractive to struggling readers who want a little more humor and action but aren't quite ready for chapters yet. A fun and popular addition to any easy reader section.

ISBN: 9781609054588; Published 2014 by Blue Apple Books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium

Cute indeed but a bit too cute for me.

This book is about what the President and the congress do. I think this book is very unique because the author used comic book style to tell readers about the history of the Presidents. Instead of boring textbook style, the author used silly kids who want to become Presidents when they grow up, but don’t know what Presidents do. I think the author chose to write this book in comic style is because he wanted kids to enjoy reading history books. I would rate this book 7 out of 10.½

longish story, good one to read and talk about ...

An incredibly corny and sweet read about welcoming new, and possibly cuter, members to the family. The artwork and layout bring to mind a comic strip; but, the flow still qualifies as a picture book.

A little girl gets a dog one year for her birthday, and they are inseparable. Then she gets a kitten the next year. Dog thinks he is no longer important. On the third year, and at the end of the book, she gets an octopus.½

Hilarious take on 9 Greek myths in a graphic, comic-like style. Nice introduction which will be a good beginning for those younger readers new to the genre. Very colorful and detailed in an easy to follow format. Adults will appreciate the humor as well.

Zany, colorful entertainment.

The goofy approach is bit much for my taste but Townsend packs lots of great information in this book along with the silliness.

Many reviewers say this book is especially good for boys. Let's take a look at what is "good for boys":

Sisters are only concerned with shopping, clothes, looking and smelling pretty; always ridiculing Kit (male), calling him names, etc. Mother and (female) teacher always punishing Kit. When Kit gets in trouble in class, the school principal (male) decides not to punish him, encourages him instead to draw, and teaches Kit an important life lesson. Dad buys new pet fish when Kit and Arnold (friend) kill one belonging to sisters, thus saving the boys from sisters' wrath; mom grounds Kit and Arnold for a week. Dad negotiates with Arnold's parents and drives Arnold home when he tries to run away; mom screams at Kit and threatens him with jail. Mom and sisters drawn to look exactly the same. Dad, Kit and Arnold drawn with different features. All female characters drawn angry, screaming, with huge mouths full of sharp, pointed teeth. Kit draws sisters as monsters. Kit cooperates with token school bully (male) to make him a better comedian, thus the school bully ceases to bully and all boys become friends. All males have personality traits, interests, talents, hobbies, activities. Sisters never make friends or do anything except walk around in pairs, either picking on Kit, or complimenting each other and their mother, whose only activities are shopping and cooking for family. There are no other girls in story. Mom calls sisters her "lovely smelling babies", sisters call her their "beautiful mommy". One sister is quoted as saying, "Beautiful girls are never lonely".

These are the kinds of things that teach boys and girls how to be boys and girls, how they appear to others, and what they can be when they grow up. And this is just one 100-pg example of why girls grow up with poor self-image, overly concerned with superficial aspects of themselves and others, while boys grow up with individuality, belief in their ability to impact their universe, encouraged to be cooperative with and supportive of other males, but sexist and hostile toward girls and women, whose only function is to look nice for the purpose of finding companionship so that they may someday have, feed, and school children (even though they are scary, dominating and mean toward boys).

An aside: boys identify with monkeys, who chase after large bananas. Huh.

I am disturbed reviewers are recommending this for K-3. Call me old-fashioned, but in this house, we did alright with A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, and Dr. Seuss. Nothing in this book is "good for boys" or girls, because boys and girls grow up to be men and women-- and I'd rather men and women get along with each other.

Z loved this . . . thought it was hilarious and goofy. I'd emphasize goofy, but we've definitely done the "serious" Greek myth books ad infinitum so goofy is good.

I have never read a greek myth like this before, it was surprising to me that something like persephone being taken to the underworld could be turned into something humerous. Michael puts a fun twist to the myths most of us have been told many times over, and makes it into something that children can find enjoyment from. I really liked this and would love to have a part of my classroom some day.

This is a very entertaining read of children of all ages. Although the ancient Greek myths have some unpleasant events, most of the worst occurrences are softened or “censored”. For example, even though Pyramus and Thisbe die at the end of their story, the focus is on their love continuing even after death, and they are even portrayed as kissing after being placed together in an urn. Also, the main character from each myth reappears at the end of the book with some advice from the reader, giving us the impression that even those who died at the end of their story still live on, in a sense. Despite some modernizing and changing a few details for humorous effect, the main plot of each myth remains true to the ancient tale. Recurring motifs of “stupid sheep” who can talk and cute bunnies help connect the nine different myths contained in this book, as well as adding humor. The author begins with an amusing explanation of what life was like in ancient Greece and the characteristics of the gods, then launches right into the myths. He introduces us to the characters at the beginning of each story, as if we are reading the script for a play instead of a story. Bright, vivid pictures support the fast-paced, entertaining dialogue, and the story moves along quickly. It is fun to look at the pictures to see what entertaining things the sheep are doing and whether any cute bunnies can be spotted. Human characters are drawn rather simplistically, but the focus is more on the action and dialogue than on the characteristics of the people and gods, so this works perfectly. This book would be a great introduction to Greek myths for students of any age, and a fun addition to a classroom library for elementary school or middle school. Even early readers can follow along well with the storyline by looking at the pictures.

Bright colors, funny humor, and authentic retellings combine to make this book great. One of the best graphic novels I have viewed yet. Great for teaching about greek myths. This graphic novel can make learning fun and exciting.

It tells the story on how ancient Greece lived, it touches the topics of time, being immortal, Gods, sculpture, relationship, and of course heroes. It's a fun book with a nice introduction.

This book provides the reader with a unique and fun collection of the Greek Myths. It allows the readers to read Greek myths but in a manner that is fun and engaging to them. The illustrations are fun and bright, while still showing some of the culture. The intro to the book gives some history on what it was like back then and who the Greek gods and goddess were. The stories will interest kids while also teaching them the myths. These stories are fun for read alouds with using different voices and is also great for students to explore the stories on their own during independent reading time.

This book is an excellent way to introduce the old Greek myths to children. They get the essence of the traditional myth wrapped up in a fun, relatable, and childlike package.

This book is amazing!!! I have not had the chance to read much of Michael Townsend but I am a believer now. His funny illustrations and dialogue about Greek myths are hilarious!! Each frame is carefully constructed and colorful, and his story telling is just great!

Appropriate grade levels for this book would be 2nd through 6th. This book hasn't received any awards. This book is showcases the wonderous and blunderous antics of gods and mortals. This book is a great, humorous twist of Greek Mythology and adventures. Uses in the classroom for this book would be to teach students the most famous stories of Greek Mythology. We could put on a play in the classroom that will further educate students on Greek Mythology.

This funny comic shows Billy's attempt to spice up picture day at his school. This book would be appropriate for children in grades 1-3. The central issues addressed are individuality and creativity. I would use this book to exemplify thinking outside the box (after picture day).

I enjoyed reading this book. It was quick and humorous. The author adds a bit of his own humor with bunnies being perceived as evil, even though they’re not in the sub-story. I’ve shared this book with a few other people, who’ve also enjoyed it.

This book has a silly way of relating some popular ancient Greek myths in a manner that attracts children through its graphic novel illustrations and eases the scary factor of some of the myths.