Skip to main content

The Cardboard Kingdom

Image
By


The Cardboard Kingdom 
By Chad Sell
Alfred A. Knopf, 2018. Graphic Novel 281 p.

When summer rolls around and kids say they are board, they can learn from the various characters in this book. Each kid has a different persona that they take on in an epic summer-long adventure in the Cardboard Kingdom (basically their imagination personified in costumes, buildings, and props that they built with cardboard). The thing I especially like about this book is that it isn’t just about their imaginative personas—there are bits about the kids’ real lives as well. For example, the Gargoyle also has a mom and a dad that are arguing and the dad is moving out. The Big Banshee has a Meemaw who doesn’t like how her granddaughter is loud and full of too much energy. The Mad Scientist wants to please her father. The Robot and the Bully (who is not raised by a parent rather by his Nanna) aren’t as good at making friends. Basically, there are a lot of bits that go into the kids and their home lives that play into how they create their imaginative world. Also, there are all sorts of different types of kids—without a load of attention drawn to that. The Mad Scientist responds to her dad when he speaks Spanish—and it feels like a normal part of the story (not a “hey look, we just included a bit in a foreign language” type of moment). Many of the kids are all different types of ethnicities and some give a nod to the LGBTQ diversity as well; however, it isn’t a forced moment. The stories are just a collection of what feels like a real-world type of setting with a cool group of kids. And after someone reads this book they just might want to go out and create a new world all their own.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

By Anonymous
There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 2008

By Anonymous
J Fiction 328 pages I almost didn't finish this book. I got to Chapter 4, and was just about ready to quit (a kind of slow story about a girl, name of Piper McCloud, who discovers she can fly, parents freak out, she becomes a social outcast, yadda, yadda) but suddenly, right there in Chapter 4, the story takes a sharp turn and becomes really interesting . Piper finds herself in the company of others like her, but not "fliers", and under the care and authority of Dr. Hellion. I won't even tell you any more. Read this book. Forester does a great job of keeping you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad? Piper is a likeable, strong, endearing character that girl readers will enjoy. But don't NOT give it to boys! The main male character is an extremely intelligent young man who is one of the ones you wonder about . . . good or bad? This is a good one, well worth your time.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Super Boba Cafe

By
Super Boba Café By Nidhi Chanani New York: Amulet Books, 2023. Comics. 215 pages. 14-year-old Aria is excited to spend her summer in San Francisco getting quality time with her Nainai. She loves helping at her grandmother's Super Boba Café. But she can't help but notice that her grandmother is acting strange and secretive. She refuses to let Aria into the kitchen at all and she disappears at the same time each night without telling Aria where she goes. Meanwhile, Aria is eager to drum up more business for Super Boba Café. She gets a major windfall when the shop cat, Bao, surprises them by having kittens, and Aria realizes this is a major social media opportunity. She knows this will help Nainai's shop, but she is apprehensive to get back on social media after a terrible cyberbullying experience she had back home. As the shop starts to get busier, Nainai is more and more anxious about her secret project. This prompts Aria to investigate with help from her Nainai's neighb...
Post a Comment
Read more