Allusion – Unleashing Readers

Jeffrey Ebler’s I Like to Read Comics: Wait a Minotaur, I’m Ogre It, Kraken Me Up, & A Giant Mess

February 18, 2025 by Kellee

Wait a Minotaur
Published December 17th, 2024 by Holiday House

I’m Ogre It
Published October 11th, 2022 by Holiday House

Kraken Me Up
Published September 7th, 2021 by Holiday House

A Giant Mess
Published April 6th, 2021 by Holiday House

Author & Illustrator: Jeffrey Ebbeler

Summary: Comics-lovers can now share the fun with their kids, students, siblings, and younger friends who are learning to read!

I Like to Read® Comics are perfect for kids who are challenged by or unengaged in reading, kids who love art, and the growing number of young comics fans. Filled with eye-catching art, humor, and terrific stories, these comics provide unique reading experiences for growing minds.

Like their award-winning I Like to Read® counterpart, I Like to Read® Comics are created by celebrated artists and support reading comprehension to transform children into lifelong readers.

Wait a Minotaur: When his new school hallways start to feel like a labyrinth, how will Gus the minotaur and his human pal Nick stay calm and find their way to the correct classroom? Find out in this action-packed early reader from comics artist Jeffrey Ebbeler.

It’s Nick’s first day at a new school! As he walks in, he meets an easily excitable and impatient minotaur named Gus. It’s Gus’ first day, too—so he grabs Nick’s hand and charges straight into the building. There’s so much to see and do! They dance along with band practice, bounce around the school gym, end up in the boiler room, and. . . okay. They’re lost.

They may not know where to go, but they know what to wait a minute, calm down, and retrace their steps so they can find their classroom. Young comics readers are sure to resonate with comics illustrator Jeffrey Ebbeler’s hilarious, slapstick take on a common coming-of-age experience—and parents will love the subtle lessons of patience and critical thinking.

I’m Ogre It: An ogre turns out to be the best neighbor ever in this punny easy reader comic.

A family gets a surprise when a fun-loving ogre moves in next door and helps a sister bond with her screen-obsessed brother.

Ollie is so absorbed in the video game Smash Tower that he doesn’t notice that his sister and an ogre named Tim have emptied his room and constructed an obstacle course that mirrors the levels of the game in the yard. But a tell-tale red string leads him to the challenges. This comic is perfect for reintroducing kids to the fun of in-person play.

Kraken Me Up: Izzie and her unusual pet make a big splash at the county fair in this punny easy reader comic from a beloved children’s book illustrator and comics artist.

Izzie can’t wait to debut her pet at the county fair. While the other children have brought pigs or chickens, Izzie brought a…Kraken!

Even though everyone thinks Kraken is big and frightening, he is not. He’s like Izzie, sweet and shy. Kraken and Izzie use creativity and humor to win over the crowd in this hilariously adorable comic. The variety of panel styles, speech bubbles, and fonts are all perfect for engaging developing readers.

A Giant Mess: A gigantic tyrannical toddler is out to play . . . with the whole town! A hilarious early reader from comics artist Jeffrey Ebbeler.

Molly doesn’t want to clean her room; she wants to play. Before Molly can argue with her mom, they hear BOOM! BOOM! A giant toddler is on the loose!

Molly watches dumbfounded as Jack picks up cows and plucks airplanes out of the sky all for fun. He even picks up Molly and pretends to fly her around. Vroooom! When his giantess mother calls him home, he gleefully dumps everything and turns to leave. Now it’s Molly’s turn to “Stop! This is a giant mess!”

About the Author: JEFFREY EBBELER is a New York Times best selling illustrator. He has illustrated and occasionally written over 60 books for young readers. His published work includes picture books, middle grade and chapter books, and graphic novels.

Review: These I Like to Read® Comics are must gets for so many reasons!

First, they are such a great introduction to mythological and fairy tale creatures. Although most of the stories don’t go into the backstory of them, there are definitely allusions to their origins, such as ogres living in caves, the minotaur understanding directions, etc.

Second, they are wonderful first comics! I love that this series, and especially these books, make graphic novels and comics so accessible!

Third, the titles are so punny! They just make me so happy!

Fourth, each of these stories are so unique and fun. Although they can be utilized as a set, they all definitely stand alone also.

Last, I am a huge fan of Ebbeler’s artwork. It is colorful, eye-catching, expressive, and just perfect for these books.

Flagged Spreads:

I'm Ogre It by Jeffrey Ebbeler, Paperback | Barnes & Noble®

Read This If You Love: Early graphic novels

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Sara at Holiday House for providing copies for review!!**

As You Wish by Nashae Jones

February 4, 2025 by Kellee

As You Wish
Author: Nashae Jones
Published January 7th, 2025 by Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing

Summary: A girl learns the hard way to be careful what she wishes for in this sweet and funny middle grade rom-com featuring a chaos-loving West African trickster god.

Birdie has big plans for eighth grade. This is the year that she gets a boyfriend, and since she and her best friend, Deve, do everything together, it makes sense that Deve will get a girlfriend. This is the kind of math Birdie doesn’t find intimidating—it’s Eighth Grade 101. (Birdie + Boyfriend) + (Deve + Girlfriend) = Normal Eighth Grade Experience. And normal is something Birdie craves, especially with a mom as overprotective as hers.

She doesn’t expect Deve to be so against her plan, or for their fight to blow up in her face. So when the West African god Anansi appears to her, claiming to be able to make everything right again, Birdie pushes past her skepticism and makes a wish for the whole mess to go away. But with a trickster god, your wish is bound to come true in a way you never imagined.

Before long, Birdie regrets her rash words…especially when she realizes what’s really going on with her and Deve. With her reality upended, can Birdie figure out how to undo her wish?

Praise:

“This fun, middle-grade offering reminds readers that what you wish for is sometimes already there.” – Booklist

“A delightful exploration of friendship, mental health, and first love with a touch of magic.” – Kirkus Reviews

About the Author: Nashae Jones is a kid lit writer because at an early age she learned what the magic of books could do for a developing mind. She always dreamed of creating worlds that would stay for a reader long after they put down their books. Nashae is also an educator and book reviewer (kid books, of course). She lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, son, escape artist Husky, and two black cats that Nashae is convinced are reincarnations of Pinky and the Brain. You can find her on X @Jones_Nashae.

Review: This middle school rom com takes a well known romance trope (granting wishes/alternate world) and throws it into 8th grade making for a funny yet heartfelt read where you can’t help but root for Birdie and Deve’s happiness.

As a middle school librarian, I am always so happy to find a romance novel about middle schoolers because my students are chomping at the bit for romance books and often reach for books for older readers, but I know not all of them are developmentally ready for those books–this is another book in my arsenal to recommend to my romance-loving, middle grade-reading students.

Educators’ Tools for Navigation: Inclusion of mythology is a big hit with reader, and I loved the inclusion of Anansi in this story. This is a great way to throw in some African folklore disguised within a romance book.

Also, the wishes definitely give time to talk about cause and effect, specifically looking at social consequences of kids’ behaviors on others.

Oh, and theme! This book has such a perfect ending to talk theme!

Discussion Questions:

What would you wish for?
How did each of Birdie’s wishes mess with her world?
- How could she have worded the wishes differently?
What were signs that Deve was giving Birdie right at the beginning of the book?
What is the worst thing that Birdie did throughout the book? What did this teach her?

Flagged Passages: I listened to the audiobook, which I highly recommend. Visit the book’s publisher page to hear a preview of the audiobook.

Read This If You Love: Love Requires Chocolate by Ravynn K. Springfield, Lunar New Year Love Story by Gene Luen Yang, Pippa Park series by Erin Yun, Kaya of the Ocean by Gloria L. Huang, Tristan Strong series by Kwame Mbalia

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing a copy for review!**

I, Too, Am Here by Morgan Christie, Illustrated by Marley Berot

October 8, 2024 by Kellee

I, Too, Am Here
Author: Morgan Christie
Illustrator: Marley Berot
Published September 10th, 2024 by Second Story Press

Summary: The street a young girl lives on is made up of families from all over the world. Her family shares with her their stories of journey and struggle. Her own story begins here in this country, but she is sometimes made to feel she does not belong. She listens to her family’s voices. They tell her she will soar, they tell her she is beautiful. She listens and she says I, too, am here.

A multigenerational story of immigration, racism, and what it truly means to belong. Inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too.”

About the Author:

Morgan Christie is the author of four poetry chapbooks, a short story collection, and a collection of essays. She has won the Arc Poetry Poem of the Year Contest, the Prairie Fire Fiction Prize, the Digging Press Chapbook Series Prize, and the Howling Bird Press Nonfiction Book Award. ‘I, Too, Am Here’ is her second picture book and she continues to work towards affecting change through reading and writing. Morgan is based out of Toronto.

Marley Berot is an illustrator with over ten years of combined personal and professional experience. Her portfolio includes cover art for Neuron, graphic design work for the Toronto International Film Festival, logo design, and book illustration. She runs her own online store called MarleysApothecary.com. Marley is very passionate about her work as an artist, and this can be seen in every piece she creates. She lives in the Toronto area.

Review: The author shares that, “In reading this story, she hopes young readers will learn to see the ways our words and actions can affect others,” and I truly believe they will. I don’t know how anyone could argue that the beautiful family in the story should have anything but happiness. I also love that the author “drew inspiration from Hughes’s poem to write this book because she wanted to remind everyone who’s been told or made to feel otherwise how much joy and wonder they bring to the people and places around them,” and this is a message that all young people, all PEOPLE, should hear loud and clear, which this picture book delivers in words and art.

Tools for Navigation: This picture book can be read along side Langston Hughes’s “I, Too” poem to look for similarities, how it was influenced, the themes of both, etc.

Discussion Questions:

Why does the narrator not understand the racism that his family faced?
What character traits would you use to define each of the characters in the story?
What should you do if you hear someone being racist (or prejudice in another way) towards a peer?
How does the history of slavery and the Jim Crow south still affect America today?
How was the book inspired by Langston Hughes?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Picture books about multigenerational families, anti-racism, immigration, Black history, poetry

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Nicole Banholzer PR for providing a copy for review!**

My Towering Tree by Janna Matthies, Illustrated by Ashley Wolff

September 10, 2024 by Kellee

My Towering Tree
Author: Janna Matthies
Illustrator: Ashley Wolff
Published August 27th, 2024 by Beach Lane Books

Summary: Discover all the joyful moments and adventures waiting right outside your door in this mindful rhyming picture book celebration of backyard nature.

In my yard’s a towering tree. It reaches high to cover me. I lie beneath the towering tree and think my thoughts, and breathe, and be. There is much to do and so much to see beneath the branches of a towering tree! Step inside a leafy backyard world where squirrels are zipping, bees are buzzing, the sun is shining, and a curious, creative child is noticing and absorbing it all. This tribute to the wonderful worlds that exist in a backyard invites readers to stop, take a breath, and appreciate the natural world around them.

“This book is sure to delight . . . beautifully written rhymes blend perfectly; the pacing is ideal for reading aloud. A strong addition to the shelves and an accessible title to add to nature lessons or even story hours about mindfulness, with its emphasis on simplicity and an appreciation of nature.” – School Library Journal

“A gentle appreciation of the nature around us, from the ground to the sky.” – Kirkus Reviews

About the Creators:

Janna Matthies is a picture book author and early elementary music teacher in Indianapolis. Her books include Here We Come!; God’s Always Loving You; Two Is Enough, which made the 2016 Bank Street list and New York Times Book Review; The Goodbye Cancer Garden; Peter, the Knight with Asthma; and Monster Trucks. Janna is a longtime volunteer with the Indiana SCBWI and provides editorial services to the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for picture books supporting their Teddy Bear Concert Series. When she’s not writing or making music, Janna can be found digging in the garden, swimming laps, walking Juneau the howling Husky, or keeping up with her husband and three mostly-grown kids.

Ashley Wolff lives in Vermont and is the author and illustrator of more than sixty books for children, including the modern classic Miss Bindergarten series by Joseph Slate, and her own celebrated Only the Cat Saw; Where, Oh Where, Is Baby Bear?; Baby Bear Counts One; and Baby Bear Sees Blue. Visit her at AshleyWolff.com.

Review: In a world where everyone, even kids, are usually GO GO GO, it is important to remind how important stopping, relaxing, focusing on nature, breathing, and appreciating. Matthies’s lyrical, meditative words mixed with Wolff’s full page, colorful, and captivating illustrations lend to readers wanting to find the beauty in the world around them.

Tools for Navigation: Towering Tree is reminiscent of “The House that Jack Built,” so it would be a great way to talk about variations/retellings and allusions of nursery rhymes. It also has a great rhyming pattern that can be analyzed also.

The book also lends to taking kids outside then having them draw and journal about what they see in their backyard or a park.

Discussion Questions:

How is The Towering Tree like “The House that Jack Built”?
What type of rhyming pattern does this story have?
What do you see in your background/in a park when you sit under a tree?
Why is it important to remember the beauty of nature?
Why is it important to slow down sometimes, instead of go go going?
If you had a garden, what would you put in it?
What do you think the author’s purpose was for this book?
How does the backyard in the book compare/contrast to your backyard?
What word play can you find in the book? Figurative language?
What descriptive language did the author use that helped describe the scene?
How do the illustrations add to the story?

Flagged Spreads:

Read This If You Love: Nature, Rhyming picture books

Recommended For:

**Thank you to the author for providing a copy for review!**

Educators’ Guide for Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions by Navdeep Singh Dhillon

April 23, 2024 by Kellee

Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions
Author: Navdeep Singh Dhillon
Published: February 8th, 2022 by Dial Books

Summary: For fans of Sandhya Menon and Adam Silvera, a prom-night romantic-comedy romp about a Sikh teen’s search for love and identity

Sunny G’s brother left him one thing when he died: His notebook, which Sunny is determined to fill up with a series of rash decisions. Decision number one was a big one: He stopped wearing his turban, cut off his hair, and shaved his beard. He doesn’t look like a Sikh anymore. He doesn’t look like himself anymore. Even his cosplay doesn’t look right without his beard.

Sunny debuts his new look at prom, which he’s stuck going to alone. He’s skipping the big fandom party—the one where he’d normally be in full cosplay, up on stage playing bass with his band and his best friend, Ngozi—in favor of the Very Important Prom Experience. An experience that’s starting to look like a bust.

Enter Mindii Vang, a girl with a penchant for making rash decisions of her own, starting with stealing Sunny’s notebook. When Sunny chases after her, prom turns into an all-night adventure—a night full of rash, wonderful, romantic, stupid, life-changing decisions.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy the educators’ guide I created for Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions, including a play list!, on the author’s webpage.

Recommended For:

The Princess Protection Program by Alex London

June 15, 2024April 2, 2024 by Kellee

The Princess Protection Program
Author: Alex London
Published February 13th, 2024 by Greenwillow Books

Summary: Every fairy tale ends with its characters living happily ever after, right? A valiant prince quests long and hard to reach the castle where the sleeping princess lies. And with a kiss, he will awaken her.

But what if the princess does NOT think a kiss from a stranger is a very pleasant way to wake up? Yuck!

When Rosamund flees her prince, a Door of Opportunity opens, and she steps through to the Home Educational Academy (the HEA for short). Rosamund has found the Princess Protection Program, where fugitive fairy tale princesses escape unwanted affections, untimely ends, and all the other perils of their stories.

But as Rosamund adjusts to life in the real world and makes her first real friends (Rana, who left her story after an incident with a frog; Sirena, a former mermaid; Cindy and Charlie, who didn’t want to get married after just one dance; and others), she has more and more questions. Does anyone ever graduate from the HEA? Why doesn’t anyone seem to remember former students? Is the kindly fairy headmistress all she appears to be? Is anyone? And the most important question of all: Can Rosamund change her story?

Acclaimed and bestselling author Alex London weaves together several beloved fairy tales in this fast-paced, funny, and slyly subversive adventure about finding your place in the world and taking control of your own story. The daring escapes, sinister monsters, familiar friends, and surprise twists will keep even reluctant readers glued to the pages. The Princess Protection Program is for fans of the Never Afters and the Descendants series, The School for Good and Evil, and the Fairly True.

About the Author: Alex London is the acclaimed author of more than thirty books for children and teens. His middle grade novels include The Princess Protection Program, Search & Rescue, Dog Tags, and two titles in the 39 Clues series. For young adults, he’s the author of the cyberpunk duology Proxy and the epic fantasy series Black Wings Beating, which were both named to numerous best-of-the-year lists. He has been a journalist and human rights researcher reporting from conflict zones and refugee camps, a young adult librarian with the New York Public Library, and a snorkel salesman. He lives with his husband, daughter, and hound dog in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Visit him at calexanderlondon.com.

Instagram:
Blue Slip Media: @blue_slip_media
Greenwillow/Harper: @harperkids
Alex London: alexander_london

Facebook:
Blue Slip Media: @blue-slip-media
Greenwillow/Harper: HarperKidsBooks

Twitter/X:
Blue Slip Media: @blueslipper & @barbfisch
Greenwillow/Harper: HarperKids
Alex London: @ca_london

Review: I am such a fan of twists on fairy tales, especially when they are unique and like none I’ve read before, and The Princess Protection Program fits this! The idea of princesses being able to leave to our world and automatically go to a school with a fairy godmother protecting them from monsters that are trying to eat them to return to their tales is the perfect new twist for fairy tales. I loved getting to know all of the princesses (and Charlie!) and learning about everything with them. The characters are what make the beginning of the book, but then the twist of the story happens and it breaks the plot open and also adds in so much chaos at the end of the book that the end just speeds by as the conclusion nears. Fans of the books I listed below will definitely love this one!

Tools for Navigation: This book is filled with allusions and allegory; there is so much to unpack! Rosamund’s journey also fits the Hero’s Journey!

Discussion Questions:

Why would the princesses want to leave their story?
Which princess do you think had the worst fate in their story?
What other princesses/characters can you think of that might have wanted to leave their story if they had a chance?
Why do the professors not like all of Rosamund’s questions?
Were any of the princesses different than what you expected reading their fairy tales?
Did you see the twist coming?

Flagged Passages: Chapter One: Beauty Awakened

Once upon a time, there was a young princess, as kind and curious as she was clever, who a witch cursed into a deep and endless sleep. Her castle sat silent in a clearing at the center of a deep, dark wood for a hundred winters and a hundred springs. Around it the forest teemed with poisonous flowers and enchanted thorns. The castle would have sat like that for a hundred more winters and a hundred more springs, had not the prince, as valiant as he was brave, found it at last.

He hacked his way past the poisonous flowers and the enchanted thorns. He dodged hungry shadows and fearsome beasts, fought cursed fungus, and forded a river of nightmares. He even outwitted a witch’s riddle, which, much to his surprise, wasn’t all that tricky.

“If you don’t keep me, I break. What am I?”

“Um, a promise?” he’d answered.

“Are you certain?” the witch cackled at him. “If you answer wrong, you shall never escape these woods!”

He puffed out his chest.

“I am certain, witch!” he bellowed. The witch shrieked, then vanished in a puff of green smoke. Beyond her, the thorned vines parted to show his way to the castle in the clearing.

He had expected all this to be harder. It was his destiny, after all, and destiny should not be so easy.

Inside, the castle was still. Golden light streaked through stained glass windows. He made his way to the chapel, where he would find his princess. He had been promised this princess in visions and dreams, and even by his very own fairy godmother. The princess would be his one true love from the moment he first laid eyes on her until his last, dying day.

He really hoped she was pretty.

And there she was, the cursed Princess Rosamund, asleep in a bed that stood upon a dais surrounded by wildflowers and an abundance of soothing lavender. She was drenched in golden light, as lovely as the day she’d fallen into that deep sleep one hundred years ago.

“A true beauty,” he whispered to himself, relieved. “Sleeping perfection.”

He knelt before the dais and said a quiet thanks, for he was a polite prince, and grateful that all his dreams were coming true.

Then he rose, stepped up beside the bed, and stood over the sleeping princess, whose story he had been told since childhood: a witch had cursed her father’s kingdom to perish and her to sleep until she was awoken by a kiss of the truehearted.

Well, this prince knew his heart was true.

“My entire life has led me here,” he told the sleeping princess. “I swear to you, I shall love you better than the moon loves the sunset, better than boats love the rising tide, better than a flower loves the . . . err . . . um . . . something? Not dew. Bees, maybe? Err . . .”

He’d forgotten his oath, even though he’d practiced it for the entire quest. Then again, it was not his words that mattered, but the truth in his heart and the passion in his kiss. The oaths were just for posterity, a word

he didn’t really understand anyway. Posterity didn’t have chapped lips and body odor from all that questing. The prince did.

With no further ado, he pressed his lips to the sleeping princess’s and held them there with his eyes closed for a count of three, which was how long his squire had told him a real kiss was meant to last. The prince had never kissed anyone before, not even the squire who’d suggested they practice. He wished he had practiced now. He didn’t know if he was doing kissing right at all.

He opened first one eye and then the other.

To his delight, the princess had opened her eyes, both of them, and was staring up at him with a look of deep passion.

Or was that surprise?

“Fear not, princess,” he told her softly. “It is I, Prince Percy the Valiant, and it is my destiny to wake you and marry you and love you for the rest of our blessed lives.”

Her eyes narrowed. Her forehead furrowed.

“Am I not all you dreamed of these hundred years?” he asked her, his confidence faltering. He had not considered that she might not think him pretty.

“Um,” she said, which was not the most inspiring first word of their life together, but she had been asleep for a long time.

He leaned back, giving her space as the color returned to her cheeks, the focus to her eyes. He could give her a moment to come to her senses. He himself was a beast first thing in the morning, as she would surely learn in the course of their marriage.

To his surprise, she sat bolt upright. Like an unbroken mare kicking out at a new rider, she shoved him off her bed and sent him tumbling from the dais. He nearly fell over onto his princely posterior, which was not at all the first impression he preferred to make.

“Princess!” he called as she leapt in bare feet down to the chapel floor. The wildflowers around her withered as the magic faded.

She looked him up and down, brow still furrowed.

Then she ran.

Read This If You Love: Fairy Tale Reform School by Jen Calonita, Disney Twisted Tales, Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer, Books by Jessica Day George, Whatever After series by Sarah Mlynowski

Recommended For:

**Thank you to Blue Slip Media for providing a copy for review!**

This review was featured by Twinkl in their article Magical Books for Kids to Beat the Summer Reading Slide!

Educators’ Guide for The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo

February 6, 2024 by Kellee

The Puppets of Spelhorst
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Julie Morstad
Published: October 10th, 2023 by Candlewick Press

Summary: From master storyteller Kate DiCamillo comes an original fairy tale—with enchanting illustrations by Julie Morstad—in which five puppets confront circumstances beyond their control with patience, cunning, and high spirits.

Shut up in a trunk by a taciturn old sea captain with a secret, five friends—a king, a wolf, a girl, a boy, and an owl—bicker, boast, and comfort one another in the dark. Individually, they dream of song and light, freedom and flight, purpose and glory, but they all agree they are part of a larger story, bound each to each by chance, bonded by the heart’s mysteries. When at last their shared fate arrives, landing them on a mantel in a blue room in the home of two little girls, the truth is more astonishing than any of them could have imagined. A beloved author of modern classics draws on her most moving themes with humor, heart, and wisdom in the first of the Norendy Tales, a projected trio of novellas linked by place and mood, each illustrated in black and white by a different virtuoso illustrator. A magical and beautifully packaged gift volume designed to be read aloud and shared, The Puppets of Spelhorst is a tale that soothes and strengthens us on our journey, leading us through whatever dark forest we find ourselves in.

Teachers’ Tools for Navigation and Discussion Questions:

Please view and enjoy The Puppets of Spelhorst educators’ guide I created for Candlewick Press:

You can also access the educators’ guide here.

You can learn more about The Puppets of Spelhorst on Candlewick’s page.

Recommended For: