Sunday, August 3, 2008
Bare Naked Ladies 'Snacktime' Signed Book Contest
Book Review
Reviewed by Nick
Official BNL Snacktime site
Author: Bare Naked Ladies
Illustrator: Kevin Hearn
Genre: Children's book of songs
******Due to some promotions that didn't hit their destination on time, I'm extending the window to enter the contest to the second week of September. Throw up a link to the contest now for a chance to win an awesome book for you or a friend.
Win the book written by the Bare Naked Ladies and signed by the band!
The Bare Naked Ladies now have more children than band members, so they created a CD of children's songs, and a charmingly illustrated book. I've received an autographed copy of the book and I'm giving it away to fans of BNL and KidReviewer. It's FREE, I'm even paying the postage! See images, music clips, lyrics, and contest rules below.
Contest Rules: To be entered in the contest, simply:
- Create a post on your blog or web page letting others know about the Bare Naked Ladies signed book giveaway on www.KidReviewer.com. (you are welcome to use the this image in your post)
- Link from your post back to the permalink for this contest: http://www.kidreviewer.com/2008/08/bare-naked-ladies-snacktime-signed-book.html
- Leave a comment on this blog (or email me) letting me know where I can find your post about the contest.
- That's it! I will choose a winner from the entries and announce them in an upcoming post the second week of September.
Images from the autographed book:
| Click any image to see larger version | ||
 |  |  |
| Hearn's Artwork | Book Cover | BNL Signatures |
Sample Lyrics: 7-8-9
Video: BNL playing Pollywog in a Bog from the Snacktime Book/CD
Snacktime Review: This book is more for the littler crowd. To be specific, from around maybe 8 and under. The thing I like about this book, thats different from most kids books, is the font is nice and small. Not so big that each page has 3 words on it. And even on one song, the Crazy ABC's, there are some pretty challenging words for kids. Which I think is a good thing. I suppose it would be the most fun to listen to the CD and read along, but this book will definately interest kids for hours.
Labels: book review, contest, kids book review
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Interview with 'Anna Smudge' Author: M.A.C
Author Interview
Author: M.A.C.
Book: Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink
Website: http://www.whoismrwho.com/
Genre: Crime Mystery
New author M.A.C just released her first book of "The Professionals" series. It is a story about Anna Smudge, a middle-schooler that turns out to be a professional counselor and gets caught up in the plans of the evil Mr. Who. It was a fun, quick read, and not only launched at ComicCon in NYC, but featured prominent comic book artists Glen Fabry and Greg Horn. After writing the book review and trading a few emails with M.A.C, I asked her for an interview. She was very cool, and has a great sense of humor. Check it out...
M.A.C, what made you want to write a kids book?
Well, I read a bunch of terrific books, one after the other- Harry Potter, Golden Compass, Ender’s Game… books like that, and I was just really inspired. And they all happened to be marked as “juvenile”, whatever that means. A good story is a good story and I don’t think it matters what age group the back cover says.
And funny enough, some of my biggest fans so far have been grownups. So, I really think the line has begun to fade between kid's books and adult books.
I find what you said about kid's books to be very interesting. I have only read Enders Game out of what you listed, and I’m surprised that book was classified as juvenile. It’s quite mature.
When did you decide you wanted to be a writer?
Ever since I can remember I’ve been writing stories. But it wasn’t until seven years ago that I played with the idea of writing as a possible career choice. I balanced writing articles for Popular Science Magazine with writing my own books, and soon, I was writing full-time and I loved it!
Hah! I think I might be the other way around, but we'll see. I still have a lot of school before I start thinking about full-time work.
If you were Anna's age, what Professional would you be?
I’d be the Professional Karaoke Singer who belts out cheesy Barry Manilow songs and drives everyone around me to wear ear plugs. Or else I’d be a Professional Food Critic because I enjoy eating but hate cooking. (Sorry Quenton!)
Those would be pretty funny professionals if you were to write about them. But then again, I'm not sure if a cheesy Barry Manilow impersonator qualifies as “professional”. :)
Do you see part of your personality in the Anna Smudge character?
Yes, definitely. Like Anna, it troubles me to no end when there’s any sort of discord amongst friends or family. I like it when everyone can get along. I also remember a time in middle school when I just felt very overwhelmed by all of the larger-than-life personalities around me. There was a bully (who I will not name because he’s probably a very nice person now…that, or he’s in a Siberian gulag) who followed me around like the plague and made my bus rides absolutely miserable. It really made me retreat into this shell and, like Anna, I didn’t get over my timidity until later.
In the book you detailed Anna’s city well; I was wondering if that was anything like where you grew up.
What was life like where you grew up? Big city? Small town?
I grew up in mid-town Manhattan in an apartment building. I had an Irish doorman who was nowhere near as cool as Percy, and who would always quiz me on where I had I been, where I was going, and who I was meeting. And I was much too polite to tell him to mind his own bees wax.
But growing up in NYC was pretty great. There was always a cool museum exhibit, a new restaurant or a concert to go to. And if you happen to carry around a remote-controlled fart machine, like my friend Paul used to, then you can always get a seat on the subway.
I bet you saw some pretty funny expressions doing that!
So, is Anna going to be in your other Professionals stories?
Yup! Anna is in all six books in the series. I kind of look at her as being the Superman of the group. Anna’s very even-keel and neutral; she is the glue that binds the team together and smoothes over any existing friction.
Well, I think your first book will do well with kids, so I was wondering, what children's story did you love most as a child?
I really loved the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I have vivid memories of going into my dad’s walk-in closet, stepping through his suits and coats, and being utterly disappointed that there was still a wall on the other side.
No kidding! I recently reviewed a Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian Illustrated Movie Companion. It's not a story book, but has interesting photos and drawings from the artists.
Speaking of artists, how did you get connected with awesome graphic artists Glenn Fabry and Greg Horn?
Well, I’ve been a huge fan of both Glenn and Greg’s work for around eleven years. I’m a voracious comic book reader. I have boxes and boxes of comics in my apartment. So, when the time came to pick artists for the book I adamantly wanted to get talent from that industry.
With Glenn, I wrote up a slew of pretty nutty character descriptions and sent them his way. Lucky enough, he really took to the material and signed on immediately. I couldn’t sleep for two nights I was so excited.
My publisher was actually the one to approach Greg Horn. Greg recently had two very adorable little twins. So, he was open to trying his hand at a new, younger audience.
That rocks. The cover of Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink caught my attention immediately, and the characters are cool. I've been playing with Flash, and would love to mashup that Art Teacher graphic with a scream and splattering paint!
Every time I talk to you I get the feeling you are having fun. So, last question, if you weren't a writer, what would you want to be doing?
Hmmm. Probably something in wild-life rescue where I’d work and live with various animals and help introduce them back into the wild…. That, or a ping-pong player. I’m absolutely ga-ga about ping-pong!
Outstanding! Thank you so much for the time.
To show my appreciation, since you love ping-pong, I've pasted below my favorite ping-pong video. Ping pong Matrix style, which of course was a movie in love with comic book style, just like you M.A.C!
Labels: anna smudge, authors, comics, interviews, kids book review
Friday, April 18, 2008
Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink - Cool New Mystery
Book Review
Reviewed by Nick
Amazon site: Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink
Author: MAC
Website: www.whoismrwho.com
Genre: Crime Mystery
Summary: When I write a book I hope it will satisfy kids as much as I know this one will. It was great fun.
Anna Smudge – Professional Shrink is one of the cooliest books I’ve read in a long time. Anna is a middle-school girl who doesn’t really know what she’s good at till she gets in trouble. She ends up talking to a guidance counselor who convinces her she’s good at listening to and helping others. She decides to become an 11 year old shrink…”uh, therapist”, and starts getting many clients, including one who is a hit man hired to kill someone very important.
For a children’s book, Anna Smudge – Professional Shrink had some pretty adult situations. What I mean by that is the book put the main character in real situations, even if they were scary or “mature”. This caught me off guard at first, but I liked it. I found the book very easy to read; I breezed threw it in a couple days. Every chapter had something exciting in it and really kept my interest.
The characters satisfied me more than I expected they would. Each one was different but believable enough to care about. My favorite was Donny “The Meatball” Fratelli, an interesting bad guy but not completely one-sided. Author MAC showed Donny’s personality changing and made it flow.
The graphic art by DC/Marvel comic artist Glenn Fabry, colorized by Sean Ellery, was excellent, and really added to the story and intensity of the characters. Popular cover artist Greg Horn will have kids grabbing it at Barnes & Noble. Check out the characters images below:
The plot seems well thought out and it all seemed to fit together in the end. I really dug the way she structured the chapters, counting down to the conclusion. Several times I thought, “Hmm. I think I know what might happen”, but was then surprised how things turned out. It was fun trying to figure out each mystery. I didn’t just read this book, I participated. I was surprised with the ending, and I am looking forward to the next book in the "Professionals" series by MAC.
Recommend for: 10 - 14 years old.
Anna Smudge – Professional Shrink is one of the cooliest books I’ve read in a long time. Anna is a middle-school girl who doesn’t really know what she’s good at till she gets in trouble. She ends up talking to a guidance counselor who convinces her she’s good at listening to and helping others. She decides to become an 11 year old shrink…”uh, therapist”, and starts getting many clients, including one who is a hit man hired to kill someone very important.
For a children’s book, Anna Smudge – Professional Shrink had some pretty adult situations. What I mean by that is the book put the main character in real situations, even if they were scary or “mature”. This caught me off guard at first, but I liked it. I found the book very easy to read; I breezed threw it in a couple days. Every chapter had something exciting in it and really kept my interest.
The characters satisfied me more than I expected they would. Each one was different but believable enough to care about. My favorite was Donny “The Meatball” Fratelli, an interesting bad guy but not completely one-sided. Author MAC showed Donny’s personality changing and made it flow.
The graphic art by DC/Marvel comic artist Glenn Fabry, colorized by Sean Ellery, was excellent, and really added to the story and intensity of the characters. Popular cover artist Greg Horn will have kids grabbing it at Barnes & Noble. Check out the characters images below:
 |  |  |
| Click to enlarge | ||
The plot seems well thought out and it all seemed to fit together in the end. I really dug the way she structured the chapters, counting down to the conclusion. Several times I thought, “Hmm. I think I know what might happen”, but was then surprised how things turned out. It was fun trying to figure out each mystery. I didn’t just read this book, I participated. I was surprised with the ending, and I am looking forward to the next book in the "Professionals" series by MAC.
Recommend for: 10 - 14 years old.
(Review based on an advanced uncorrected proof)
Here's some links to additional reviews, interviews, and stories related to the Anna Smudge: Professional Shrink book debut:
[NYCC PREVIEW] THE WIZARD Q&A: GLENN FABRY
[NYCC PREVIEW] THE WIZARD Q&A: GREG HORN
-both by Andy Serwin
Pop culture on the couch
Trends: Therapy more common than ever, showing up in film, TV, books
-Jocelyn Noveck
Horn, Fabry Pencil "The Professionals"
WHO’s Doing Kids’ Books?
-Johanna
There's a Kid's Book at New York Comic Con...
-Kevin Powers
Labels: book review, kids book review, mystery
