Dads on Books

It’s only our second graphic novel, and boy was it graphic! And novel. And second! It’s The Secret Coders written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Mike Holmes, the first in a six-book educational graphic novel collection.Mike and David bring on the cowbell for the first time. And the last? It's educational. (Just a little. Just a bit of coding. It’s basic. Not Basic.) It’s a mystery! The Mystery of the Black Squirrel? Nope. The Murder Grounds of the Dead Horse? Neigh. But there is mystery. And intrigue. And subterfuge. If anyone knows what that last one means, please email us.And the story? A mother drops her daughter off at a creepy, haunted-looking boarding school. It’s her first day. At a new school. It won’t be her last... Well actually, we don’t know that for sure as the entire book takes place in one day. And there are six books. Hmmm. 6 days? Consecutive days? Mike and David are huge fans of Gene Luen Yang's protagonist Hopper, a relatable, feisty yet vulnerable girl and her new friend Eni. (Oh, don't forget the little turtle robot dude). They stumble upon a mystery, seek to solve it, make some discoveries, which only creates more questions. Only five more books to figure it all out. Graphic novel awesomeness, from Mike Holmes. The illustrations are classic with different points of view and perspectives, shadows, light, foreboding, four bearings, intriguingly coded chapter headings, meaningful captions like, “This is when we started changing into what we would actually become.” Whoa... BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Mike and David, shockingly, take a detour down memory lane to their first data memories. David talks about programming in Basic on a TRS 80 and storing the data on a cassette. Mike is all, “Hold my beer.” His dad brought home a stack of WHAT? Wait for it... Punch cards! What's that about hanging chads?...And the Dan jokes? There’s a plenty. And about computers. But you'll have to be patient. They take a while to process. If you liked this episode, check out these:Our first (and other) graphic novel: El Deafo by Cece Bell R. L. Stine’s Monster Slime, another good mystery and available as a graphic novelOur author interview with Dan Gutman Amelia and the Babysitter because we mentioned it. And it’s a fun take on babysitting. Again with the whatever. Future Episodes: More graphic novels!! And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsor us while you're there).Books in Stock in Wooster, OHA House with Books in Keller, TXRiver Forest Public Library, River Forest, ILGrapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TXKeller Public Library, Keller, TXQuestions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!Email us at [email protected]

Did you know that Shrek! was based on a book called Shrek!? Neither did we. And not just any book, but a book called Shrek! And Mike was all, "we totally have to read this book one day." Well kids, today is the day... Well, it’s not the day that we read it—that was a few days ago... And this is not the day that we recorded it—that was also a few days ago. But TODAY is the day that the episode about the book and about the movie based on the book that inspired the episode drops. Well, not today, unless you listen on 8.16.26. This is the day that you are listening to the episode that dropped on that day that we recorded after we read the book, well after watching the movie it was based on. Mike and David both saw the movie but don’t remember much about it. But we do know this: the book is a lot of fun. There’s Shrek, who is more disgusting and vile than any creature depicted in cartoon world. There’s all kinds of fun rhythms as it goes back-and-forth and back-and-forth and hither and yon. It’s silly, random, whacky, and, as Mike put it, “a mixture of rhymey timey thingies and stuff that doesn’t.” There’s even a knight who smotes! And a hall of mirrors! Such a fun book. Check it out. If you like monsters and scary stuff: R. L. Stine’s Monster BloodAnd there’s a lot of monsters and scary stuff in Ingri and Edgar D’Aulaires’s Book of Greek Myths. And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one).Books in Stock in Wooster, OHA House with Books in Keller, TXRiver Forest Public Library, River Forest, ILGrapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TXKeller Public Library, Keller, TXQuestions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!Email us at [email protected]

It’s David’s first time to read the world-famous series, Amelia Bedelia! And what better place to start than Amelia Bedelia and the Baby! aka Tarnation! That was Plum Fun! Mike read this with his girls when they were young. He (and they) liked it then and he—nope, not gonna do it. Not gonna tell you. Wouldn't be prudent. And David, well he—wait a second. Trying to trick me again? Sorry I’m not falling for that. You gotta listen.We will tell you, the Dads had fun talking about the book to the surprise of absolutely no one! The story arc is discussed, disgust is discussed. Just kidding that was fun to type though. (Mike thought it was discuss-ting).There's four shadowing five shadowing, there's even two shadowing, just a lot of shadowing going on. There's history: we discover how sliders were invented! Yum Yum Yum! And speaking of food there's berries and raspberry tarts and other food stuff like stuntloaf. Warning: do not (repeat) DO NOT listen to this if you are hungry.Seriously, folks, as part of the “I Can Read” series, let’s just say that this book is good to read to kids who need help reading, and therefore are learning. Lots of fun. And learning. And reading.The illustrations are done in David's second favorite art form/illustration method: for those who are new that would be ink and watercolor. And what is David's first favorite you say? (If you didn't say that, you should have), that would be well let's just say it rhymes with rayon.If you liked this episode, you'll LOVE these:We love bonnets that remind us of Laura Ingalls Wilder:Little House in the Big Woods: the Dads Learn to Smoke a DeerWho was Laura Ingalls Wilder: Cliff's Notes and Spoiler AlertsBooks about fun girls:Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus: We Didn't Get on Board With This One!Ivy and Bean and Stella: What's up with Your Spleen?And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors, just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one).Books in Stock in Wooster, OHA House with Books in Keller, TXRiver Forest Public Library, River Forest, ILGrapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TXKeller Public Library, Keller, TXQuestions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!Email us at [email protected]