Review #103: Sidekicks

Lily (age 8):  This is a book called Sidekicks, and I'm gonna tell you about it.
Gracie (age 11):  It's a graphic novel.
Lily:  It's about Captain Amazing.
Gracie:  He is a superhero.
Lily:  He has a whole bunch of pets.  They love him.  And they always want to be with him, but he's always gone on his missions.
Isaac (age 12):  Captain Amazing thinks he's getting too old, and he wants to get a sidekick to help him.
Gracie:  So he's going to hold sidekick auditions.  All of his pets have superpowers.
Isaac:  They each want to become his sidekick so they can spend more time with him.  They fight crime.  And there are EXPLOSIONS!
Dad:  Is it ever like that with kids and their dads too?  Sometimes you want to be with me, but I have to work?
Gracie:  YES.  All the time.
Dad:  Maybe you guys can be my sidekicks.  You can sharpen my pencils for me.
Gracie: (sarcastically)  That sounds... exciting...
Dad:  Tell me about the four pets...
Gracie:  I'll tell you about Shifty.  Shifty is a chameleon.  He changes colors to match his surroundings so you can't see him.  His skin is his suit.
Isaac:  The hamster's name is Fluffy.  He thinks he doesn't have superpowers.  But he still wants to be the sidekick so he can be closer to his dude.
Lily:  The cat has electricity and can electrocute.  The dog can turn into metal.  His name is Metal Mutt.
Dad:  Did you have a favorite part?
Gracie:  Inside the penguin's igloo at the zoo there is a secret nightclub.
Lily:  I like that place.
Isaac:  Not that we go to nightclubs.
Dad:  What was eating all the food... a hippo?
Gracie:  Yeah.  He had big fat butt cheeks.
Dad:  We're not going to put "butt cheeks" in the review.
Gracie:  "Bottom... cushions..."
Dad:  If you could have a superpower what would you pick?
Lily:  I would have night vision.  I would go out at night and get all the bad guys while they are sleeping.
Dad:  You would hate night vision.  You already say that it's too bright for you to go to sleep at night.  It would be like having the lights on all the time.
Isaac:  I would have the power to go back in time.  So if a bad guy punched me in the nose, I would go back in time and dodge it.
Dad:  What would your snazzy superhero name be?
Isaac:  (pause)  Back-in-Time-Guy.
Dad:  Pbbbbb.
Gracie:  I would have shape shifting powers.  I would catch a bad guy, and shape shift my hand into a big club.  After I shoved him into a dumpster, I would shape shift into him, and then I would get the other guys.  Wow! Pow! Pow! Shickapoo!
Dad:  Do you know who made this book?
Gracie:  Dan Santat.
Lily:  This book is so cool that I am speechless.
Gracie:  I loved your book, Dan Santat.  It is definitely a good one.  It was very action filled and funny too.
Lily:  Everybody will like your book because it is, like, the awesomest book ever.
Isaac:  You could so make another one.  It's perfect for a sequel.  Or a t.v. show - that would be awesome!
Dad:  Any last words?  Do you have a blurb?
Gracie:  It is a fun fantasy about furry fighters of fury.
Dad:  Wow... FFFantastic!
Gracie:  It's Dan Santastic!

Metal Mutt stopping a rocket, by Isaac

the Chameleon and HIS sidekick?  by Gracie

sidekicks, by Lily

Author/Illustrator: Dan Santat
Published, 2011: Arthur A. Levine Books
Like it?  Here it is



The fun's not over yet!

I almost never buy new books.  Of the 3000+ children's books in our personal collection, I'm certain that less than 1% of them I purchased new.  As a "starving artist," I'm content to wait for birthday gifts, and I make dedicated rounds to used book sources... 10 cents here, 50 cents there.

But I was so excited about Sidekicks, that I bought it the week it came out.  My first new-release purchase in years.  Then... the VERY next day... we received a review copy in the mail from the publisher.  So we've got 2 copies!  And I decided that, rather than return one, we'd give this great book to one of our readers.

To be entered in the Giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment below.  It's that easy!

And while it's not necessary, if you'd like to turn it into 2 entries, include within your comment a favorite Bookie Woogie memory.  The kids recently hit their 100th review (yea!) and it would be fun to celebrate that.  So if you've been with us for a while, share a favorite moment from a Bookie Woogie review or interview, and you'll get two entries in the Giveaway.

We'll announce a winner on August 1st.  Good luck!

200 Great Books

 
I have always wanted to compile a list like this, and now is as good a time as any! 

It would be great to catalog ten times as many titles someday, but in the meantime, for your enjoyment, I would like to present 200 books that I love and think are well worth hunting down...  Hope you find some treasures in here!


1. "Black and White" by David Macaulay (review)
2. "Shadow" by Suzy Lee (review)
3. "The Cinder-Eyed Cats" by Eric Rohmann (review)
4. "The Arrival" by Shaun Tan (review)


5. "The Adventures of Marco and Polo"
      by Dieter Wiesmuller" (review)
6. "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by CS Lewis (review)
7. "Wave" by Suzy Lee (review)
8. "Leonardo the Terrible Monster" by Mo Willems


9. "Shark and Lobster's Amazing Undersea Adventure"
      by Viviane Schwarz (review)
10. "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick (review)
11. "Who Needs Donuts?" by Mark Alan Stamaty (review)


12. "The Three Pigs" by David Wiesner (review)
13. "My Friend Rabbit" by Eric Rohmann
14. "Would You Like to Play Hide and Seek"
        by Jon Stone & Mike Smollin (review)


15. "The Monster at the End of This Book"
        by Jon Stone & Mike Smollin (review)
16. "Holes" by Louis Sachar (review)
17. "The Spooky Old Tree" by Stan & Jan Berenstain
18. "Peter Pan" by JM Barrie


19. "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alxander (review)
20. "Adam Raccoon at Forever Falls" by Glen Keane (review)
21. "Ignis" by Gina Wilson & P.J Lynch (review)
22. "Kidogo" by Anik McGrory (review)


23. "The Lion and the Mouse" by Jerry Pinkney (review)
24. "How Are You Peeling"
        by Saxton Freymann & Joost Elffers (review)
25. "Frog and Toad Are Friends" by Arnold Lobel
26. "Saint George and the Dragon"
        by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman


27. "Perelandra" by CS Lewis
28. "Toot and Puddle" by Holly Hobbie
29. "Bestiary" by Jonathan Hunt
30. "Jamberry" by Bruce Degen


31. "Oliver Finds His Way"
        by Phyllis Root & Christopher Denise (review)
32. "Museum Trip" by Barbara Lehman (review)
33. "T is for Terrible" by Peter McCarty


34. "Blueberries For Sal" by Robert McCloskey
35. "Otters Under Water" by Jim Arnosky
36. "The Animal Atlas" by Kenneth Lilly
37. "The Sound of Colors" by Jimmy Liao


38. "There Are Cats in This Book" by Viviane Schwarz
39. "A Little Bit of Winter" by Chris Riddell
40. "Roman Numerals I to MM" by Arthur Geisert


41. "Scribble" by Deborah Freedman (review)
42. "Winnie-the-Pooh" by AA Milne
43. "The Book That Eats People"
        by John Perry & Mark Fearing (review)
44. "Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland Vol. 1"
        by Winsor McCay


45. "The Big Hungry Bear" by Don & Audrey Wood
46. "The Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats
46. "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle (review)
48. "Hotel Deep" by Kurt Cyrus


49. "The Story of Ferdinand" by Munro Leaf & Robert Lawson
50. "Aesop's Fables" by Charles Santore
51. "The Hiccupotamus" by Aaron Zenz (review)
52. "Piggies" by Audrey & Don Wood


53. "Arnie the Doughnut" by Laurie Keller (review)
54. "Little Panda" by Renata Liwska (review)
55. "You Are Special" by Max Lucado & Sergio Martinez (review)


56. "Snow" by Uri Shulevitz
57. "On My Island" by Marie-LouiseGay
58. "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson


59. "Noah's Ark" by Peter Spier
60. "Chuckling Ducklings" by Aaron Zenz (review)
61. "Platypus and the Lucky Day" by Chris Riddell


62. "Sector 7" by David Wiesner
63. "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick" by Chris Van Allsburg
64. "Augustus and His Smile" by Catherine Rayner
65. "Tales of the Kingdom"
        by David and Karen Mains & Jack Stockman (review)


66. "Bear Wants More" by Karma Wilson & Jane Chapman
67. "Tree Ring Circus" by Adam Rex
68. "Old Black Fly" by Jim Aylesworth & Stephen Gammell
69. "A Porcupine Named Fluffy"
        by Helen Lester & Lynn Munsinger


70. "How Animals Live" by Bernard Stonehouse & John Francis
71. "The Salamander Room"
        by Anne Mazer & Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
72. "Bagel's Lucky Hat" by Hector Mumbly


73. "The Gunniwolf" by Wilhelmina Harper & Barbara Upton
74. "The Camel's Lament" by Charles Santore
75. "Little Red Riding Hood" by Trina Schart Hyman
76. "Alphabet Soup" by Scott Gustafson (review)


77. "Moosey Moose" by Chris Raschka
78. "Bunny Days" by Tao Nyeu (review)
79. "Little Owl Lost" by Chris Haughton


80. "Hey, Al" by Arthur Yorinks & Richard Egielski
81. "The Princess and the Kiss"
        by Jennie Bishop & Preston McDaniels (review)
82. "Hymns for a Kid's Heart"
        by Bobbie Wolgemuth, Joni Eareckson Tada, & Sergio Martinez
83. "The Circus is Coming" by Hilary Knight


84. "Favorite Nursery Rhymes from Mother Goose"
        by Scott Gustafson
85. "Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide" by Tony DiTerlizzi (review)
86. "This is the Stable" by Cynthia Cotten & Delana Bettoli (review)
87. "Hondo and Fabian" by Peter McCarty


88. "The Happy Hocky Family" by Lane Smith (review)
89. "The Cuckoo's Haiku"
        by Michael J. Rosen & Stan Fellows (review)
90. "Pssst!" by Adam Rex (review)
91. "The Lost Thing" by Shaun Tan


92. "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" by Al Perkins and Eric Gurney
93. "Tuesday" by David Wiesner
94. "Daddy Hug" by Tim Warnes & Jane Chapman


95. "Ten in the Den" by John Butler
96. "I Believe, the Nicene Creed" by Pauline Baynes
97. "Dawn Watch" by Jean Pendziwol & Nicolas Debon
98. "The Quiet Book"
        by Deborah Underwood and Renata Liwska (review)


99. "Little Boat" by Thomas Docherty
100. "Moses" by Carole Weatherford & Kadir Nelson
101. "Big Wolf and Little Wolf"
          by Nadine Brun-Cosme & Oliver Tallec
102. "There is a Bird on Your Head" by Mo Willems


103. "Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin" by Lloyd Moss & Marjorie Priceman
104. "East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon" by PJ Lynch
105. "Our Tree Named Steve" by Alan Zweibel and David Catrow
106. "Mirror" by Suzy Lee (review)


107. "A Curious Collection of Cats"
          by Betsy Franco and Michael Wertz (review)
108. "Hush Little Dragon" by Boni Ashburn & Kelly Murphy (review)
109. "Big Sister, Little Sister" by LeUyen Pham
110. "A Book" by Mordicai Gerstein (review)


111. "Old Bear" by Kevin Henkes (review)
112. "Jimmy Zangwow's Out-of-this-World
          Moon Pie Adventure" by Tony DiTerlizzi (review)
113. "The Scrambled States of America" by Laurie Keller


114. "June 29, 1999" by David Wiesner
115. "The Baby Sister" by Tomie dePaola (review)
116. "Chicken Cheeks" by Michael Ian Black & Kevin Hawkes
117. "How Robin Saved Spring"
          by Debbie Ouellet & Nicoletta Ceccoli


118. "Magic Box" by Katie Cleminson
119. "Blue Hat, Green Hat" by Sandra Boynton
120. "Achoo! Bang! Crash!" by Ross MacDonald


121. "Monsterlicious"
          by Erik Jon Slangerup & John Sandford (review)
122. "Song and Dance Man"
          by Karen Ackerman & Stephen Gammell
123. "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman
124. "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster (review)


125. "No Jumping on the Bed" by Tedd Arnold
126. "The Big Pets" by Lane Smith
127. "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More"
          by Karen Beaumont & David Catrow
128. "Heckedy Peg" by Audrey & Don Wood


129. "Tale of a Tail" by Judit Bodnar & John Sandford (review)
130. "Pumpkinhead" by Eric Rohmann
131. "Who's Got the Apple?" by Jan Loof

132. "Alice the Fairy" by David Shannon
133. "Kipper's Book of Colors" by Mick Inkpen
134. "The Little Drummer Boy" by Ezra Jack Keats (review)
135. "Newt" by Matt Novak


136. "Rapunzel's Revenge"
          by Shannon and Dean Hale & Nathan Hale (review)
137. "Sweet Dreams Lullaby" by Betsy Snyder
138. "Star Climbing" by Lou Fancher & Steve Johnson
139. "How to Paint the Portrait of a Bird"
          by Jacques Prevert & Mordicai Gerstein (review)


140. "Looking for a Moose" by Phyllis Root & Randy Cecil
141. "Fox Makes Friends" by Adam Relf
142. "Wild and Wooly" by Mary Jessie Parker & Shannon McNeill
143. "Wild Child" by Lynn Plourde & Greg Couch


144. "The Tub People" by Pam Conrad & Richard Egielski
145. "Dragon Gets By" by Dav Pilkey
146. "The Secret Shortcut" by Mark Teague


147. "Tumble Bumble" by Felicia Bond
148. "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" by William Steig
149. "The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash"
          by Trinka Hakes Noble & Steven Kellogg
150. "You and Me, Little Bear" by Martin Waddell & Barbara Firth


151. "There's No Such Thing as a Dragon" by Jack Kent
152. "Duck on a Bike" by David Shannon
153. "The Dog Who Belonged to No One"
          by Amy Hest & Amy Bates (review)
154. "Just You and Me" by Sam McBratney & Ivan Bates


155. "Wet World" by Norma Simon & Alexi Natchev
156. "Bunny My Honey" by Anita Jeram
157. "Mama's Little Duckling"
          by Marjorie Blain Parker & Mike Wohnoutka


158. "If Animals Kissed Good Night"
          by Ann Whitford Paul & David Walker
159. "Sailor Boy Jig" by Margaret Wise Brown & Dan Andreasen
160. "The Terrible Hodag and the Animal Catchers"
          by Caroline Arnold & John Sandford (review)


161. "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" by Kadir Nelson
162. "Little Gorilla" by Ruth Bornstein
163. "Sir Toby Jingle's Beastly Journey" by Wallace Tripp
164. "Peach and Blue"
          by Sarah Kilborn & Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher


165. "All About Owls" by Jim Arnosky
166. "Door in the Dragon's Throat" by Frank Peretti
167. "Small Sister" by Jessica Meserve
168. "Ramona Quimby, age 8" by Beverly Cleary


169. "My Penguin Osbert" by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel & HB Lewis
170. "The Incredible Book Eating Boy" by Oliver Jeffers
171. "Hare and the Tortoise" by Helen Ward
172. "Millie's Marvellous Hat" by Satoshi Kitamura (review)


173. "Spring is Here" by Taro Gomi
174. "Crocodile Beat" by Gail Jorgensen & Patricia Mullins
175. "On the Banks of Plum Creek" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
176. "Book Fiesta" by Pat Mora & Rafael Lopez


177. "Home Sweet Home" by Jean Marzollo & Ashley Wolff
178. "Aesop's Fables" by Brad Sneed
179. "Time Flies" by Eric Rohmann
180. "Sheep Take a Hike" by Nancy Shaw & Margot Apple


181. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" by Roald Dahl
182. "Elmer Blunt's Open House" by Matt Novak
183. "In the Small, Small Pond" by Denise Fleming
184. "Way Out in the Desert"
          by TJ Marsh, Jennifer Ward, & Kenneth Spengler


185. "Alphabet City" by Stephen T. Johnson
186. "You See a Circus, I See..." by Mike Downs & Anik McGrory
187. "Apple Picking Time"
          by Michele Benoit Slawson & Deborah Kogan Ray
188. "Louis the Fish" by Arthur Yorinks & Richard Egielski


189. "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" by Judy Blume
190. "Bad Day at Riverbend" by Chris Can Allsburg
191. "Howie Goes Shopping"
          by Sara Henderson & Aaron Zenz (review)
192. "I Love Animals" by Flora McDonnell


193. "Stomp, Stomp!" by Bob Kolar
194. "Little Loon and Papa" by Toni Buzzeo & Margaret Spengler
195. "Bear and Kite" by Cliff Wright
196. "Leaving the Nest" by Mordicai Gerstein


197. "Miss Spider's ABC" by David Kirk
198. "Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen & John Schoenherr
199. "Teddy Bears' Mother Goose" by Michael Hague
200. "The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs" by William Joyce