Review #104: The Complete Peanuts

From time to time we'll break from our regular group review format and check in with the kiddos One-on-One to see what they've been reading on their own.  Today we hear from Gracie!

Dad:  Hello Gracie.
Gracie (age 11):  Hi Daddy.
Dad:  What have you been reading?
Gracie:  Peanuts!  The Complete Peanuts collection.  With good ol' Charlie Brown.
Dad:  The complete collection!  Do you know how long that comic strip ran?
Gracie:  Forever.  Ha ha ha!
Dad:  Where are we finding these books?
Gracie:  You are getting them for me from the library.
Dad:  We are so lucky that our library has been collecting these.  They're really expensive books, and we'd probably never see them otherwise.  How many volumes have you read?
Gracie:  All 15 books that they have so far.
Dad:  The publisher is working their way through the series, and so far they've released all the comics from 1950 through 1980.  That's 31 years worth!  That's over 11,000 individual episodes!
Gracie:  Ho ho ho hah!  My goal is to read all of the Peanuts comics ever made.  That's my dream.
Dad:  So, would you consider yourself a Charlie Brown expert with 11,000 episodes under your belt?
Gracie:  Oh yeah.  You could ask me anything.
Dad:  Tell us how the strip was different at the beginning than it turned out later on.
Gracie:  Well, a few characters were deleted, and a ton of new ones were added.  Violet, Patty, and Shermy went away.  Also, at the beginning Snoopy just ate and slept and didn't think at all.  It was two or three books before he started having thought bubbles.  Now he likes to play tennis and go to Woodstock's New Year's parties.
Dad:  Lots of new characters get introduced as babies, don't they?
Gracie:  Lucy was a little baby.  Schroeder was a baby.  Linus was a baby.  Sally was a baby.  When Sally was born, Charlie Brown ran out of the house... "Guys! I'm a father!  No wait - my dad is a father!  Again!"
Dad:  Do you have a favorite character?
Gracie:  Lucy.  Because Baby Lucy was just like Baby Me.  But now she's the bossy person who has to have her way all the time.
Dad:  A great role model...
Gracie:  Then there's Linus who has a blanket and sucks his thumb.  He's babyish, but he's really, really smart.  And he always quotes from the Bible.
Dad:  Who else?
Gracie:  Charlie Brown!  He's the one who thinks, "Life is going bad... I'm an awful person... Nothing good ever happens to me..."
Dad:  Would you be friends with him?
Gracie:  I would.  I love him.  My love for him goes to the ceiling of a skyscraper.  But nothing good ever happens to him ever.  Once he won a race -- that's probably the only thing he's ever won.  And the prize was 5 free haircuts...
Dad:  Ha!
Gracie:  He's only got a twist of hair in front.  And he's like, "Five free haircuts?  I don't have much hair to cut!  And even if I did... my dad is a barber!"
Dad:  Poor Charlie Brown.
Gracie:  Yeah, nothing good ever happens to him.  He's always getting teased for his perfectly round head.
Dad:  Tell me about Snoopy.
Gracie:  Snoopy!  He's the dog, and he doesn't know Charlie Brown's name.  He's always like, "Who? You mean that round headed kid that feeds me..."
Dad:  Ha ha -- I read the one when Charlie Brown comes back from the hospital...
Gracie:  Yeah!  And he's like, "Snoopy!  I'm finally here!  I missed you so bad that whole time!  I'm so glad to see you again!"  Then after he leaves, Snoopy thinks, "Now I remember... He's that round headed kid that used to feed me."
Dad:  Poor, poor Charlie Brown.
Gracie:  Snoopy has a lot of identities: Joe Cool, Joe Sporty, Joe Astronaut, World War I Flying Ace...  He's got thousands of disguises.
Dad:  Out of all 11,000 comics you've read, do you have a favorite?  Or is it too hard to pick one?
Gracie:  Well, I have a favorite book.
Dad:  Oh?  Which one?
Gracie:  Actually, it's one where all these bad things happen.  Charlie Brown gets hit by a car.  And he almost got fired from being a crossing guard.  Then Linus and Lucy move away.  And Woodstock has to fly South so Snoopy might not see him again ever.
Dad:  Goodness, why so many sad things?
Gracie:  Apparently a lot of bad things were going on in the author's life.  Schulz. 
Something Schulz.
Dad:  Charles.
Gracie:  Yeah.  A lot of bad things were going on in his life, so he expressed them in his drawings.
Dad:  Why did you like that book so much if so many awful things happened?
Gracie:  I don't know.  Because every time the terrible things ended, he'd have one of the funniest comics in history.
Dad:  Now... "Charles."  Charles Schulz...  Charlie Brown...  Do you think it's significant that they have the same name?
Gracie:  Maybe things didn't go well in his life.  Or maybe he was bald.  Or maybe Charles Schulz had a round head.
Dad:  These were made a long time ago -- some of them 60 years ago.  Why do you think you dig something so old?  Does it say something about you?  Or does it say something about the timelessness of these comics?
Gracie:  I live for the classics.
Dad:  Do you think other kids would like them too, or do you think you're an oddball?
Gracie:  Out of my friends, half of them don't even know who Charlie Brown is.  They know Snoopy and Woodstock.  But I had to explain Charlie Brown.
Dad:  Poor Charlie Brown.
Gracie:  But my friends would love them too if they could read the books.
Dad:  Is this your favorite comic?  Do you know any other comic strips?
Gracie:  This is the order of my favorite comic strips: I like the "Peanuts" comics, "Little Nemo in Slumberland," and "Calvin and Hobbes."
Dad:  I think you have good taste.  Now, are you going to try to draw a new Peanuts episode for your Fan Art this week?
Gracie:  No, I'm afraid I might come up with an idea, and not realize it is actually one that I've already read.  And plus, Charles Schulz doesn't want anyone else making his comic.
Dad:  Tell everybody about your birthday party last week...
Gracie:  The theme was Charlie Brown!  We decorated things like Charlie Brown.  I drew faces on balloons.  Isaac decorated with streamers that were zigzags like on Charlie Brown's shirt.  And we had Charlie Brown games that I made up, like "Pin the Frown on Charlie Brown."  And you made a Snoopy cake.
Dad:  Do you want to say anything to the people compiling these books?  Because that's a BIG undertaking for the publisher... committing to every Peanuts comic ever made, coming out with another volume every few months.
Gracie:  I don't know how many people read these books... but one girl LOVES them.  Thank you for making these!
Dad:  Real quick... What are you reading in the meantime while you wait for them to release the next volume?
Gracie:  I'm reading the books you got me for my birthday.  "Year of the Dog" and "Year of the Rat" by Grace Lin.  They're good.
Dad:  Thanks for the one-on-one chat, Gracie!  I love you!
Gracie:  And I love Charlie Brown!
Dad:  What?  Thanks a lot...
Gracie:  Ha ha ha!
Dad:  You make me feel like poor ol' Charlie Brown.
Gracie:  Hee hee hee!
Dad:  I'm certainly never going to kick a football that you're holding.
Gracie:  Ha ha!  I love Charlie Brown AND you!

the Peanuts gang, by Gracie

Author/Illustrator: Charles Schulz
Comics Published: 1950-2000
Books Published, 2004-present: Fantagraphics Books
Like them?  Here they are

Review #90: Fairly Fairy Tales

Dad:  Today we are reading "Fairly Fairy Tales" by Esme Raji Codell and illustrated by Elisa Chavarri.  Although "reading" doesn't seem like the right word.  It feels more like "playing."
Gracie (age 10):  This book doesn't remind me of anything else.  It's pretty unique.
Isaac (age 12):  The book is about this little person...
Elijah (age 5):  Little person?
Isaac:  Ha ha - we don't know...  That's one of our questions.  Is it a little boy or a little girl?
Gracie:  It's a girl.
Dad:  I thought it was a boy.  I think the kid is drawn in a way so everyone can identify.
Gracie:  It's a girl.
Lily (age 8):  The book is about this kid that is going to bed.
Isaac:  But the little person doesn't want to go to bed.  So the mom reads all these bedtime stories.  But in each story the mom adds something.  So for the Cinderella book it goes, "Fairy godmother?  Yes.  Glass slipper?  Yes.  Pumpkin coach?  Yes.  Disco ball?"
All the Kids:  "Nooooo!!!!"
Isaac:  But then she says, "Well maybe."  And the book shows a big picture of what would happen if there was a disco ball in the story.
Gracie:  Cinderella has a gorgeous dress.  I love her boogie dress.  But the fairy godmother's outfit freaks me out.  And the prince looks like Elvis.
Isaac:  No - he looks like one of those Ken dolls.
Gracie:  He does!  Cinderella also has cool shoes.  There are fishes in her shoes!
Elijah:  You would have to break her shoes to feed the fish.
Dad:  You guys sure had big smiles on your faces while we read this book.
Gracie:  Well, we love it!
Dad:  You guys almost wouldn't let me get the words out.
Gracie:  We all wanted to shout the part that goes "Noooooo!"
Dad:  You enjoyed saying "No" to Dad without getting in trouble.
Gracie:  THAT is fun.
Elijah:  Even I can read this book!
Dad:  Yeah - you know where all the yeses and no's and maybes go.  And all you have to do is look at the pictures to plug in the rest.
Isaac:  I like the art in this book.
Dad:  This book would have been like a "game" for the illustrator, don't you think?  It's almost as if the author made a challenge: "the Red Riding Hood story... plus Shampoo! Ha, ha! What are you going to do with that?"  And then the illustrator had to come up with an answer.
Gracie:  That would be fun.
Isaac:  We could do that.  We should all do that.
Lily:  You could make a whole bunch of different ideas.
Isaac:  And then pick the best one.
Gracie:  Fun!
Dad:  Would this also have been a fun book to write?
Gracie:  Yes.  But I would think it would be better to illustrate.
Dad:  Like the writer is making the game, and the illustrator is playing the game.
Isaac:  Even if the author told her what to draw, it would still be fun.
Dad:  So should we try it?
Isaac:  Let's think of one.  Sleeping Beauty.  That would be a good one!
Gracie:  Thorn bush?
Dad:  Yes.
Gracie:  Castle?
Dad:  Yes.
Gracie:  Evil fairy?
Dad:  Yes.
Gracie:  Shopping cart?
Elijah:  No - ho ho ho ho!
Lily:  Hee hee heee hee hee!
Dad:  See!  That's just as fun, isn't it!
Gracie:  YEAH!!!
Elijah:  Shopping cart!  Shopping cart!
Dad:  You guys want in on the action now, huh?
Lily:  I'm going to do Rapunzel!
Dad:  Have at it.
Lily:  Tower?
Dad:  Yes.
Lily:  Hair?
Dad:  Yes.
Lily:  Prince?
Dad:  Yes.
Lily:  Baby's pacifier?
Gracie:  Pacifier!?!  HA ha ha!
Elijah:  I've got one!  Sleeping Beauty!
Gracie:  I already did Sleeping Beauty.
Elijah:  But I have a good one!
Dad:  That's okay.  He can do Sleeping Beauty over again.
Elijah:  Sleeping?
Dad:  Yes.
Elijah:  Princess?
Dad:  Yes.
Elijah:  Um...  Sleeping?
Gracie:  Ha ha ha!
Dad:  Yes again!
Elijah:  Spiderman?
Lily:  Hee ha ha ha!  What!
Isaac:  I've got one for Rumpelstiltskin.
Dad:  Okay.
Isaac:  Princess?
Dad:  Yes.
Isaac:  Little angry dwarf?
Dad:  Ha ha ha - it's already funny!  Yes.
Isaac:  Baby?
Dad:  Yep.
Isaac:  And..... llamas!
Gracie:  I have a new one.  Seven Dwarfs?
Dad:  Yes.
Gracie:  Magic Mirror?
Dad:  Yes.
Gracie:  Poison Apple?
Dad:  Yes.
Gracie:  Ballet slippers?
Dad:  Hmmm... maybe!
Gracie:  Hee hee hee!
Dad:  So what do you think?  Which is more fun?  Coming up with the funny thing... or drawing it?
Isaac:  I don't know!  They're both REALLY fun!
Dad:  Well now you guys can go draw your ideas.  Then you can compare the two sides!
Gracie:  This is fun!  It's classics with a twist.

Rapunzel's hair + pacifiers, by Lily

Rumpelstiltskin spinning straw into llamas, by Isaac

Sleeping Beauty + Spiderman, by Elijah

Snow White & Seven Dwarfs + ballet slippers, by Gracie

*** You can always click our pictures for larger viewing :)

Author: Esme Raji Codell
Illustrator: Elisa Chavarri
Published, 2011: Aladdin
Like it?  Here it is

Review #78: Shadow

Dad:  Today we are taking a look at the book "Shadow."  Wow.  What did Suzy Lee do inside these pages?
Gracie (age 10):  She created magic.
Dad:  We are big Suzy Lee fans.
Gracie:  Suzy Lee, you are a marvel.  I never would have dreamed a book could get any better than "Wave."
Isaac (age 12):  But it did.
Gracie:  "Shadow" is outstandingly outrageous.
Lily (age 7):  It's about a girl who makes these shadows.
Isaac:  She's in her basement.
Gracie:  It's her attic.
Isaac:  I think it's a basement.
Gracie:  I think it's an attic.
Dad:  I always thought it was a garage.
Lily:  The little girl makes shadow shapes, and then they turn
alive.  Oh wow.  How does she do that?
Isaac:  See that little bit of yellow!  Everything that comes to life is starting to turn yellow.
Lily:  It's a world of shadows and magic.
Gracie:  Yellow magic.
Lily:  She makes a whole bunch of different characters.  There was a Fox and a Bunny and a Bird and a Princess and an Elephant and a Crocodile!
Isaac:  Then they start seeping into the real world.  See, the Fox is escaping!
Dad:  You guys keep saying Fox, but I always thought he was a Wolf.
Isaac:  I always thought he was a Fox.
Dad:  Actually, he's sort of human.  He looks more like a person wearing a mask and tail.  See, he's got people-hands.  Hmm, do you think it's really actually the girl?
Isaac:  That's what I was thinking.
Dad:  Because the Elephant got made out of the vacuum's shadow.  And the Crocodile got made out of the saw.  But how was the Wolf made?  Do you remember?
Gracie:  (Gasp!) The girl's shadow!  She did it!  That's why it looks so much like a person!
Isaac:  But didn't she make the Princess with her shadow also?
Dad:  She made both -- the Princess and the Wolf.  Do you think that's her two different sides?  She's got a good side and a dark side, and they play with each other?  Or am I reading too much into it?
Isaac:  You're going crazy.
Dad:  Hah ha!
Isaac:  Anyway, the Wolf escapes from the Shadow World.
Dad:  We need to decide if we are going to call him a Fox or a Wolf.
Isaac:  Oh yeah, I just said "Wolf" didn't I.
Dad:  It doesn't matter.  We just need to pick one and be consistent.
Isaac:  Wolf.
Lily:  Wolf.
Dad:  Wolf it is.
Isaac:  The Wolf escapes from the Shadow World.
Gracie:  There is magic between the worlds.
Lily:  The Wolf is evil, but then he turns nice after they scare him.  Then all the shadows come up into the real world, and she plays with them.
Isaac:  The two worlds smash together.
Dad:  That's one neat way Suzy Lee's books are similar to each other... "Wave," "Mirror," "Shadow."
Isaac:  In her books, worlds come together.  And things start coming to life.  And her books are two colors only.  And in the middle of the books there are explosions.
Gracie:  The books explode into colors.
Dad:  Tell everyone about the color in this book.
Gracie:  The pictures are yellow and black and white.  The book starts out with zero yellow.  The yellow appears when things start coming to life.
Dad:  The color is almost like a character itself.
Isaac:  The yellow is getting bigger and bigger, and turning more and more stuff alive.  Then it starts seeping onto the opposite page.
Lily:  It's everywhere!
Isaac:  Then at the end it's all yellow.
Gracie:  Yellow was a good color to choose.  Yellow is like light.  Light from a lightbulb is yellow.
Isaac:  The yellow shows that stuff is coming to life.
Dad:  The light is life.
Gracie:  But the end makes me sad.  The little girl becomes friends with her shadows.  They are having fun, and then...
Isaac:  Then it's dinnertime.  The light comes on and everything is back to normal.
Gracie:  It's so sad.  All her fun adventures and happy times are gone now.  Right when she makes friends with the Wolf.  It's so, so sad.
Isaac:  She turns the light off.  But then you hear another click, and the Shadow World comes back alive and dances.
Gracie:  Everybody down there is partying.
Lily:  Ha ha!  Look at the Bunny swinging on the string!
Gracie:  They all party after she's gone - they are having fun without her.
Dad:  See, so it's not too sad.  The fun continues.  She'll see them again.
Isaac:  Oh!  I never noticed this!  At the end, all the stuff that was cluttered is still on the ground, but the animals are also there dancing on top of them.
Gracie:  Yeah - there's the vacuum.  So how is the Elephant alive?
Dad:  She brought him to life, and now he can live on his own apart from the vacuum.  Maybe they will clean up the mess for her.
Isaac:  I need an elephant to clean for me!
Gracie:  You feel a connection to them all.  It made me so sad when I saw the light turn on and everything was just gone.  You have a special connection to the girl and her friends.
Dad:  Is it going to be fun to do our fan art pictures for this review?
Lily:  YEAH!!!
Gracie:  Dad you have to put up your picture on the blog this time.
Dad:  Mmmm... I don't put my pictures up.
Gracie:  You have to this time.
Isaac:  Let's have a vote.
Dad:  None of the blog readers want to see my pictures.  These reviews are about your reactions.  They come to read about you guys.
Gracie:  They might want to know about you too.  Please?
Dad:  Well...  Maybe I'll share my picture later in a special post.
Gracie:  Yea!  Dad's going to put his picture on the blog!
(editorial comment:  check back this Friday...  I'll put up a post with my pictures...)
Dad:  In closing, do you guys have anything you'd like to say right to Suzy Lee?
Lily:  You make wonderful books!
Dad:  Do you think other people love her books as much as we do?
Gracie:  Not possible.  We love her books more than anyone else in the world could.
Isaac:  Except maybe her mother.
Gracie:  Thank-you, Miss Suzy Lee!
Dad:  Well, she didn't send it to us.
Gracie:  Yeah, but...  Thank-you for just existing... to make this book.  Thank-you for existing.  Because you are the awesomest ever.

Shadow, by Lily (painted and pressed)


Shadow, by Gracie (painted)


Shadow, by Isaac (cut paper)

Author/Illustrator: Suzy Lee
Published, 2010: Chronicle Books
Like it?  Here it is

Review #74: Mirror

Gracie (age 9):  Mirror.
Lily (age 7):  Mir- mir- mir- mir- Ror.
Dad:  By Suzy Lee.  Do you remember who Suzy Lee is?
Lily:  Wave!
Gracie:  You can totally tell.
Dad:  Why?  What is similar between "Mirror" and "Wave"?
Gracie:  It has no words.  It is a similar style.  It is all one color.
Lily:  It's a no-word-book.  We like no-word-books.
Isaac (age 11):  You can imagine the words.  You can make little voices.
Dad:  Tell us about "Mirror."
Lily:  It is about this girl who finds a mirror.
Isaac:  I was going to say the girl's name, but it occurred to me she doesn't exactly have one.
Lily:  I'll name her!  I'll name her!  Emma.
Gracie:  I think she's the same girl from "Wave"...
Lily:  Emma.
Gracie: ...only she's wearing yellow this time.
Isaac:  But I don't even know what the girl's name in "Wave" was!
Lily:  Emma.  Her name is Emma.
Dad:  So what happens?
Isaac:  She is sitting on the ground, bored.  She turns her head, and she sees her image in a mirror.
Lily:  She'd never seen it before, so she freaked out.  Agh!
Gracie:  They are making eye contact.
Lily:  She thinks it is a friend.
Isaac:  I think she thinks it's a reflection.
Lily:  Friend.
Dad:  The book is a bit ambiguous about what is going on, eh?
Isaac:  It is kind of clear... then it is not.
Gracie:  She starts making funny faces.  They both start dancing.
Isaac:  Then the weird stuff happens.
Gracie:  They both start freaking out and paint explodes everywhere.
Lily:  It looks like the girl is doing armpit toots.
Gracie:  Ha ha ha haa hah!  That's what an armpit toot noise looks like!  Wow - that's a big armpit toot.
Isaac:  The art looks crazy and splotchy, with swirls and stuff.
Gracie:  Then they go together into one body.
Lily:  They are Siamese twins.
Isaac:  She goes right into the center of the mirror -- into the crack between the pages.  It seems like she goes into the mirror.
Gracie:  Then they start dancing again... only the girl in the mirror is doing it wrong.
Isaac:  It's not symmetrical anymore.  Something weird went wrong with the mirror, and it's not copying her exactly -- not perfectly.  She gets angry at the mirror because it's not doing what she wants.  So she pushes the mirror and it falls and shatters into a million pieces.  So she sits down sad again.
Gracie:  I think they switched spots.  It's kind of weird.  Because at the beginning, the girl starts on the right side.  But at the end, the mirror is the one on the right side.
Isaac:  This doesn't exactly have a happy ending.
Gracie:  But I like it.  It's good.
Dad:  Can you learn anything?
Gracie:  Never push your best friend when she doesn't do exactly the same thing you want her to do.  Or else she might shatter into a million pieces and fade away.
Lily:  If you are bossy and mean to your friends, they are going to go away.
Gracie:  They'll explode.  Your friendship breaks and you are left alone.
Dad:  What is cool about this being a wordless book?
Lily:  You can imagine what's happening.
Gracie:  You can imagine her feelings.
Dad:  There were a lot of emotions in this book, huh?
Gracie:  Sadness.  Happiness.  Anger.
Dad:  Shyness.  Curiosity.
Gracie:  You get this emotional connection to the girl in the mirror.  When the girl gets grumpy, you start feeling a little angry.  And when you see her face when the girl breaks the glass, it's sad for you too.
Dad:  What would you do if your reflection started acting on its own?
Isaac:  I'd probably run for my life!  But then I'd start getting curious about it.
Lily:  I'd freak out.
Dad:  What was your favorite part about this book?
Isaac:  I like the big middle part with all the explosions and stuff.
Dad:  How do you think Suzy Lee made those shapes?
Gracie:  Splotchy paint.
Isaac:  She splotches the paint, and then she folds it together and pulls it out, and then it's symmetrical.  It looks like "Photo Booth."
Dad:  Oh yeah, you can do that on our computer.  The "Photo Booth" program has a setting for split-mirror snapshots...
Isaac:  Hey!  That's how we can do our pictures!
Dad:  Hold your paintings up to the Photo Booth camera?  That would be cool!  Sure, go ahead.
Isaac:  I want to do that!!!

Here are the kids' originals:


Now for the mirrored Photo Booth versions and all the surprising shapes that result!

by Isaac

by Lily

by Gracie

Of course, after that, we had to have more fun with Photo Booth!


Author/Illustrator: Suzy Lee
Published, 2010: Seven Footer Press
Like it?  Find it

Review #70: Just Grace

A special treat this week!  For a year and a half we've reviewed books that we read together as a family.  But the kids are all voracious readers on their own as well.  So I thought I'd chat with them one-on-one to find out about the books they are reading for their own pleasure.  These are books I personally know nothing about, so I'm learning too!  Here's the schedule for the week:

Yesterday: Isaac with the "Percy Jackson" series
Today: Gracie with the "Just Grace" series
Tomorrow: Lily with the "Cobble Street Cousins" series

Now, take it away Gracie!


Dad:  Hello Gracie.
Gracie (age 9):  Hi.
Dad:  Do you know why you are the only one here Bookie Woogie-ing?
Gracie:  It's just me today.
Dad:  Just you?  Just Grace?!
Gracie:  Yeah!!!
Dad:  And what book are we going to discus?
Gracie:  "Just Grace."
Dad:  I know it's just you.  But what book are we going to look at?
Gracie:  "Just Grace!"  The book is called "Just Grace!"
Dad:  Oh.... okay.
Gracie:  HA ha ha!  You know that.
Dad:  Why do you love these books?  Is it because your name is Grace?
Gracie:  I like them because the books are funny.
Dad:  So it's coincidence?  If the series was called "Just Hildegard," you would have still read them?
Gracie:  Hildegard is an awesome name.
Dad:  What does the "Just" in "Just Grace" mean?
Gracie:  She is in school with three other Graces.  There is Gracie, Grace W, Grace L, and Just Grace.  When she signs her papers she has to write "Just Grace" above them.
Dad:  I see.
Gracie:  This is how it started: At the beginning of the school year, the teachers said, "We can't have four Graces, we won't know who is who."  So they said, "your new name is Grace W for--" ...I don't remember what her last name was.  Grace Weebsnopper or whatever.
Dad:  Weebsnopper?
Gracie:  "And Grace... uh... Lowwee - you will be Grace L."  So Just Grace is thinking, if everyone else has a new name, maybe I can be Grace with no initial.  So she says, "Teacher, since everyone else's name isn't Grace anymore, can I be just Grace?"  So the teacher calls her Just Grace.  But I'm thinking the teacher really knew what she meant.
Dad:  So it was just a joke.
Gracie:  But kids loved that -- "Just Grace!  Just Grace!"
Dad:  Ah, kids, kids, kids...
Gracie:  You shouldn't blame kids about teasing.  You are the biggest teaser ever!
Dad:  Who me?
Gracie:  Yes you!  You tease about everything!
Dad:  Dad's are good at teasing.  So, what are the stories about?  Is there anything special about the main character?
Gracie:  She has empathy powers.
Dad:  Woah!  What does that mean?  What is "empathy."
Gracie:  I have no idea.  All I know is that she calls them "empathy powers."  And when somebody feels bad, she automatically has to do something to make them feel better.
Dad:  Then, I think you do know what empathy is.  "Empathy" means if someone feels a certain way, you feel it along with them.
Gracie:  I have empathy powers too.
Dad:  Does she use her powers for good or for evil?
Gracie:  How can you use "feeling bad for someone" for evil?
Dad:  Yeah, you're right.
Gracie:  Anyone out there with empathy powers who wants to destroy the world... sorry.  You are going to have to find something else to do.
Dad:  So give me an example of one time when Just Grace had empathy powers.
Gracie:  Once her best friend Mimi got this big triple ice cream cone, and Grace got a strawberry fudge one...
Dad:  Is this in the first book or a different one?
Gracie:  This isn't in any of the books.
Dad:  What???
Gracie:  I'm making it up.
Dad:  Pbbbbbb...
Gracie:  Ha ha ha ha ha!
Dad:  Okay.  So you are writing further adventures?
Gracie:  Oops... No...
Dad:  You are just trying to create an example.
Gracie:  Mm-hm.  So, if somebody gets a big fudge ice cream cone, and they spill it, you feel so bad for them that you give them yours.
Dad:  Is there anything else to say about the characters?
Gracie:  Just Grace loves to draw.  Whenever she feels sad or bad or mad or even happy, she goes up to her room, draws a comic, and then she feels, "Okiedoke, okay I'm fine..."
Dad:  Is that where you get that?  Sometimes when you are mad, you draw a picture about what happened.
Gracie:  I draw a picture of what just happened and then it calms me down.  But I started that before I read these books.
Dad:  So you are just like "Just Grace."  Same name.  Same powers.  Same drawing.  Maybe that could be the next book in the series... "Just Like Grace."
Gracie:  She's just a normal girl with empathy powers.
Dad:  Do you have to read the books in order?
Gracie:  I haven't been reading them in order at all.  It doesn't matter.
Dad:  Does the series feel complete?
Gracie:  The author needs to write more.  Please.
Dad:  Do you who the author is?
Gracie:  Fashion Kitty!!!
Dad:  Yep - it's the same lady who wrote the Fashion Kitty books.
Gracie:  I love them.
Dad:  Her name is Charise Mericle Harper.
Gracie:  She rocks.
Dad:  Is there anything similar between the Fashion Kitty graphic novels and the Just Grace chapter books?
Gracie:  The style of the pictures looks the same.  They have really squishy oval eyes.
Dad:  Well, thanks for telling us about these book!  I have one more question for you.  What are you currently reading?
Gracie:  Inkspell.  I'm on chapter 11.
Dad:  We all read Inkheart together.  Then you liked it so much that you decided to read the sequel on your own.  You know, you're just like Isaac - you are leaving me behind!  You are leaving me in the dust!
Gracie:  Ha ha ha!

four Graces, by Gracie

Author/Illustrator: Charise Mericle Harper
Book 1: "Just Grace" published, 2007: Houghton Mifflin
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Review #66: Bunny Days

Gracie (age 9):  Bunny Days!  Ha hah ha!
Dad:  And Gracie is already laughing...  just thinking about the book makes her laugh...
Lily (age 7):  It was hilarious.  It was Bunny-Funny.
Gracie:  The person who made it is Tao Nyeu.
Isaac (age 11):  There are three stories in this book.
Lily:  Each story is about bunnies.  And "Bear."  And a goat.
Dad:  We've got three stories and three Z-Kids.  How about you each tell me about one of the stories.
Lily:  Okay.
Dad:  The first one is called "Muddy Bunnies."
Gracie:  Nnnnah ha haa!
Dad:  And there she goes again.  Why are you laughing already?
Gracie:  The bunnies are so cute!
Dad:  What happens in this one, Lily?
Lily:  Mr. Goat was driving his tractor, and he splatters a whole bunch of mud all over the bunnies.
Dad:  Is there a way to fix the bunnies up?
Isaac:  Yes.  A funny way.
Lily:  They went to Bear and he stuck them in a washing machine!!!
Isaac:  Look at that bunny's face - he's covered in suds.  I think they are happy in there.
Lily:  Then Bear hangs them on a wire to dry for a day and a night.
Gracie:  He snapped them up by their foreheads.
Dad:  So who is going to tell me about story number 2: "Dusty Bunnies?"
Gracie:  Me.  There's this goat-lady -- Mrs. Goat.
Lily:  See - another goat!
Gracie:  She's vacuuming the grass.  And the bunnies are all sleeping in their holes.  And then she sucks them right out of the ground!  And you can see their little heads getting clunked together!  Ha ha ha!  They are so cute!
Isaac:  Look at that bunny's head - it's getting pulled!
Gracie:  He's got his little bunny buns hanging out.
Isaac:  Their eyes are huge and their heads are stretched extremely long.
Dad:  And who knows how to fix everything?
Isaac:  Bear.
Gracie:  He has a gi-normous fan.  Just so happens to have a gi-norous fan right then.  And he dusts them off.
Dad:  And Isaac, tell me about story 3, "Bunny Tails."
Isaac:  The bunnies are playing Hide and Go Seek.  They are hiding in the bushes and their tails look like flowers.  Mr. Goat is trimming the bushes, and he doesn't realize it but he -- snip, snip -- cuts off all their little tails!  Then they are all really sad...  just looking at their tails.
Gracie:  You snipped our buns off!
Isaac:  So they walk over to Bear who is sitting on a log with some tea and a sewing machine.
Dad:  Good news!
Gracie:  Ha ha!
Isaac:  Bear just sews them back on.
Gracie:  That bunny looks horrified!
Isaac:  He does!
Dad:  So, what is so funny about this book?
Gracie:  The bunnies!  Their feelings!  Their expressions are hilarious.
Lily:  And the bear put them in a washing machine!
Gracie:  And where would a bear even get a washing machine?
Isaac:  I know - it's so convenient.
Gracie:  A convenient comedy.
Dad:  So if we took our neighbor Gina's pet bunny and put it in a washing machine, would it be funny?
Isaac:  No way!
Dad:  So why is the book funny?  Why isn't it a horrible book?
Gracie:  Because the bunnies are so cute!
Isaac:  The bunnies are funny.  They don't talk and their expressions are funny.
Gracie:  You just know that the bunnies don't talk.  Here in the picture when the goat is snipping off their buns, this one bunny is looking at him really freaked out, and you KNOW that if he could talk, he would scream for him to stop.
Lily:  But the bunnies don't have any mouths.
Isaac:  And it is also funny because Bear always happens to have some big machine - sitting right next to him - and it's the one thing they need.
Gracie:  What are the chances!
Lily:  It's funny.
Gracie:  It's awesome!  A washing machine!  Where would he even plug it in?  It's part of the funny.
Isaac:  Maybe he has millions and millions of extension cords.
Gracie:  Something horrible always happens to the poor little innocent bunnies.
Dad:  Now, you guys each have your own sewing machines.
Gracie:  Me and Isaac.
Dad:  Would you know how to sew a tail back onto a bunny?
Isaac:  No - but I could figure it out.
Dad:  Tell me a little bit about what Tao Nyeu's illustrations look like.
Gracie:  Simple shapes.
Isaac:  But she has to have everything filled with all these lines and designs.  The hills are not just green hills -- they look like big green quilts.
Gracie:  And she makes stinkin' awesome trees.
Isaac:  Is this book made with watercolor?  I can't tell...
Gracie:  What is it done with, Dad?
Dad:  Let's see if the book tells us...  Oh, it's silkscreen.  I don't know much about how silkscreen works.  We'll have look later to see if she has any information on her website.  I think you print each color one at a time.
Isaac:  Yeah -- Remember when we looked at the video of that guy who was making CD covers...
Dad:  Oh yeah - Michael Wertz!  From when we reviewed "A Curious Collection of Cats."  Good memory.
Isaac:  I saw a whole video clip about silkscreen.
Dad:  That's one reason why these pages have a limited palette.  She had to make a different layer for each color.
Isaac:  That must have taken a long time.
Dad:  Can you imagine any more mishaps for the bunnies?  What do you think happens next?
Lily:  Look on the back cover!  A goat with a lawn mower!  Be careful!  Be careful when you are mowing the lawn!
Dad:  Ooo...  I envision another episode coming along...  "Bunny Slices..."
Gracie:  Oh!  I just hope Bear has super glue.
Dad:  Would bunnies find this story funny?
Gracie:  No!
Isaac:  Danger!  Bunnies, do not look at this book!

Mrs. Goat has a lawnmower!  Bunnies lose some ears!  Good thing Bear has some glue...  - by Lily

Mr. Goat's carrot picker picks up bunnies too...  - by Isaac

Mrs. Goat's freezer accidentally turns bunnies into cubes of ice.  It's a good thing Bear has a microwave to thaw them out...  - by Gracie

Author/Illustrator: Tao Nyeu
Published, 2010: Dial Books
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(or watch Michael Wertz silkscreen)