Saturday, April 30, 2022

Book Review - Poiko: Quests & Stuff by Brian Middleton

 

Poiko and his best friend, Ken, like to go on adventures while delivering their packages. There is no average or boring day for the kingdom's most reliable courier. The world can be scary but, when you have good friends by your side, you can conquer it all.

I thought the book was a cute read. It was beautifully illustrated and had tons of heart. The book dealt with death, helping others, what it meant to be a friend, and how to be yourself while managing other people's expectations. I am looking forward to reading more of Poiko's adventures!


**Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion**

About The Book:

Title: POIKO: Quests Stuff

Author: Brian Middleton, Rebecca Taylor (Editor)

Pub. Date: April 12, 2022

Publisher: Wonderbound

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 128

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooks, KoboTBD, Bookshop.org

 

A new adorable anthropomorphic adventurer awaits, and his name is Poiko! Perfect for fans of Mouse Guard, Little Robot, and Hilda!

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN “AVERAGE” DAY FOR POIKO!

Have you ever had to deliver a care package to a dragon with allergies? Have you ever been waylaid by a school of space fish? That’s just an average day for Poiko, the kingdom’s most reliable courier. The world can be a big, scary place, but it can also be wondrous. Sad things can happen, but there are always good friends to turn to, or new friends to make. And no matter what, there is always, always someone who could use your help. Poiko learns all these lessons and more every time he brushes his tail, pulls on his hoodie, and steps out into a new adventure. The philosophical whimsicality of Calvin & Hobbes meets the fantasy-scapes of Adventure Time in this modern-day classic.

“In this sincere and exuberant fantasy adventure … Fanciful, visually engrossing backdrops and the sprawling cast of characters bring to mind classic Sunday comic aesthetics.”  -- Publishers Weekly

#1 Weekly pick from Good Comics for Kids!

Reviews:

“In this sincere and exuberant fantasy adventure … Fanciful, visually engrossing backdrops and the sprawling cast of characters bring to mind classic Sunday comic aesthetics.”― PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

"Poiko: Quests and Stuff will delight young readers and drop them into a world that’s magical and interesting while reflecting something incredibly human in the way the characters interact with their community." -- Eliza Viera ― Gate Crashers

Download DIGITAL ITEMS (Bookmarks, Digital Wallpapers, and Poster), HERE!

https://www.readwonderbound.com/books/poiko-quests-and-stuff/


About Brian Middleton:

Brian Middleton has been telling stories in one form or another for his whole life. His first comic book (published by his brother's 4th grade teacher and the school's copy machine) sold out at the distributor level. After that there was no looking back! He continued drawing as the years went on and wrote several short stories. Eventually he married the woman of his dreams and together they started a family. At this point his mind began to drift back to his first creative passion: comic books! After dipping his toe in the water with a handful of self-published and work-for-hire comics he decided to take the deep dive and create his first series, Wulfborne. The three issue mini-series, published by Scout Comics, released in February 2019 to rave reviews. The comics review site, Reading With A Flight Ring, called the book "an understated masterpiece of fiction" and called Brian "a madman, a fool and a genius", which, as far as anyone knows, is all true. With the creation of Wulfborne complete Brian has turned his creative attention toward his next project, Poiko: Quests and Stuff. The rest of his attention is focused squarely on his one wonderful wife, two beautiful daughters and six (feel free, dear reader, to fill in here the adjective of your choice) cats.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Friday, April 29, 2022

Book Review - Witchblood (Witchblood Issues, #1) by Matthew Erman + Giveaway

 


Yonna is a witch who is traveling the open road when she comes across a  gang of bloodthirsty biker vampires, The Hounds of Love, who are on the hunt for the source of magic. The vampires know that witch blood can grant them the abilities of the witch whose blood they drank. Yonna tries to mind her own business and continue on with her solo trip but, she soon finds herself in vampires' cross hairs.

I thought the graphic novel was beautifully drawn. I was also interested in reading about vampires and witches. I was torn about the graphic novel at times because it was a bit confusing. Some parts of the story wasn't well fleshed out. And at times, I felt like I was missing a connection in story and with the characters. There was some mentions of a band called "Mannequin Pussy", that was referred too a few times but, I am not familiar with them. Some graphic novel spent a lot of time building up to the story and has no real "meaty" parts to the story. I felt like this book had tons of story and I felt that some of it could have been added to another book so, some parts of the story could have been fleshed out more. I would have love to learn more about Esme and Yonna's relationship and why Yonna is spending all of her time on the road. They mentioned different types of witches and I would have learned to learn about each type and how they related to Esme. I felt like these were important details that were just hinted at but, no details were really given. However, I did think the graphic was a fun read. Yonna was funny and a flawed character and I would be interested in reading more about her adventures.

 **Disclosure - I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion** 


 

About The Book:

Title: WITCHBLOOD: The Complete Series (Witchblood #1-10)

Author: Matthew Erman, Lisa Sterle (Illustrations),Gab Contreras, Jim Campbell

Pub. Date: April 12, 2022

Publisher: Wonderbound

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 128

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, Kindle, B&NiBooks, KoboTBD, Bookshop.org

A non-stop supernatural action adventure bathed in magic, blood, motorcycles, mayhem, vampires, and an unconventional. 1,000 year-old witch named Yonna.

MAGIC IS IN THE BLOOD

A modern, Wild West road trip about a witch named Yonna cruising the Southwest as a band of bloodthirsty biker vampires, The Hounds of Love, hunt her scattered coven for the source of all magic: witch blood. From the critically acclaimed creators of The Modern Witch Tarot Deck and Long Lost comes Witchblood, a blend of action, lore, and Americana—perfect for fans of Buffy and American Gods.

Reviews:

"Loud and brash and high-energy, the kind of thing that makes readers yearn to see what will come next...[packed with] gripping, stylish thrills." ― Women Write About Comics

"A mixtape in comic form, that blends familiar lore, with the roughness of the Wild West...the creative team has successfully given us a character who although vulnerable, packs some serious attitude, you can’t help but root for her, and with the dangers she has stumbled upon and the revelation of her WITCHBLOOD, we are on our way to be treated to some action-packed, magic in the making." ― Geek Network

"Witchblood #1 is a fun, splashy start to a stylish series." ― AV Club

"Want a chaotic, fun time? Witchblood is just the levels of chaos you need in your life." ― Wandering Nerd Girl

"Witchblood is the most beautiful form of a passion project...This comic really is something special, not just for fans of witchcraft and vampires, but for anyone who loves colour, representation, and the craft done right." ― The Valkyries

Named one of "the comics and graphic novels worth mentioning from 2021" ― THRILLIST

 

About Matthew Erman:

Matthew Erman is a comics writer from Columbus, Ohio. Alongside Lisa Sterle, he co-created the critically acclaimed comic horror series, Long Lost, which was optioned for Film/TV by Producer Jenny Klein (The Witcher, Daisy Jones and The Six). Erman has since worked on the comic book series Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and graphic novel Power Rangers: Sins of the Future with BOOM! Studios, series Care Bears: Unlock the Magic with IDW, the upcoming  science fiction/ horror / humorous romance original graphic novel BONDING, with artist and co-creator Emily Pearson for Vault Comics, and the smash supernatural action adventure comics series (with artist/co-creator Lisa Sterle) from Vault Comics, WITCHBLOOD. His short work can be found in anthologies such as Corpus (2018), Dead Beats (2019) and Everything is Going Wrong (2019).

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

About Lisa Sterle:

Lisa Sterle is a Columbus artist with work spanning from comic books to concept design to pop-culture-fueled illustration. Her work is often bright, expressive, and occasionally tinged with horror— marrying her two favorite themes: the beautiful and the grotesque. She has worked with HarperCollins, IDW, Image, Archie Comics, Vault Comics, BOOM! Studios, and many others. She is the co-creator of monthly comics Long Lost and Submerged (Vault Comics), and Witchblood (Vault comics), as well as creator of The Modern Witch Tarot Deck, a modern and diverse interpretation of the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck. Currently she is working on the graphic novel Squad with writer Maggie Tokuda-Hall for Greenwillow Books.

WITCHBLOOD is the first time Lisa Sterle’s wider (witchy/tarot/occult) audience has access to her all-new  book (to be found in book stores in which they frequent), and it is her first creator-owned project since The Modern Witch Tarot.

As the creator of the smash, best-selling, The Modern Witch Tarot, Lisa has a super rabid fan base, and with over 16K Twitter followers, she is known as one of the most “influential witches in the world!”  Further, Lisa was voted by Watkins Body Mind Spirit Magazine as one of the Top 100 Most Spiritually Influential  Living People  (Pope Francis is #1, Dalai Lama is #2; Lisa is #92 – Neil de Grasse Tyson is #93!)

Here’s more about Lisa Sterle’s  diverse, all-female, Modern Witch Tarot:

    • The Modern Witch Tarot has sold over TWO MILLION UNITS since its release on October 1, 2019
    • The Modern Witch Tarot is the #1 Bestselling Tarot in the world – ever!
    • It is the #1 BESTSELLER in Amazon’s Tarot category
    • It is the #2 BESTSELLER in Amazon’s Fortune Telling category
    • It is the #4 BESTSELLER in Amazon’s Witchcraft Religion & Spirituality category
    • The Modern Witch Tarot has over 13,000 reviews
    • The Modern Witch Tarot is rated 5 stars on Amazon
    • The Modern Witch Tarot has been in the TOP 500 Books on Amazon since release
    • The Modern Witch Tarot reinvented the Rider-Waite deck for modern use

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

2 winners will receive a finished copy of WITCHBLOOD, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/11/2022

Writer of Wrongs

Excerpt or Guest Post

4/12/2022

Wottaread Blog

Excerpt or Guest Post

4/13/2022

BookHounds YA

Excerpt or Guest Post/IG Post

4/14/2022

Sadie's Spotlight

Excerpt or Guest Post/IG Post

4/15/2022

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog

Excerpt or Guest Post

4/16/2022

See Sadie Read

Review

Week Two:

4/17/2022

A Court of Coffee and Books

Review

4/18/2022

@thebookishfoxwitch

Review

4/19/2022

The Momma Spot

Review

4/20/2022

Celia's Reads

Review

4/21/2022

Bri's Bookish

Review

4/22/2022

A Bookish Dream

Review

4/23/2022

Lifestyle of Me

Review

Week Three:

4/24/2022

Fyrekatz Blog

Review

4/25/2022

Eli to the nth

Review/IG Post

4/26/2022

Nerdophiles

Review

4/27/2022

The Clever Reader

Review/IG Post

4/28/2022

Nonbinary Knight Reads

Review

4/29/2022

Two Points of Interest

Review

4/30/2022

Vamplit

Review

Week Four:

5/1/2022

My Fictional Oasis

Review

5/2/2022

Pages_and_Procrastinaton

Review/IG Post

5/3/2022

Bookish Rantings

Excerpt or Guest Post/IG Post

5/4/2022

Emmiepooh2

Review

5/5/2022

Two Chicks on Books

Excerpt or Guest Post

5/6/2022

@jaimerockstarbooktours

IG Post

5/7/2022

@lexijava

Review/IG Post


Thursday, April 28, 2022

Book Review - Armadillo Antics by Bill Martin Jr. + Giveaway


 I thought the book was cute and beautifully illustrated. However, I felt like it was missing something. The story felt convoluted, forced, and boring at times. I did like that they include some facts about armadillos.

 

About The Book:

Title: ARMADILLO ANTICS

Author: Bill Martin Jr., Michael Sampson, Nathalie Beauvois (Illustrations)

Pub. Date: April 26, 2022

Publisher: Brown Books Kids

Formats: Hardcover, eBook

Pages: 32

Find it: GoodreadsAmazon, B&NTBD, Bookshop.org

Join the Armadillo on His Nightly Romp!

Children will love the rhythm and rhyme that are hallmarks of the beloved author duo of Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 as they follow the adventurous armadillo through nighttime fun as dawn approaches.

Bill Martin Jr was the beloved author of more than three hundred books for children and teachers, including the classics Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.

Michael Sampson taught kindergarten through fourth grade before meeting fellow literacy expert Bill Martin Jr at a conference in Tucson, Arizona in 1978. They established a lifelong friendship and collaborated on many bestselling and award-winning books for children, including Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 and Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Reviews:

"A wonderfully musical nighttime romp with stunning illustrations." --Matt de la Peña, Newbery Medal-Winning, New York Times Bestselling Author

"Beauvois, whose elaborately textured, highly dimensional surfaces recognize the paper collage legacy of Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, creates a series of striking contrasts to the repeating text's simple rhymes. As the mammals appear, ready to "romp and play till the night is done," they're shown in deep jewel tones with patterning reminiscent of a Missoni sweater... tagging along with this self-possessed, graphically stylish critter and chanting its name as it leaps, digs, and dines makes for a memorable outing." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"For a romping night in the life of a roly-poly armadillo, pick up Armadillo Antics!"--Parade Magazine

"This short rhyming story about a night in the life of an armadillo is cozy and soothing. Beauvois's collage-style art, especially the armadillo curled up inside its next, gives Eric Carle vibes. A collection of eight facts on the final page will fascinate kids and grown-ups alike."--Parents Magazine

 
 

About Bill Martin Jr.:

BILL MARTIN JR was the beloved author of more than 300 books for children and teachers, including the classics_ Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, which was illustrated by his friend Eric Carle, and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, illustrated by Lois Ehlert. Bill was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame by the International Literacy Association. The Bill Martin, Jr Picture Book Award, which is the Kansas State award for best children’s picture book, was established in his name in 1996. Bill wrote Armadillo Antics with Michael Sampson when he moved to Texas, in honor of the fun, inquisitive creatures that roamed the woods outside his house. Visit Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson’s website at billmartinjr.com

 

Website |  Goodreads

 

About Michael Sampson:

MICHAEL SAMPSON taught kindergarten through fourth grade before meeting fellow literacy expert Bill Martin Jr at a conference in Tucson, Arizona in 1978. They established a lifelong friendship and collaborated on many bestselling and award-winning books for children, including_Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3_and_Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? Sampson often speaks at schools, book festivals, and literacy conferences, where he is known for his high-energy, entertaining performances. Dr. Sampson is a Fulbright Scholar and a professor of literacy at St. John’s University in New York City. Visit Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson’s website at billmartinjr.com. You can also follow Michael on Twitter and Instagram @michaelsampson.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

 

About Nathalie Beauvois:

NATHALIE BEAUVOIS has a graphic design background in advertising and has also studied industrial design. Nathalie started her career in the art departments of ad agencies and eventually transitioned into freelance illustrating. Since then, she has illustrated dozens of books and hundreds of magazines in countries all over the world. Her creations always start the traditional way — with paper and pencil. Depending on the visual task at hand, she mixes in techniques such as watercolor, collage, vector drawing and Photoshop coloring and texturizing. When not playing with the antics of armadillos, she is happily living and working in Argentina with her family. Visit her website at nathaliebeauvois.weebly.com. You can also find her on Instagram @tanebeauvois_illustrations.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

 

Giveaway Details:

1 winner will receive a finished copy of ARMADILLO ANTICS, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

4/18/2022

The book review crew

Review/IG Post

4/18/2022

onemoreexclamation

Review/IG Post

4/19/2022

Do You Dog-ear?

Review/IG Post

4/19/2022

Excuse Me, I’m Reading

Review

4/20/2022

Girls in White Dresses

Review

4/20/2022

Little Red Reads

Review/IG Post

4/21/2022

Cindy's Love of Books

Review

4/21/2022

Nerdophiles

Review

4/22/2022

@just_another_mother_with_books

Review

4/22/2022

Just Another Teen Reading Books

Review

Week Two:

4/25/2022

PickAGoodBook

Review/IG Post

4/25/2022

Jazzy Book Reviews

Review/IG Post

4/26/2022

For The Love Of The Page

Review/IG Post

4/26/2022

BookHounds YA

Review/IG Post

4/27/2022

Unconventional Quirky Bibliophile

Review/IG Post

4/27/2022

@mamaisbooked

Review

4/28/2022

Two Points of Interest

Review

4/28/2022

The Momma Spot

Review/IG Post

4/29/2022

Nonbinary Knight Reads

Review/IG Post

4/29/2022

onemused

Review/IG Post