Monthly Archives: December 2013

I’ve become a big fan of Stephen McCranie’s Mal and Chad series of books ever since he skyped into my classroom and taught my students about drawing and storytelling. So, I am biased with this review. But even if I had not had the pleasure of Stephen’s company, I would be a fan of Mal and Chad. The books (three, so far, I believe) center on a boy, Mal, and his dog, Chad, through adventures and misadventures as Mal uses his technology skills and navigates the awkward stages of friendship with a girl, Megan.

There’s plenty of humor built into the stories — visual and textual — and the books are accessible and relate-able to elementary and middle school kids (and I suspect a few high school students wouldn’t mind picking it up). The artwork has a Manga-feel to it and McCranie conveys a lot through the expressions of his characters. Some of the “silent” panels pack the most powerful emotional punches, particularly as Mal gets shunned by other kids in his school. That’s a credit to McCranie’s art skills and understanding of graphic stories.

What sets Mal and Chad apart, though, is its heart.

The center of all the stories — including this one, Belly Flop — is Mal’s desire for good friendship and his willingness to do what it takes to become a true friend.  His intentions are always right on, even if the results almost always end up in slapstick comedy. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, and we the readers are right there with him. I’m always amused when Chad, the dog, kicks in with some dialogue, particularly when he is puffing up Mal with positive comments. Chad is Mal’s one-dog cheering section, and yet, it never falls into the cloyingly annoying phase, as it could. It’s genuine (well, as genuine as it gets with a talking dog.)

Belly Flop centers on a few storylines that come together, as Mal invents a Weather Cube that goes awry. Meanwhile, he gets invited to Megan’s birthday party, where some powerful glue on a gift undoes all of Mal’s ideas for impressing Megan and he ends up belly-flopping into a stream (thus, the nickname kids give Mal and the name of the book). So, he tries out for the Talent Show, only to have the audition fall apart when the Weather Cube goes crazy and unleashes a powerful storm. Mal races out to find Chad, to make sure his dog is safe, and finds himself in danger. Only Megan can save Mal … and she does.

See? Heart. That’s what storytelling is all about, and Mal and Chad is full of heart.

Peace (in the tale),
Kevin
PS — the trailer

Scholastic is making another push into what appears to be a lengthy book series, and I feel mixed about it. Spirit Animals begins with this first book, Wild Born. Here, there is the story of 12-year-old kids connecting with mythical animals that arrive during a special celebration and then the four set off on an adventure to save their world from evil forces brewing all around them. Sure, we’ve read this tale before. Many times. I’m not complaining, but I have to admit that my son liked this one better than I did, as we did it as a read-aloud together. I did enjoys the cover of the book. It’s very attractive and eye-catching. And I appreciated that writer Brandon Mull added complexities here and there in the plot and character development, such as competing storylines so that you are never quite certain which group is the real bad side.

But I can’t escape the feeling that there’s a marketing genius at work, though. I mean, you can’t go wrong with connecting animals with young heroes when it comes to young readers. Everyone loves powerful animals. And that’s what rubs me the wrong way with Spirit Animals. It feels like marketing more than storytelling.

I felt the same way about Scholastic’s 39 Clues series, although my older son loved those books and read them as they came out. Maybe it’s just me and a natural apprehension when a big company enters the room. Like 39 Clues, the Spirit Animals series has a web-based platform for students to “play the game” as they “read the book.” I let my son go to the site and set up an account, but looking over his shoulder from time to time, I can’t say that I was all that impressed with what I saw. He lost interest after about 15 minutes. Yet I don’t think he every got to the Quest part of the site, so maybe we didn’t fully experience the “play the game” element.

I remember sitting in a conference session at NCTE last year, where “transmedia books” was the topic, as represented by some publishing companies, including Scholastic. But I had to walk out midway through the presentation because their vision of “transmedia” was setting up a companion website for kids to “play” with the story and characters but it was clear that what they really meant was to “sell” more books in a series. Now, listen, I know publishers are in the business of selling books but I feel odd when kids are targeted through games and online portal spaces that are branded with by a company. Maybe I am being too critical of Scholastic here. I know they are trying to navigate the changes in the way kids read. I just feel a little put off by it all.

Peace (in the stories),
Kevin

PS — the trailer: