Tag Archives: fantasy

Lifting Spirits

Posted on July 23, 2020 by rosinskynatalie

Pandemic dangers and safety limits . . . uncertainties about the shape of the upcoming school year—it remains hard to be upbeat when these woes press us down. Low spirits, of course, affect kids as well as adults. Two recent … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, picture books | Tagged A Map into the World, Asian-American, brother-sister relationships, brothers and sisters, C.S. Lewis, Caldecott award-winning, Covid-19 anxiety, Covid-19 depression, Dan Santat, death of child, Drawn Together, elementary age-readers, fantasy, Hmong, humor, Kao Kalia Yang, Khoa Le, Lift, Minh Le, Minnesota, Narnia, pandemic anxiety, pandemic dangers, pandemic depression, picture book, school reopening, Seo Kim, sibling relationships, siblings, Thai-American, The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, The Most Beautiful Thing in the World, The Shared Room, upcoming school year, Xee Reiter | Leave a comment

On the Brink

Posted on January 1, 2020 by rosinskynatalie

On the brink of a new year, I have been thinking of medieval explorers at the brink of unknown seas or lands. “Here be dragons or lions,” their mapmakers warned. As we enter 2020 here in the U.S., the little … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged 2020, Africa, autumn equinox, Chinua Achebe, colonialism, Congo, corruption, evil, fantasy, festivals, friendship, graphic adaptation, Heart of Darkness, Japan, Joseph Conrad, journeys, maps, New Year, Peter Kuper, President Trump, racism, Ryan Andrews, star map, This Was Our Pact, xenophobia | Leave a comment

Looking Forward to History

Posted on September 1, 2019 by rosinskynatalie

A new school year brings serious fun to students! Young athletes and mathletes, robotics teams and academic decathlon squads, science fair and history day entrants are just some of the young folks who gear up each year for fun. But … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, hybrid books | Tagged Abigail Adams Pirate of the Caribbean, Abraham Lincoln Pro Wrestler, Amelia Earhart and the Flying ChariotChario, American history, back to school, British history, convent, Dylan Meconis, fantasy, funny graphic novels, history, history mash-ups, humor, Jewish immigrant history, King George What Was HIs Problem: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About the American Revolution, Nat Love and Neil Armstrong Space Cowboys, Neil Swaab, new school year, nuns, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of the Sea, Rabbi Harvey: A Graphic Novel of Jewish Wit and Wisdom in the Wild West, Steve Sheinkin, surprising facts, Tim Robinson, time travel, Time Twisters series, Two Miserable Presidents: Everything Your School Books Didn't Tell You About the Civil War, Which Way to the Wild West: Everything Your Schoolbooks Didn't Tell You About Westward Expansion | Leave a comment

Beyond Halloween Thrills

Posted on October 1, 2018 by rosinskynatalie

Heralding Halloween, plastic ghosts and ghouls materialized on some front porches back in September. This horde will rapidly increase–adding movie monsters, comic book creatures, and graveyard trappings—as October 31 approaches. Yet the truly terrifying may not be what we see … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, story collection | Tagged Baba Yaga's Assistant, blended families, Bluebeard, Emily Carroll, fairy tales, fantasy, Halloween, horror, Laurie Halse Anderson, Marika McCoola, rape, recovering from rape, Red Riding Hood, sexual violence, Speak, Speak: The Graphic Novel, stories, supernatural, suspense, terror, Through the Woods | Leave a comment

Korean Tales

Posted on November 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

North Korea remains forefront in U.S. news, as both countries’ boastful, ambitious leaders toy childishly with nuclear threats. We here in the U.S. can only hope and work within our political system to avert such disaster. Novels such as Adam … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, manga | Tagged Adam Johnson, adolescence, Booklist"s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth, fantasy, frequently challenged book, goblins, Hangul, Julie Kim, Kim Dong Hwa, Korea, Korean American, Korean folk tales, Korean folklore, manhwa, Moon Rabbit, mother-daughter relationship, nine-tailed fox, North Korean, Sejong Cultural Society, sex, sexuality, South Korea, The Color of Earth, The Color of Heaven, The Color of Water, The Orphan Master's Son, Where's Halmoni, writing competition, YALSA Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens | Leave a comment

Tricks and Treats? Some Serious Holiday Fun

Posted on October 7, 2014 by rosinskynatalie

Today’s trick-or-treaters may not know the serious origins of this fun-filled tradition. Their masks and costumes began as disguises for All Hallows’ Eve (now Halloween), the time when ghosts, demons, and other supernatural creatures supposedly could slip easily from their … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged All Hallow's Eve, Benjamin Dewey, cats, Charles Perrault, criminal mastermind, Danny Dragonbreath: No Such Thing as Ghosts, demon, Digger: The Complete Omnibus Edition, fantasy, Ganesha, Halloween, hero's quest, Hugo Award, hyena, I Was the Cat, Lloyd Alexander, Mythopoeic Award, nine lives, Paul Tobin, Time Cat., Ursula Vernon, warriors, webzine, wombat | Leave a comment