Book Description
A work more disturbing than fiction from "the father of graphic novels" (New York Times).
Will Eisner, the great American master of comics, has undertaken what he regards as his most powerful work yet. The Plot examines the outrageous fabrication of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which purports to be the actual blueprint by Jewish leaders to take over the world. Hatched as an anti-Semitic plot by the tsar's secret police to deflect widespread criticism of the government, the Protocols, first published in 1905, succeeded beyond the propagandistic ambitions of its originators; the lie became an internationally accepted truth. Presenting a pageant of historical figures including Tsar Nicholas II, Henry Ford, and Adolf Hitler, Eisner exposes the twisted history of the Protocols from nineteenth-century Russia to modern-day Klan members to Islamic fundamentalists. The Plot unravels one of the most devastating hoaxes of the twentieth century.
Customer Reviews:
Accessible overview of the Protocols of Zion.......2007-07-29
This is a very accessible overview of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, its history, the principle players in its creation and distribution, as well as the numerous court cases that have debunked its validity. The text is a bit dry, but it would be very useful in the context of a high school classroom or library.
The Plot; a Forerunner to Mein Kamph.......2007-05-14
This animated approach to an old story about a world-wide Jewish plot to
take over the entire world is as chilling as it is artful. Will Eisner is
quite talented in his ability to render figures in animated form. His re-telling of this nineteenth century story familiarizes us with the material
that Adolph Hitler no doubt utilized in his own concoction of a worldwide
Jewish take-over plot as described in the latter's work, Mein Kamph.
This book should be a requirement for those who are serious students of
the Holocaust, of sociology, and of anti-Semetic written works.
a bit hard to follow at the beginning..........2007-04-01
but well-done at its core: I think the side-by-side comparison of the Protocols and the work it was plagiarized from is by far the most compelling part of the book. However, I did have some trouble keeping the characters straight at the start of the book.
Christians: Don't Be Deterred By The Preface..........2006-12-22
Cartoonist Will Eisner's graphic narrative format is ingeniously well-suited for portraying the absurdity of the fraudulent and ridicule-worthy #1 antisemitic book of all time: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a plagiarized fiction passed off as fact. Both the format and the eerily intriguing cover might be especially attractive to teens, and the book would be a great addition to any high school library.
Eisner starts off with The Protocols' origin in France and Russia, then traces its resilient spread through time and geography. One of the most impactive parts of the book is when it visually depicts side-by-side comparisons of the Protocols with Maurice Joly's Dialogues in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu, the near-identical similarities so outrageous how anyone can believe this stuff as true is dumbfounding. The fascinating story maintains a fast pace, noting The London Times exposing of The Protocols as fraudulent, Henry Ford's appropriation of the lie, use of it by Hitler, legal rulings against the Protocals in Switzerland and South Africa, and more...yet it will not die, even after a U.S. Senate report busting it as a "Fabricated 'Historical' Document." Spain, Argentina, USSR, India, Egypt, Italy, the KKK, Lebanon, Japan, Turkey, Hamas, and so many others helped perpetuate the myth of an international Jewish conspiracy responsible for every bad event. The book ends with 2004, and so does not cover the present-day use of the Protocols on Islamic websites, the 2006 incident of a Hollywood figure spouting off about Jews responsibility for all wars, or any of the other new forms of Protocolsesque propaganda such as blaming social and political ills on some conspiratorial controlling "Israel lobby."
The Plot keeps its focus on key peoples, places and events involved in The Protocols' history, not delving much into the historical contexts or the specifics of The Protocols' 24 items. The strength of the book is in its appealing format that manages to make a powerful presentation without being pedantic, an enjoyable read about a descpicable topic. There is one serious (and ironic) flaw early in the book: In the Preface Eisner in talking about "devices that antisemites used to promote their message" says, "There had to be some weapon other than the ancient Christian Gospels' condemnation of Jews that appeared again and again and resurrected itself, vampire-like, to reinforce antisemitism." This is a sure way to alienate Christians, surely part of the target audience for this educational book, who might likely not make it to page one of the book proper, because of Eisner's misrepresentation of the Gospels and perpetuation of what we Christians consider to be a "big lie" or myth about our faith and because of the loss of credibility caused by Eisner purporting to be correcting a prejudicial lie while hypocritically propagating another. By his general, out-of-context reference to "Christian Gospels' condemnation of Jews," Eisner does what antisemites misrepresnting the name of Christ have done, that is he falsely makes it seem as if the Gospels are against the Jewish people and thereby justify antisemitism. Hopefully future editions of this book will remove this divisive and dishonest statement that isn't even about the focus of the book anyway, and is the reason for the 4-star rating.
Powerful and fascinating.......2006-11-21
This book really shows how even a laughably unlikely conspiracy theory can be wildly effective when packaged properly. Towards the end it discusses the continued use of the Protocols worldwide as anti-Semitic propaganda. Frightening and enlightening.
Book Description
Jonathan Lethem’s new collection of stories is a feast for his fans and the perfect introduction for new readers—nine fantastic, amusing, poignant tales written in a dizzying variety of styles, as Lethem samples high and low culture to create fictional worlds that are utterly original. Longtime readers will recognize echoes of Lethem’s novels in all these pieces—narrators who can’t stop babbling, hapless would-be detectives, people with unusual powers that do them no good, hot-blooded academics, and characters whose clever repartee masks lovelorn desperation as they negotiate both the stumbling path of romance and the bittersweet obligations of friendship.
Among them:
“The Vision” is a story about drunken neighborhood parlor games, boys who dress up as superheroes, and the perils of snide curiosity.
“Access Fantasy” is part social satire, part weird detective story. Evoking Lethem’s earliest work, it conjures up a world divided between people who have apartments and people trapped in an endless traffic jam behind The One-Way Permeable Barrier.
“The Spray” is a simple story about how people in love deal with their past. A magical spray is involved.
“Vivian Relf” is a tour de force about loss. A man meets a woman at a party; they’re sure they’ve met before, but they haven’t. As the years progress this strangely haunting encounter comes to define the narrator’s life.
“The Dystopianist, Thinking of His Rival, Is Interrupted by a Knock on the Door” is a Borgesian tale that features suicidal sheep. (This story won a Pushcart Prize when first published in Conjunctions.)
“Super Goat Man” is a savagely funny exposé of the failures of the sixties baby boomers, and of their children.
Sparkling with the off-beat humor and subtle insights, Men and Cartoons is a welcome addition to the shelf of the writer “whose bold imagination and sheer love of words defy all forms and expectations and place him among his country’s foremost novelists.”
—Salon
Customer Reviews:
Genres in a Blender.......2007-09-04
MEN AND CARTOONS, an uneven but daring collection of eleven short stories by Jonathan Lethem, takes delight in juxtaposing mundane realities with absurd, surreal, or even supernatural particulars. "Super Goat Man," for instance, is concerned with a Jung-reading, jazz-loving resident at a Brooklyn commune who later goes on to teach at a liberal New Hampshire college -- and, oh, by the way, this professor just happens to be the eponymous character, a literal goat-slash-man -- previously a ho-hum comic book superhero whose unremarkable adventures never quite caught on with the masses. Lethem inserts his incredible characters and events into a quasi-real world where everything is taken at face value. It almost calls to mind magical-realism, but in the case of Lethem the extraordinary is more prosaic than poetic -- less magical than merely situational. Super Goat Man is, after all, like every man in many ways, except for his goatness.
Meanwhile, in "The Shape We're In," the longest story in the collection, a retired military "man" (who happens to be a relentless wisecracker and an alcoholic) asks the Big Questions in his own little world, which just happens to be the inside of a human body. Yes, Mr F is actually some kind of corpuscular element (blood cell perhaps?) racing from the cavernous temple-like lung to the upper nose in a quest to find his son Dennis, who has been spotted panhandling in the environs of one of the eyes. In "The Spray" a house burglary introduces a couple to the spray of the title, a mysterious aerosol chemical which, when applied to an area, reveals the image of what is lost or missing. And in "Access Fantasy" -- probably the most extreme, Phillip K. Dickian outing here -- the main character attempts to solve a suspected murder when he spots a suspicious shadow on an "apartment tape" while stuck in a month-long (or is it year-long?) traffic jam. To do so, he must become an advertising drone and venture across something called the "One-Way Permeable Barrier." (Don't ask. This is certainly one of Lethem's muddiest, least satisfying stories.)
Lethem's stories are most successful when he doesn't drift too far from the normal reaches of reality and when his stories remain firmly grounded in human relationships, as in "The Vision," "The Spray," "Vivian Reif," "The Glasses," and "Super Goat Man." Although the symbolism in the "The Glasses," for instance, seems very heavy-handed, the amusing, quirky dialogue keeps this story afloat.
For those who are familiar only with Lethem's more famous works FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE and MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN, this short story collection may surprise (or disappoint). Although FORTRESS and BROOKLYN involved supernatural and offbeat elements, respectively, MEN AND CARTOONS is more overtly experimental in the strange new realities it imposes on our world. In other words, it may tax the literal-minded.
Super Reader.......2007-08-27
A story collection with not too much of interest, they are all pretty short. A woman that does the Scarlet Witch outfit to get her bloke's crank on, a couple of kids that grow up to be opposing science fiction stylists, as could be seen by their favorite Marvel characters. Those being Doctor Doom for the Dystopianist, and Black Bolt for the Utopianists.
Then there is Super-Goat Man, the superhero who lost his comic etc. because of lameness and outspoken political viewpoints, and ended up faculty at a small college after being a hippy.
1 star for each good story.......2007-08-06
This is my first read of Jonathan Lethem. I heard his story "The Spray" on the NPR show Selected Shorts, and I was rather impressed, so I tracked down this collection. I am not familiar with any of his novels.
What impressed me about "The Spray" when I heard it, and also when I read it, was its easy style--a couple find that their apartment has been robbed, but when the police come, the couple find that they are not sure about what has been taken, so the police spray the apartment with a substance that makes what's missing appear in a salmon-colored glow. When they leave, though, the police leave the spray cannister behind, and the couple are curious to see what happens when they spray each other. The story moves forward very easily and naturally, obeying its own logic, but by the end it becomes clear that everything has been turning on an idea about loss and the inability to truly let go of things. But Lethem doesn't strong-arm the metaphor on the story. Everything seems to move along quite naturally, while by the end the overriding purpose becomes clear, and this purpose remains even when looking back through the story.
The best works in this collection move with that same sense of authority and ease. "The Vision" is a tale about a man re-encountering someone he knew in his childhood who once thought we was a superhero, but now the narrator has to deal with the oddball as a neighbor, and even worse, as the guest of this man who is hosting a party to play a game called Mafia. Keeping with the comic book motif, "Super Goat Man" is about a man's encounters with a failed comic book hero from childhood through their like-minded academic careers. These are the strongest stories of this collection.
But others just fall flat and don't seem to sustain the kind of control and laxity that made the previously mentioned stories such winners. "Planet Big Zero" is a rather dully-conflicted tale about a man and his unlikable childhod friend, and "The Glasses" may be too dependent on social commentary (maybe) to see much drive through the piece. "The Dystopianist" is quite funny, but ultimately doesn't seem to pay off by the end. And the stories that were added to this printing after the hardcover offer little reason to seek out this particular edition. "Interview with the Crab" has some interesting tensions about reality versus actuality (odd to say, when the title is quite literal to the premise of the story), but a lot of these stories read a little too much like T.C. Boyle--a lot of imagnation, but little to hang it on.
Though the three excellent stories in here may be worth the purchase itself, as a whole this collection doesn't satisfy.
Average customer rating:
- An Intriguing Blend Of Fictional Styles, But.....
- One of the best living American writers
- Some brilliant work....
- Repetitive, but rewarding
- Beautiful and bizarre
|
Men and Cartoons: Stories
Jonathan Lethem
Manufacturer: Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Literary
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United States
| Short Stories
| Literature & Fiction
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ASIN: 0385512163
Release Date: 2004-11-02 |
Book Description
Jonathan Lethem’s new collection of stories is a feast for his fans and the perfect introduction for new readers—nine fantastic, amusing, poignant tales written in a dizzying variety of styles, as Lethem samples high and low culture to create fictional worlds that are utterly original. Longtime readers will recognize echoes of Lethem’s novels in all these pieces—narrators who can’t stop babbling, hapless would-be detectives, people with unusual powers that do them no good, hot-blooded academics, and characters whose clever repartee masks lovelorn desperation as they negotiate both the stumbling path of romance and the bittersweet obligations of friendship.
Among them:
“The Vision” is a story about drunken neighborhood parlor games, boys who dress up as superheroes, and the perils of snide curiosity.
“Access Fantasy” is part social satire, part weird detective story. Evoking Lethem’s earliest work, it conjures up a world divided between people who have apartments and people trapped in an endless traffic jam behind The One-Way Permeable Barrier.
“The Spray” is a simple story about how people in love deal with their past. A magical spray is involved.
“Vivian Relf” is a tour de force about loss. A man meets a woman at a party; they’re sure they’ve met before, but they haven’t. As the years progress this strangely haunting encounter comes to define the narrator’s life.
“The Dystopianist, Thinking of His Rival, Is Interrupted by a Knock on the Door” is a Borgesian tale that features suicidal sheep. (This story won a Pushcart Prize when first published in Conjunctions.)
“Super Goat Man” is a savagely funny exposé of the failures of the sixties baby boomers, and of their children.
Sparkling with the off-beat humor and subtle insights, Men and Cartoons is a welcome addition to the shelf of the writer “whose bold imagination and sheer love of words defy all forms and expectations and place him among his country’s foremost novelists.”
—Salon
Customer Reviews:
An Intriguing Blend Of Fictional Styles, But............2007-06-03
"Men and Cartoons" is an all too brief, return visit to the fictional worlds created by Jonathan Lethem in his memorable novels "Motherless Brooklyn" and "Fortress of Solitude", with more than a passing nod to such classic early work from him like his literary debut "Gun, With Occasional Music". Hence it is an interesting, often fascinating, blend of literary styles from quasi-cyberpunk science fiction to hard-boiled noirish detective stories reminiscent of the best from the likes of Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard. However, it is not Lethem's most impressive story collection when I can find only one truly memorable tale in this terse anthology; the emotionally captivating "Super Goat Man". And yet there is another tale which almost succeeds as a work of literary art, "The Glasses", which is a fascinating glimpse into racial relations and standards of normal, mentally stable, behavior. If there is one common underlying thread which links all of these stories, then it is Lethem's ongoing fascination with Brooklyn, growing up there as adolescents in the 1970s, and a devout, almost fanatical, love for comic books. Those who are truly interested in reading some brief examples of Lethem's intriguing, often elegant, literary style won't be disappointed with this story collection.
One of the best living American writers.......2007-01-03
Lethem's novels are superior to his essays and short stories. His essays are superior to his short stories. He has a wonderful way of articulating a particular view in american culture that is sadly lacking in competant literary and critical figures. Most of his published work is far better than the majority of stuff out there. Worthy of the price - at least checking out of the library. Remember those?
Some brilliant work...........2006-10-31
but not all the stories are fantastic. By my count, 3 of these were amazing, 3 of them bland and the last one I'd read before so it doesn't count. My personal favorite is Super Goat Man, which was magnificent. Jonathan Lethem is a very expressive writer, and I can see a bit of noir in his writing. I have to read Fortress of Solitude now.
Repetitive, but rewarding.......2006-09-12
I took a long time to finally open this after getting the paperback, and finally read the first two stories on the beach at Sandy Hook, New Jersey -- occasionally glancing up to reflect on the skyline of the author's own Brooklyn. Obviously these stories are not intended to be beach material. Lethem tackles the same themes of loss, misplaced self-absorption, petty jealousy, and very occasionally, redemption. In many ways, "Men and Cartoons" tackles the same basic story in nine different styles and genres -- eleven, if you read the paperback with two extra stories. This can get a bit tiresome if you read all the stories consecutively, but spread out over several days, and best read one at a time, almost all of these stories are inventive, lively, and downbeat.
"The Vision" and "Super Goat Man" are both entrenched in the Marvel Comics universe, as told in the first person by a Brooklyn-born adult who's somehow failed to cash in on the promise of adulthood. Both stories climax at an awkward dinner party, and each end on a slightly different note of wistfulness. The last line to "Super Goat Man" is perhaps one of my favorite short story punchlines.
Similar to "Super Goat Man" is "Vivian Relf", although the title subject here is an alluring young woman (rather than a retired superhero) whom the narrator may or may not know from somewhere else in his past. The story again ends at a dinner party, with words that would have been best left unsaid. Lethem is in full-on fantasy mode in this story, with places names like Vagary and characters called Vander Polymus.
The sci-fi stories are "Access Fantasy" and, in the paperback, "This Shape We're In". The first features an unreliable main character stuck in the perpetual traffic jam that seems to take place in a bloated futuristic Brooklyn. As in the other stories, the narrator almost manages to get the girl, but not quite. "Shape", new to the paperback, is the Trojan Horse of this collection, springing a surprise literary revelation about its main character in the final pages.
Neither "The Glasses" and "The Dystopianist" make any sense. They're both very short and end on off-beat "what the heck?" moments. I suppose if I read each of these multiple times, I might grasp the theme, but I'm not going back. Also short, but slightly more to the point, is "The Spray", which first appeared in a magazine called "Fetish" and it's easy to see why.
The paperback edition ends with "Interview With the Crab", which on the surface is a satire on the fate of sitcom stars in an "E! True Hollywood Stories" vein. Lethem writes himself as the main character here, although the title subject keeps calling him "Lehman". Picture a drunken ALF interviewed by "Playboy" and you'll know exactly whether or not you'll want to read this.
"Planet Big Zero" and "The National Anthem" both concern high school friends who don't quite connect years later. The narrator in "Planet" is a modestly successful cartoonist for an alternatively weekly, who tries to write his drifter friend into his strip, with unintended, slightly paranormal consequences. "Anthem" seems like a submission idea for Open Letters, a defunct web journal to which Lethem once contributed. You'll have to accept the premise that people actually write this way to each other in this age of e-mail -- pouring personal history and emotions out onto the page, breaking down the song "Dark End of the Street", and ending with a prescient comment about the fate of the 2003 New York Mets.
In a collection full of genre stories, that makes this perhaps the most fantastic tale of them all.
Beautiful and bizarre.......2006-03-29
All of these stories at least teeter on the edge of bizarre, and many have slipped over. I consider that a good thing. Even when the themes are old, Lethem's takes on them are fresh and surprising. Even the characters' names tend toward the unusual: Balkan, Top, Vera Relf and Vander Polymus, and so on. The stories are sometimes peppered with clever pop references, and are also often very funny.
I wouldn't say that these stories are exactly easy to read. The language itself is simple enough, and sometimes beautiful ("School buses lined his block every morning, like vast tipped orange-juice cartons spilling out the human vitamin of youthful lunacy"). But the stories veer in such unexpected directions that you have to pay careful attention to where they're going.
I didn't give this book 5 stars because I feel that as a whole, there's not as much thematic variation between the stories as I would have liked. Still, I enjoyed them very much, and I think most readers will, too. I will certainly think about the Plath Sheep for some time!
Download Description
Beware, citizens of Silicon Valley--the bad Toonies are on their way. Led by the evil ape-bird, Dab, the Mischief-Makers have escaped from Computer Cartoon Land. They are skulking in the shadows, ready to pounce. Dab will do anything to stay in the real world, so makes plans to take over Orange Computer, then Grape Computer, Banana ... and then the world.
Customer Reviews:
Read this book, Pronto-Toronto!.......2007-08-03
THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY is probably one of the most charming, surprising, vivid and vibrant books I have ever read. And that statement includes everything I read as a child, and everything I've read so far as a "grown-up" (which is more of a physical classification than a mental one for me, at this point in my life... *smile*).
Betty Dravis' novel introduces readers to thirteen-year-old Jeremy Kern, who lives with his parents in Silicon Valley. As his parents' arguments get louder and more frequent, Jeremy retreats into his bedroom, working at his computer on cartoons about a boy named Doog. Creating a world and a life for Doog allows Jeremy to escape from his own troubles...but the last thing he expects is for Doog's world to merge with his own! But a chance touch in the corner of a cartoon eye, and poof! suddenly Doog is out of the computer, on Jeremy's desk, his red hair shining impossibly brightly and his eyes twinkling whimsically. Jeremy and his friends are utterly taken with Doog and, later, with Uncle Wom, the leader of Cartoon Land, who follows Doog out of the computer to retrieve him. Uncle Wom is clear to express the dangers of traveling between the worlds, warning Jeremy to be wary of prying eyes on the computer screen. Uncle Wom and Doog tell Jeremy and his friends about the Mischief-Makers and their leader, Dab, the evil ape-bird feared by everyone in Cartoon Land. Under no circumstances, Uncle Wom asserts, must Dab be released from the world behind the computer screen.
Unfortunately, Jeremy's father isn't around to heed this warning. Arthur inadvertently releases Dab and his followers from the computer and immediately, Dab seeks to put his evil plan into action: to take over Orange Computer, and then take over all the computers all over the world, giving him ultimate power and control over the human race. It will take a whole team of humans and good Toonies, including the help of a "Wise Old Zen," to defeat Dab and his followers and restore order both to Silicon Valley, and to Cartoon Land.
THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY is, at its core, a story of good vs. bad. But you've never read a more creative take on that popular theme, I guarantee it! In Betty Dravis' world, "good vs. bad" becomes Doog vs. Dab, and the warriors are cartoons. From the first page to the last, TOONIES is pure entertainment, a joy to read. The text is accompanied by beautiful illustrations, serving to bring Dravis' characters and world even more to life. The prose is lively, and the descriptions are brilliant -- bright and dazzling and evocative of something magical. Dravis brings a world of color to a page of black and white, and her warmth and genuineness shine through in her writing. Deeply interwoven in the story is a larger theme of the importance of family. In a world where moral values are often overlooked, Dravis has written a novel that supports the good things in life: family, love, courage, fellowship. TOONIES is a book for both kids and adults to read and reread with fondness. The characters, human and toonie alike, are ones you'll want to keep coming back to again and again.
THE TOONIES INVADE SILICON VALLEY is a rewarding, fun, dazzling and wholesome book. I recommend it completely, for kids from 1 to 99!
Already a cult classic!.......2007-08-01
Three cheers for Betty Dravis!
Combining the elements and themes of a classic fantasy with freshly imagined characters in a thoroughly modern setting, the author has created an engaging children's story that will hopefully become a series. I have to believe that most children in this computer-driven age would really get into this "animated" book. Parents will appreciate the message and underlying values.
(I'd love to take my grandchildren to see the Toonies movie!)
Star-Crossed
One of the best books you will ever read!.......2007-06-18
I can't remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book. At the age of twenty six I still remember my favorite childhood tales while I read regular adult stuff but when I picked up Toonies I was in for a fantastic surprise, a book for children that an adult can love too! Of course whether I really feel like an adult is another story...
Toonies is an amazing adventure, vividly woven by a masterful story teller, Betty Dravis. Her language, imagination, in your face color and action shimmer brightly on every page. The rich and far out characters that possessed an aura of authenticity, I could almost imagine myself living through this story because it was very real but also incredibly magical. The story line was also extremely exciting, I had an incredibly tough time putting the book down and once I got time to read, forget it, nothing else existed until I finally reached the last page. I might also have to add that the cover art and the inner art work were perfect for the book! What I imagined while reading was only supported by the vivid artwork, which I liked so much that I kept looking at the cover every once in a while to envelop myself in the story even more. If all children's books were this good I would probably have to quite my job so I had more time to read!
In a nutshell the story is about a young boy named Jeremy Kern who lives in the Silicon Valley with his parents Arthur and Jessica. Even thought I am a girl I could relate easily to his childhood, with the parents fighting often Jeremy escaped into his own world, the cartoon strip he drew for the local paper on his Orange Computer. In the fantasy Cartoon Land the main character was Doog, a whimsical boy with red hair and fantastic personality. One day during a bad fighter at dinner, Jeremy excused himself only to run to his room and lose himself in his art. Little did he know that this beloved character was not only real but ready to help him out. Betty Dravis has outdone herself in the imagination department, I have never read such on original idea in any kind of a book, where the characters jump out of the computer, flat paper figures with feather, clothing, glowing edges, wearing funky clothing ready to do good and bad, depending on their character. Once the good guys get out of the screen to help Jeremy out the bad ones, called the Backgrounders are close behind, where there's good, evil surely lurks! The real adventure begins when Jeremy's dad releases something out of the computer that should never have the freedom to exist in the real world, something sinister, evil and truly dark. Together the family must stop the bird like creatures that followed orders delivered by a truly wicked character of Dab, I have no doubt that any reader will be truly taken by him. I found it truly incredible how Betty would portray the good and the bad with her imagination, giving each a real breath of life that simply jumped out of each page! Dab has a devilish plan to take over the world, spilling evil characters out of computer screens unless Jeremy and his family with the help of his darling friends and other Cartooon Land characters can stop him!
As the good and bad characters escape the computer and make Jeremy and his parents busy with a mission that requires team work and a secure and strong family to solve the problem, their fights and misunderstandings cease to exist to make room for solutions and peace. This story has some fantastic family values interwoven, I can see kids reading this and really feeling the true meaning to the story, feeling warmth and support, love and helping them see the world in a new light. Betty is a warm and fabulous person and her love spills through her writing, not only giving kids and adults entertainment but bringing back the morals and good, pure values into the tale, reaching the reader that life has a golden road that once found can be followed to a happy way of being.
Once I find a book I really love I can't wait to read it again and this is one of them. I wish there were many volumes to this tale. For those who think that Harry Potter is the only tale that kids and adults can read, this is the real awakening. Toonies is simply super, I cannot express how much I love it and how it touched me, the colors, the magic, the writing, the characters and the dialog were simply out of this world and I am really looking forward to reading it again as soon as I have some time.
I know that when I have children I will make sure they grow up reading this story, it will make them think and see things in a new light and I just know that they will love it. Stories such as this one make me realize how precious the gift of reading is, to dip into the pool of the authors imagination and take the swim in their magical world is an experience humans should be proud to behold because once the pages of this book are open nothing else matters!
- Kasia S.
TOONIES -- What's in YOUR computer?.......2007-06-09
My friend across the country from me took this and another book to Guam, and when she got back she sent them to me to take on my trip to Australia. It was our little joke, a "Sisterhood of the Traveling Books." I thought it looked like good airplane reading so I started it in Maine and finished it over the Pacific. What a fun book!
Betty Dravis tells a great little story about a teenaged cartoonist named Jeremy Kern whose characters step out of his computer. Your attention will be grabbed by the delightful inhabitants of Cartoon Land, but the top-notch human characters more than hold their own. Jeremy and his friends Buddy and Ashley practically jump off the pages themselves, their issues, interests and dialogue are so vivid. They're smart, inquisitive kids with nurturing natures and a sense of responsibility -- and what an adventure they have! Wouldn't you like all the kids you know to be just like them?
The Toonies are enormous fun. Their characteristics and background are described in enough detail to engage and entertain the reader, but by no means overwhelm the rocking story line. The good and the bad Toonies have their own culture, history and idiom -- golly-by-golly, they do! I wonder if anyone else will be reminded of THE BORROWERS, the Carnegie Medal-winning classic by Mary Norton? TOONIES has the same delightful feel while being thoroughly modern. (Hint, hint: there were a number of sequels to THE BORROWERS -- we sure would like to see more of the Toonies! Where are they going to turn up next?)
TOONIES deals with some tough issues and models some excellent approaches to them. Jeremy's parents Arthur and Jessica are having problems, but they drop their squabbling to get involved in the Toonies crisis, supporting their son all the way. Along with Steve "The Woz" Wozniak, Jeremy and his family and friends use all their creativity and courage to fight off the evil challenge of the Mischief Makers.
TOONIES is aimed at kids aged 8 to 13. When I was that age I loved stories with a strong sense of place, and I still enjoy that in a book. Somebody's sure to see a fun movie in it, but don't wait for that because the book is so rewarding. Kristy Soza Ardizzone's illustrations are the perfect finishing touch and will inspire your own imagination.
Here's a win-win idea -- read TOONIES to a child this month, or take turns reading it to each other! You'll have some giggles and some excitement, and maybe a chance to talk about a few things kids should know about the world.
A Masterful Piece of Literature.......2007-05-15
I would give you more stars if I could, Betty! The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley is worth 5 stars and many more.
I was introduced to Betty Dravis on a fellow author's blog [...]. As it were, the timing was perfect-I was getting ready to go on a trip to Guam and was looking for a book to help pass the time on a long flight.
When I received The Toonies, I realized that it would not make it past the flight to Houston due to the length, so I also purchased Betty's two other books (1106 Grand and Millenium Babe) for my trip.
As hard as I tried, I could not resist reading the first few pages of The Toonies as I prepared for my trip. After those first few pages, I was hooked and no choice but to sit down and take the time to read the entire book in one sitting.
Even though this book is rated as a young adult/children's book, it will also appeal to an adult as well. The characters are well developed and hold your interest from the beginning to the end. The illustrations are well done as well, kudos to Betty's granddaughter for a job well done. No matter how hard you try to put this book down, or try to limit the number of pages that you read, the book keeps pulling you back until you have come, unfortunately, to the end. The Toonies Invade Silicon Valley does what few books have been able to do recently-leave me wanting more.
I urge you to purchase The Toonies and either share it with a special child in your life (in my case, it's my granddaughter) or splurge and buy it for yourself. I promise you that you will not be disappointed. Do it today-Pronto Toronto!
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- Spanish Version Available!
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David's Mighty Men
Javier Saltares
Manufacturer: Cross Culture Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Daniel Prophet of Dreams
ASIN: 1933428074 |
Product Description
Thrill to the adventures of ancient Israel with King David and his Mighty Men in this whimsical, but reverent, tribute to some of the Bible's greatest heroes. Two complete stories in one Goliath-Sized 64 page volume!
Customer Reviews:
Spanish Version Available!.......2006-06-03
David's Mighty Men is now fully translated into Spanish...and is for sale on Amazon at the SAME GREAT PRICE!!
ISBN 1600390595. Los Poderosos Hombres de David!
Book Description
In this Level 4 book for proficient readers, children will learn about the original team of X-Men, see how Charles Xavier brought them together and taught them to use their unique abilities, and meet Magneto, their first and greatest enemy. This eye-catching book is filled with specially commissioned illustrations. These 48-page books about fascinating subjects like pirates, mummies, and volcanoes are for proficient readers who can understand a rich vocabulary and challenging sentence structure. In addition to the stunning photographs, informative sidebars, and glossary, readers will find archival photographs and paintings. Averaging 4,500 to 5,000 words in length, Level 4 books are 40 percent pictures and 40 percent text. The Dorling Kindersley Readers combine an enticing visual layout with high-interest, easy-to-read stories to captivate and delight young bookworms who are just getting started. Written by leading children's authors and compiled in consultation with literacy experts, these engaging books build reader confidence along with a lifelong appreciation for nonfiction, classic stories, and biographies. There is a DK Reader to interest every child at every level, from preschool to grade 4.
Customer Reviews:
Perfect for the young mind........2005-03-20
In one very special way, I had a wonderful childhood. My parents shopped at a small grocery store that had an extensive rack of comics. The owners were very nice people who allowed me to read the comics while my parents bought groceries. Since my father also bought his mother's groceries, I had plenty of time to read (devour) them all. Therefore, I was able to read the original issues of most of the superheroes that erupted from the fertile mind of Stan Lee at Marvel Comics. When I opened this book, I recognized the cover of the first issue of the X-Men series.
The early sixties were a time of great political uncertainty and scientific advancement. Lee used both of them to great advantage in developing the idea of the mutant with great powers. By developing the character of Professor X who gathered together many mutants at his school, a crime fighting team known as the X-Men was developed. The group has changed a great deal over the years, both in appearance and in membership. This is a history of that group and young readers can also learn something about the world. For example, it is noted that the bones of the winged X-Man Angel are hollow, just like those of real birds. Other relevant science facts, such as details about water freezing in the section about Ice-Man relate the powers of the X-Men to the physical laws of the universe.
I strongly recommend this as a book for young readers. The topic is one that they will find of great interest, it is very well written at the appropriate level and they can learn something about the world. Perfect for the young mind.
Introduction to the Original Team........2003-05-12
This easy to read book aimed at young readers serves as a perfect introduction for those unfamiliar with the original X-Men team: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, the Beast, Iceman, and Angel all studying under the tutelage of Charles Xavier, aka Professor X. The book also talks about Magneto and the first adventure that the X-Men took part in. The classic team has taken many changes over the years, but few teams will rival the original. Great introduction to the original X-Men team.
The Story Behind the X-Men.......2001-01-01
This is a great book for any X-Men fan or someone who just became interested in them. It tells how Professor Xavier, Magneto,Cyclops (Scott Summers), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey, also known as Phoenix, Beast (Hank McCoy), Angel (Warren Worthington III, also known as Archangle) and Iceman (Bobby Drake) came to become the first X-Men. It also gives some info about other X-Men like WOlverine and some of their recent and former enimes like Juggernaut, and Quicksilver. One thing I enjoyed about this book is it had a lot of pics. from old and recent comics. Overall this is a pretty good book!
Product Description
X-Men and Alpha Flight. The complete two issue limited series. 1986 Marvel Comics. The Gift: Parts one and two.
Books:
- The Road
- The Romance Of Lust
- The Runaway Bunny
- The Stories of John Cheever
- The Tenth Circle: A Novel
- The Time Traveler's Wife
- The Valkyries
- Thicker Than Water (Heartland #8)
- Three Junes
- To Love a Thief (Warner Forever)
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