[BOOK REVIEW] Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix Volume 2 by Shiro Amano

Title:  Kingdom Hearts:  Final Mix Volume 2

Author:  Shiro Amano

Genre: Comedy / Adventure / Sci Fi / Video Game



Year Published: 2013



Year Read: 2013



Series: Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix #2


Publisher: Yen Press

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 9+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

After reading the first volume of “Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix,” I just had to check out the second volume of this fantastic manga series! Behold, I had finally managed to read the second volume of “Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix” and man was this volume just as brilliant and exciting as the first volume!

In this volume, Sora and his new friends Donald and Goofy continue to search for King Mickey and Riku and they ended up going to more new worlds!  They meet up with Pinocchio and his father in the belly of Monstro the Whale, end up in Atlantica and meet Ariel, go to Neverland and meet Peter Pan and ended up in Hollow Bastion while meeting the Beast!  Also, Sora will soon discover that his best friend, Riku might have turned to the dark side and Sora will have to find a way to bring Riku back to normal, while defeating the heartless!

Shiro Amano has done it again with the stellar writing and the hilarious and dramatic artwork for this story!  I loved the fact that this manga series remains faithful to the video game it was based off of as the characters act exactly the way they did in the games (except a little sillier in some places) and the situations from the games play out so brilliantly in manga format!  I loved the fact that we get the mystery surrounding the heartless solved in this volume and after I discovered the true purpose of the heartless and the person who was responsible for creating the heartless, I was truly taken aback and I started enjoying the story even more then!  Shiro Amano’s artwork is truly hilarious and dramatic at the same time as the Disney characters are drawn extremely well! I really loved the artwork of the characters from Neverland and Atlantica, especially the images of Ariel and Tinkerbell as they are the cutest looking characters in this book!  I also loved the way that Shiro Amano drew the dramatic scenes of Sora and his friends trying to fight the Heartless as the scenes look truly intense and at times frightening!

Overall, “Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix Volume Two” is a fantastic conclusion to the “Kingdom Hearts” series and a possible beginning to a new story (in the form of “Kingdom Hearts Two!)”  I definitely cannot wait to check out the second part of the “Kingdom Hearts” series in “Kingdom Hearts Two” and this is definitely a series that fans of “Kingdom Hearts” should check out!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Funny Little Woman by Arlene Mosel

Title:  The Funny Little Woman

Author:  Arlene Mosel

Artist:  Blair Lent

Genre: Drama / Adventure / Folktale

Year Published: 1972

 
Year Read:  2013

Publisher: Puffin

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Scary Scenes involving Monsters)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have been reading many folktales from Japan for many years now, but if there was one Japanese folktale that I was pleasantly surprised in liking, it would be “The Funny Little Woman,” retold by Arlene Mosel along with illustrations by Blair Lent and has won the Caldecott Medal.  This story is truly fun and fascinating to read for anyone who is a fan of Japanese folktales!

In this story, there was once a little woman who had the habit of laughing at every single thing.  One day, she was making her rice dumplings when one of the dumplings fell through a hole in the ground.  When the little woman tried to get it, she ended up falling into the hole and into the underground home of the wicked Oni.  The Oni wanted the little woman to cook rice for them and even though the little woman cooked for them, she was starting to get homesick and she tried to find ways to get back home.

Arlene Mosel’s retelling of this ancient Japanese story was truly hilarious and intense at the same time as I loved the little woman’s adventures in the Oni world!  I really loved the way that Arlene Mosel wrote the little woman as being a truly unique character as she never stops laughing, which is a characteristic I found endearing and she has no fear of the dreaded Oni.  I also loved the tension that the Oni had brought to the story as I was seriously sitting on the edge of my seat trying to see if the little woman would be able to escape from the Oni.  Blair Lent’s artwork is truly creative as the colorings of the artwork splits up between the little woman’s home above ground and the Oni world underground. I find it surprising that the Oni world is in color while the little woman’s home above ground is in black and white colorings (although earlier on in the book, the little woman’s home above ground was still in color until she fell into the Oni world). I found this transition between the two worlds to be extremely creative as we are able to see effectively how much time the little woman spent in the Oni world while life goes on above the Oni world.  I also loved the appearance of the Oni themselves as they look truly frightening as they are shown in blue colorings and have three eyes on their heads and sharp teeth, which shows how threatening they could be to the main protagonist of the story.

Parents should know that the Oni might scare smaller children, especially for the fact that they kidnapped the little woman and forced her to cook for them.  Parents might want to use this story as an opportunity to teach their children about the dangers of approaching unknown places alone and how they should deal with these situations.

Overall, “The Funny Little Woman” is a truly fantastic tale about the danger of wondering into strange places that both parents and kids will enjoy for many years!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the scenes with the Oni might scare smaller children.

* 1973 Caldecott Medal

[BOOK REVIEW] The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein

Title:  The Missing Piece

Author:  Shel Silverstein

Genre: Life / Humor / Adventure

Year Published: 1976

 
Year Read:  2013

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 3+  (Nothing Objectionable)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Even to this very day, I am still reading Shel Silverstein’s works and I am finding them much more interesting than ever before!  Now, I have recently picked up another book by Shel Silverstein called “The Missing Piece” and man, was this one enjoyable read!

Basically, this book is about a circle who is missing a piece of itself and how it tries to find its missing piece through snowy weather and through mountains.  While on the way, the circle meets up with several triangular shaped pieces that the circle tries on itself, but none of the triangular pieces would fit the circle.

Shel Silverstein has done it again in providing us a book that tries to give out a lesson in life, just like his well-known and controversial book, “The Giving Tree.”  I loved the fact that this story tackles the issue about people going on personal journeys to find their true purpose in life and in this case, the circle was trying to find its missing piece to make itself complete.  That is a truly insightful way to state the theme of people trying to find their goals in life and I am sure that children will easily understand the message of this book, even if it is told in a completely simplified way.  I also loved the little song that the circle sings as it goes on its journey to find its missing piece which goes something like this:

“Oh I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece

I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece

Hi-dee-ho, here I go,

Lookin’ for my missin’ piece.”

Shel Silverstein’s illustrations are cute and simple and I enjoyed seeing the images of the circle crossing across various landscapes to get to his destination such as rolling up a mountain, going through a swamp and trudging through a snow storm.

Overall, “The Missing Piece” is a truly memorable and inspiring tale about understanding your goals in life and pursuing them whenever you desire to and children will easily enjoy this tale for many years! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

[BOOK REVIEW] The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer

Title:  The Three Robbers

Author:  Tomi Ungerer

Genre: Family / Crime

Year Published: 1963
 

Year Read:  1993

Publisher:  Roberts Rinehart Publishers

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Depictions of Robbery)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

“The Three Robbers" is a children’s book written by Tomi Ungerer and it relates the story of how three ferocious robbers became foster parents when they rescued an orphaned girl from going to her cruel aunt’s house.  This book will surely be a delight for young children to read for many years to come.

Tomi Ungerer did an excellent job at writing the story of the three robbers in a comforting tone.  Tomi Ungerer made the robbers reform their evil ways by putting a child in the picture when the robbers spot an orphaned girl in one of the carriages they were about to rob and therefore, they became foster fathers to all the orphaned children in town when they grew a heart to care for the orphaned girl, Tiffany.  Also, Tomi Ungerer’s illustrations are highly creative as the robbers are mainly displayed as blue faced men dressed in black capes and tall black hats indicating that they are sneaky beings that you usually find in those cartoon spy shows like “Secret Squirrel.”  Also, the backgrounds are colored in mainly blue, white and black and the children in the story are the only characters that are colorful since these images of the children indicate that they are the turning points in the three robbers’ life of crime. 

Parents should know that while the robbers do reform themselves at the very end of the book, their appearances might scare small children and even more, their ways in robbing people might also scare small children.  The robbers look a bit menacing as they sneak around towns scaring off people and then they rob unsuspecting people along the way.  Also, the ways that they scare off the passengers are somewhat more intense then a regular robber just stealing your items and running away with them.  These robbers use an axe to chop down the wheels, then they use pepper-blower to spray in the horses’ eyes temporary blinding them, and then they threaten the passengers with a blunderbuss to get their jewels, which may frighten small children.  Also, the idea of someone sneaking into your home at night might be implanted into a small child’s head and he or she might worry about a robber coming to take them away.  But, parents should assure their children that they will always be there to protect them and that the robbers in the book did not hurt any children as they took them in as their own children and that should send a sigh of relief from the child.

 
“The Three Robbers” is a magnificent masterpiece from the creative mind of Tomi Ungerer and its story of three fierce robbers reforming themselves into foster parents is truly a delight to hear.  This story is surely to be a great classic for children for many years to come and is suitable for children ages five and up due to some menacing content about the robbers robbing the people.

[BOOK REVIEW] I, Crocodile by Fred Marcellino

Title:  I, Crocodile

Author:  Fred Marcellino

Genre: Animals / Fantasy / Travel / Food

Year Published: 1999
 
Year Read:  2008

Publisher: HarperCollins

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Some Intense Scenes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

I have read many books where a story is usually told from an animal’s point of view such as Aesop’s Fables. But I have never read a book where the main animal character talks with dignity when narrating his side of the story. “I, Crocodile” is such a tale by Fred Marcellino who masterfully tells the story of a crocodile’s attempts to fit in the society who had forcefully taken him away from his home.

Fred Marcellino’s story and illustrations are brilliant as he describes the crocodile’s predicament from being taken away from his home in the Nile River to nearly becoming dinner for the French. The true highlight of this story is the crocodile himself as he is displayed as a civilized creature that had high opinions of the humans who had taken care of his ancestors but then sees the dark side of humans when they tried to eat him. Marcellino’s illustrations humorously illustrates the crocodile as a pudgy yet cute creature.

Parents should know that many young viewers may be disturbed by the ending of this book. I am not going to spoil the ending for you, but someone does get eaten at the end and that concept may disturb children. Parents may wish to discuss to their children about the crocodile’s predicament and how he resolves this towards the end of the story.

“I, Crocodile” is truly a classic book about the importance of respecting one’s privacy and feelings and the book clearly defines a cautionary tale of what happens when someone tries to forcefully take someone out of their natural home and put them in a society that they are not accustomed to. This is a great book for everyone to read, but parents should warn their children about the ending and why the book was concluded in that manner. 

My New Book Banner!!!

Here's my new book banner that you will see appear on my reviews on other sites!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Frog Prince Continued by Jon Scieszka

Title:  The Frog Prince Continued

Author:  Jon Scieszka

Artist:   Steve Johnson

Genre: Animals / Retelling / Fairy Tale / Family / Black Comedy

Year Published: 1991
 
Year Read:  1993

Publisher: Puffin

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 8+  (Some Disturbing Imagery and Themes of Domestic Dispute)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“The Frog Prince Continued” is another addition to Jon Scieska’s fractured fairy tales collection and is a hilarious story about marriage problems. Jon Scieska’s witty writing delightfully expresses the Frog Prince’s dilemma about being a human and changing back into a frog and Steve Johnson’s dark illustrations makes this story a classic dark comedy.

“The Frog Prince Continued” is full of dark humor and lively characters as they depict the Frog Prince’s attempts at turning back into a frog after a heated argument with his wife, the Princess. The characters that the Prince meets up with are the same characters that have came out of popular children’s books such as, “Hansel and Gretel,” “Cinderella,” and “Snow White.” The witches from each famous fairy tale play a significant role in this story as they at first seem to be the Frog Prince’s only hope in changing back to his normal life as a frog, but later on become a threat to the Frog Prince as they secretly tried to put an end to him because he is a prince. Also, the story is highly creative and funny as the Frog Prince goes through several mishaps to become a frog again but finds out that what he really wanted was to just be with the Princess forever.

Parents should know that this book contains dark illustrations and may be too sophisticated for younger children to understand. Steve Johnson’s illustrations, while they are humorous, are also dark and sometimes scary especially of the images where the Frog Prince goes through a dark forest and since the forest contains creepy-looking trees that have dark shadows around them, it looks like a nightmarish place. The image that will probably scare some young children the most would be the image of the Frog Prince transforming into a frog-like carriage since the carriage has the Prince’s eyes all large and yellow and the Prince’s tongue takes shaped of a seat inside the carriage. The humor of this story may also be aimed at the adults since it displays the theme of a potential divorce between the Frog Prince and the Princess and many young children might not understand about the issues of many couples breaking up because of intense arguments or other difficult situations that couples sometimes do not resolve. Also, the scene where the Frog Prince worries that he will never change back into a prince may upset some young children who may also have fears about losing their parents if they get lost in a place they do not know.

“The Frog Prince Continued” is truly a classic dark comedy about how sometimes marriages do not turn out the way that we want it at first, but we eventually begin to love our loved ones more whenever the thought of losing them tortures us. Jon Scieszka’s and Steve Johnson’s collaborations have made this story an instant hit from Jon Scieszka’s fractured fairy tales collection. Of course, parents may want to read this book first before they read it to their children who are eight years old or younger due to the theme of a potential divorce and the somewhat dark illustrations.