Sweet, pastel-shaded shorts. Bold, colorful, action-packed adventures. Dark, spooky tales. Even adaptations of favorite books. These may sound like film genres, but movies aren’t the only way to visually escape into a story… Feast your eyes on graphic novels!

We’ve picked a few (in no particular order) — plus some “hybrid books,” which are told in alternating illustrations and text:

Graphic Novels:

1. Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (Karen’s pick)
2. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (Nancy’s pick)
3. The Baby-Sitter’s Club series (graphic novel version), written by Ann M. Martin and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
4. Artemis Fowl series (graphic novel version), written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, art by Giovanni Rigano, color by Paolo Lamann
5. Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi
6. Magic Pickle series by Scott Morse
7. Coraline (graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman’s original) adapted by Craig Russell
8. Into The Volcano by Don Wood
9. Amelia Rules! series by Jimmy Gownley
10. Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
11. Mail Order Ninja by Joshua Elder
12. Owly series by Andy Runton

Hybrid Books:

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
2. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
3. Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton
4. Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm
5. Amelia’s Notebook series and Max Disaster series, both by Marissa Moss

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite graphic novel or hybrid book! We’ll feature the best kid-submitted reviews in our next podcast!

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Before being published, your submission will be reviewed. It will be checked to see that it does not contain any inappropriate language or personal information. By sending us your submission, you are giving Kidsmomo permission to edit, promote, and put it up on our site and/or read it in its entirety in our podcast. However, because lots of kids send us submissions, we won't be able to publish all of the submissions that we receive. Also, it's really important to send us only your own writing and not anything that you copied from somewhere else. Thank you.

Take 1 part mouth-watering food descriptions, stir in 2 parts compelling story-telling, and let simmer. What do you get? Some delicious books involving food (in no particular order):

1. Blue Moose by Daniel Pinkwater (Karen’s pick)
2. The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling (Nancy’s pick)
3. Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath
4. Granny Torrelli Makes Soup by Sharon Creech
5. Chocolate Fever by Robert Kimmel Smith
6. This Book Is Not Good for You by Pseudonymous Bosch
7. Dish series by Diane Muldrow
8. Madame Pamplemousse and Her Incredible Edibles by Rupert Kingfisher
9. My Chocolate Year by Charlotte Herman
10. The Search for Delicious by Natalie Babbitt

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite book involving food!

UPDATE 3/2/10: We revealed the answer to our Food Mystery Book Theater in the “Get In My Belly” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear Karen all but sing (yes, sing) about food.

To: Kidsmomo Reader
From: Your Secret Admirers

Will you be our Valentine?

We’ve gathered up this list of books involving romance to show how much we love you. Some are focused on budding relationships, and others just happen to feature couples we like — but all of them are 100% Cupid-approved. So here they are (in no particular order):

(By the way, your flowers and chocolate are in the mail.)

1. Best Friends and Drama Queens (Allie Finkle’s Rules for Girls, Book #3) by Meg Cabot (Karen’s pick)
2. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen (Nancy’s pick)
3. Absolutely Normal Chaos by Sharon Creech
4. Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee
5. Kiss Me Tomorrow by Susan Shreve
6. Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
7. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
8. Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
9. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
10. Romeo and Juliet — Together (And Alive!) at Last by Avi
11. Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris
12. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
13. Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley
14. Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite book involving romance!

UPDATE 2/16/10: We revealed the answer to our Romance Mystery Book Theater in the “All You Need Is Love” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear how Nancy used to behave around boys she liked (OMG, soooooo embarrassing!).

With the Super Bowl right around the corner, we figured we should stock up on some sports books in addition to the snack food and soda. And no, these aren’t all about football. Actually, these picks cover a range of athletics, from hockey to wrestling to synchronized swimming! (Yeah, you heard us — synchronized swimming!)

Consider these the MVPs of the sports book world (not necessarily in medal order):

Fiction:

1. Out Standing In My Field by Patrick Jennings (Karen’s pick)
2. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner (Nancy’s pick)
3. Million-Dollar Throw by Mike Lupica
4. Baseball Card Adventures series by Dan Gutman
5. There’s a Girl in my Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli
6. Football Hero by Tim Green
7. Summerland by Michael Chabon
8. The Kid Who Only Hit Homers by Matt Christopher
9. The Melting of Maggie Bean by Tricia Rayburn
10. The Boy Who Saved Baseball by John H. Ritter
11. In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
12. My Thirteenth Season by Kristi Roberts
13. Surfer Dog by Elizabeth Spurr
14. The Girl Who Threw Butterflies by Mick Cochrane
15. Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolff
16. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
17. Skinnybones by Barbara Park

Nonfiction:

1. Freeze Frame: A Photographic History of the Winter Olympics written by Sue Macy, photos by Peggy Fleming
2. How Hockey Works by Keltie Thomas
3. The Greatest: Muhammad Ali by Walter Dean Myers
4. Nascar (DK Eyewitness Books) by James Buckley
5. The Greatest Moments in Sports by Len Berman
6. Sports Illustrated Kids Year In Sports 2009

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite sports book!

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite sports book!

UPDATE 2/9/10: We revealed the answer to our Sports Mystery Book Theater in the “We Are THE CHAMPIONS!” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear about Karen’s ridiculous sports injury.

Welcome to the Kidsmomo Time Machine! Where would you like to go today? Ancient Egypt? Shakespearian England? Maybe even the future? Well, you’re in luck! These books involving time travel (in no particular order) will transport you through history and into the beyond:

1. The Time Garden by Edward Eager (Karen’s pick)
2. Time Windows by Kathryn Reiss (Nancy’s pick)
3. Time Warp Trio series by Jon Scieszka
4. Molly Moon’s Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure (Molly Moon Book #3) by Georgia Byng
5. Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander
6. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
7. For All Time by Caroline B. Cooney
8. The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
9. King of Shadows by Susan Cooper
10. Stonewords: A Ghost Story by Pam Conrad
11. Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
12. The Doll in the Garden by Mary Downing Hahn
13. 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
14. Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer
15. Bed-Knob and Broomstick by Mary Norton

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite time travel book!

UPDATE 2/2/10: We revealed the answer to our Time Travel Mystery Book Theater in the “Time After Time” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to meet a messenger from the future! (Kind of…)

News reporters like to focus on the divide between Republicans and Democrats, but here at Kidsmomo we know better — the real fight is between dog people and cat-lovers. You know what we’re talking about!

To avoid that issue, this week we’re focusing on animals other than cats and dogs. So get all your shots, and then check out these books about unusual animals (in no particular order):

1. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen (Karen’s pick)
2. The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden (Nancy’s pick)
3. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
4. The Tiger Rising by Kate DicCamillo
5. Wringer by Jerry Spinelli
6. Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
7. Rascal by Sterling North
8. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
9. Akimbo and the Lions by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Esio Trot by Roald Dahl
11. White Fang by Jack London
12. Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite book about an unusual animal!

UPDATE 1/26/10: We revealed the answer to our Unusual Animals Mystery Book Theater in the “Rabbits and Crickets and Owls – Oh My!” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear Karen mispronounce the word “burrowing” about 17 times. Well, maybe only seven times. But it’s still hilariously awkward…

If you’re a loyal fan of Kidsmomo (and all the cool kids are, of course), then you know that a little while back, a class in Indiana submitted a bunch of awesome book reviews — many of them for biographies.

Nancy was inspired to revisit some of her favorite books about Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan, and we’ve decided to dedicate our new theme entirely to books about famous real-life figures!

So get ready to meet yesterday’s celebrities through this week’s recommended reads (in no particular order):

Nonfiction Biographies:

1. Leonardo Da Vinci: The Genius Who Defined the Renaissance by John Phillips (Nancy’s pick)
2. Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman
3. Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! by Jean Fritz
4. Charles A. Lindbergh: A Human Hero by James Cross Giblin
5. We Were There, Too! Young People in U.S. History by Phillip M. Hoose
6. Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I A Woman by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick McKissack

Fiction:

1. A Spotlight for Harry by Eric A. Kimmel (Karen’s pick) — Harry Houdini
2. Baseball Card Adventures by Dan Gutman — famous ballplayers including Jackie Robinson and Babe Ruth
3. Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
4. Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan — Charlotte Parkhurst
5. Streams to the River, River to the Sea by Scott O’Dell — Sacagawea
6. Royal Diaries series by various authors — female monarchs including Cleopatra and Marie Antoinette

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review and we may read it our podcast. Or send in a review of your favorite book about a real-life famous figure!

What better way to spend a cold, snowy day than inside, curled up with a good book? Well, if you ask Karen, the only thing better is to have a good book and a mug of rich, creamy hot cocoa. If you ask Nancy, she would want a good book and a robot companion. To each her own…

Anyway… of course, the common factor is a good book. So here are some good books for winter (in no particular order):

1. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson (Karen’s pick)
2. The Long Winter by by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Nancy’s pick)
3. The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen
4. Tracks in the Snow by Lucy Jane Bledsoe
5. Beardance by Will Hobbs
6. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
7. The Willows in Winter by William Horwood
8. The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 (Dear America) by Kristiana Gregory
9. Maroo of the Winter Caves by Ann Turnbull
10. On Winter’s Wind by Patricia Hermes
11. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your winter book!

UPDATE 1/12/10: We revealed the answer to our Winter Mystery Book Theater in the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear Karen go a little crazy trying to define “winter.” Seriously, we had to edit it down.

Whether you’re lighting a Christmas tree, a menorah, or Kwanzaa candles, there’s one common thing that brings us all together this time of year… obviously, it’s fire! Er, I mean, it’s love — not to mention shared stories and traditions. So to get you in the festive spirit, our special new theme is holiday books.

So get set for two weeks of wreaths, latkes, candles, and cocoa:

• Today, we’ve got some recommended reads for the season.
• Next Wednesday (12/16), check back for a holiday Mystery Book Theater.
• And on 12/23, we’ll wrap it all up with a bow and put it under the tree — no, wait, we’ll wrap it all up with a podcast!

Are you ready? Get started with some hot cider and any of these holiday reads (in no particular order):

1. Penina Levine Is a Potato Pancake by Rebecca O’Connell (Karen’s pick)
2. The Glass Mermaid by Susan Clymer (Nancy’s pick)
3. Have a Happy . . .: A Novel about Kwanzaa by Mildred Pitts Walter
4. A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck
5. Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1932 (Dear America Series) by Kathryn Lasky
6. The Stone Lamp: Eight Stories Of Hanukkah Through History written by Karen Hesse and illustrated by Brian Pinkney
7. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
8. The Christmas Doll by Elvira Woodruff
9. How I Saved Hanukkah by Amy Goldman Koss
10. Sam I Am by Ilene Cooper
11. Kringle by Tony Abbott
12. On Christmas Eve by Ann M. Martin
13. A Very Special Kwanzaa by Deborah Chocolate
14. The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
15. The Bells of Christmas by Virginia Hamilton
16. The Jar of Fools: Eight Hanukkah Stories From Chelm by Eric A. Kimmel

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite holiday book!

UPDATE 12/22/09: We revealed the answer to our Holiday Mystery Book Theater in the “Putting the Daze in the Holidays” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear Karen insult Nancy a bunch of times. Always fun!

Ever feel like you want to get as far away from your life as possible? Maybe smelly Uncle Harry is visiting your family again — and he’s taken over your bedroom? (Yech!) Or maybe your little brother has just announced your silly for-Grandma’s-ears-only nickname to the whole school? (Gasp!) Or maybe it’s just another Monday morning… (We hear ya!)

Well, we’ve got just the ticket for your troubles — as in books that act as tickets for foreign travels! So the next time you wish you were anywhere but here, pick up one of these books set in other countries (in no particular order):

1. Secret Letters from 0 to 10 by Susie Morgenstern (France) (Karen’s pick)
2. Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples (Pakistan) (Nancy’s pick)
3. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Denmark)
4. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr (Japan)
5. I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Spain)
6. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke (Italy)
7. Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (India)
8. Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman (England)
9. Thunder Cave by Roland Smith (Kenya)
10. Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir Of The Cultural Revolution by Ji-Li Jiang (China)
11. The Corn Grows Ripe by Dorothy Rhoads (Ancient Mexico)
12. The 39 Clues series by various authors (various countries, including Japan, France, Italy, and Russia)

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite book set in a foreign country!

UPDATE 11/17/09: We revealed the answer to our Foreign Lands Mystery Book Theater in our “Leaving on a Jet Plane” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer.