Read To Me, Dad » Review

Review: The Lunar Antics

Drew — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:53:38 +0000

I was sent two review copies of Robert Walters’ book The Lunar Antics Presents: Boy I’d Hate to be Made out of That Stuff! To be honest I have been putting off this review because I really did not enjoy the book. I hate to disparage something that someone else created because it takes so much to be creative. It also takes a lot to put a book together and print it and sell it.

Comedy is subjective and what one person finds funny other people don’t. I read through this book of comic strips and was not amused, I didn’t laugh and not one of them felt like something I’d share with friends. I am a comic strip fan. I collect all of Charles’ Schulz works, Calvin and Hobbes and others. I also like web comics and read 15 different strips each day.

The Story: Where is the story, it is contained on the back of the book and even that is a thin premise. The characters are not really well defined or introduced. No build up, no storytelling, just pun after pun.

The writing: While the strips are pretty accessible so they are available to anyone they just did not strike me as funny. Maybe it was that there were many puns and corny things but mostly it did not hold my attention. I did not read strip after strip and see marked improvement in storytelling.

The characters: Bland, poorly developed and contrived. The leader is egotistical, the human is dumb in one strip and smart in another, there is a token female character and two additional characters. The back of the book tells you about the characters but in the strips it is sometimes hard to tell them apart.

The art: Read page one and flip to the last page. Do you see any difference in the characters? Do you see the mark of improvement in the art? I didn’t. One thing that I have noticed in reading many comic strips over the years is that creators improve their craft the more strips they create. These strips are crudely drawn and did not improve over time.

I can’t say whether I was more distracted by the uninspired writing or the high school doodling art style. I was looking forward to reading this book but once I did I was not that excited.

With all of that being said and I do not like writing negative reviews. I can say that this book might appeal to a kid who is just getting into reading comics and who appreciates puns. Everyone has to start somewhere. I started reading Garfield way back in grade school and for some reason found it funny. My 10 year old self might have enjoyed The Lunar Antics, however my grown up self did not.

How I’d improve the strip.

I know I wasn’t asked for my advice but this is what I would do. I’d completely redesign http://www.lunarantics.com as a web comic site. I’d allow a rating system for each strip and a comments area. Right now it looks like when a strip is done it gets tweeted out (by every character simultaneously (@LunarAntics, @LunarAnticsDrus, @LunarAnticsLind, @LunarAnticsProf, @LunarAnticsZeno and @LunarAnticsZeno). Stop doing that. It is spammy and doesn’t add a thing to the Twitter conversation. Here is why it looks bad. Each character follows more people that are following them. If the strip were better then the follow/follower counts would probably sway the other way with more people wanting to follow what was happening in the strip.

There is a twitter account for the strip, that is a good place to promote the strip and interact with readers. I’d just leave it at that because unless you are tweeting as each character having conversations as the character with people on Twitter then it is just promotional spam. There is a way to promote the strip as the characters and there is a wrong way to do it. The way it is being done right now leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

There is a facebook fan page too with only one fan, the author. Why not build that up by posting strips to the page and getting fans. That way you would get more feedback on your work.

At this time, the whole site centers around selling the book. Make the site someplace where you can get direct feedback your work. I think that this idea needed more incubation time, tighter storytelling and improved art. Where is the about the author page?

I said it earlier, Comedy is subjective, you can view the strips for yourself and decide if you think they are funny. I’ve read posts by other bloggers who got the book and they even state that they were rolling on the floor. You be the judge.

So, I have two copies of the book, a finished one and a review copy, the only difference is that one has some color pages). If you have a child who is just getting into comic strips and would like a safe, non-threatening set of characters who enjoy puns then leave me a comment on this post and let me know that you’d like a copy. I’ll choose two random winners next week.

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The Discovery Adventure Club Video Review

Drew — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 11:48:34 +0000

Read To Me Dad, Reviews – The Discovery Adventure Club from BenSpark on Vimeo.

I read part of the book the Discovery Adventure Club by Deb Ingino to my daughter Eva and we review the book together.

My friend Deb Ingino sent me a copy of her book The Discovery Adventure Club for me to read to Eva and review. I’m very excited that friends are sending me their wonderful creations to read and review in this new concept that I’ve been doing here on Read To Me, Dad. Deb is the President of the company My Wired Style. 100% of the proceeds from the Discovery Adventure Club book go to Prodigal House. Prodigal House provides emergency and short-term residential housing for teenage boys ages 12-16. Here is the Vision Statement for Prodigal House.

“The Prodigal House vision is best reflected through Psalm 23. God is the good shepherd who seeks out the lost sheep, saves them from danger, binds up their wounds and carries them to safety when necessary. Only God can restore a soul and direct people to the path of right living so His goodness and unfailing kindness can be with them all their life. Prodigal House staff and volunteers desire to provide a safe environment for residents and their parent(s) to reconnect with God and restore their relationships.”

The Story

I read this book to Eva and she really enjoyed the story and the characters of Daniel, Isabella, Sasha and Caden. These kids are all friends and each one identifies with one of the DISC styles. Through the story we see each of the kids show their style as they interact with each other and compliment each other’s styles. The story is cute and well written.

Beyond the Story

Once you finish reading the book you can ask your child a series of questions so that you can both discover your child’s DISC style. the simplest one is where you ask your child which character they feel they are most like. As your child gets older there are assessments and even parent’s pages so that you can learn more about your child’s DISC style and how to Motivate them, what annoys them and what are “Sweet Spot” Statements.

Benefits

The benefit of reading this book together are many. Connecting with your child is a wonderful thing and gaining further insight into their personality and how to help motivate and understand them more is invaluable.

Read to Me Dad Ratings

Story – Good – The four kids are interesting and fun. They compliment each other in their different personalities.
Re-Read-ability – Great – This book helps parents and kids grow and understand each other. It is recommended for kids from 2 -8 years old and so you can read it together and learn more about your child with every reading of the book.
Illustrations – Good – The illustrations by Joelle Felyce Geisler are nice. Each kid is colorful and interesting.
Message – Great – Each person has their own style and strengths but they can work together and complement each other.
Plot – Good – Four children go on an adventure each one uses their strengths to have a great time on the adventure.
Characters – Interesting – Each character is an example of the different DISC styles.
Does Eva Like It – Eva enjoyed the story and each time I’ve read it she tells me that she is a different character, she’s 2 1/2 so I think that as we continue to read it she will identify more with a specific character.
Recommended Ages – 2 – 8 years old.

Purchase your own The Discovery Adventure Club Book.

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Nana Star and the Moonman Video Review

Drew — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:04:50 +0000

Eva and I sit down to read Nana Star and the Moonman. Eva absolutely loves this book but what she loves much more is the audio track that goes with the story. We put both Nana star and Nana Star and the Moonman onto our ipods (including Eva’s) and she listens to it each night as she goes to bed. She even asks just for Nana Star. That actually beats out Paddington as the nighttime story on the iPod.

Read to Me, Dad – Reviews – Nana Star and the MoonMan from BenSpark on Vimeo.

A new review series for Read To Me, Dad. This is my second one which is of the follow-up to Nana Star called Nana Star and the MoonMan.

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Nana Star Video Review

Drew — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:41:11 +0000

I’ve found that I don’t do near enough reviews on this blog so I will start doing some video reviews of the books I love reading to Eva. Here is my very first one. It is of the book Nana Star that I originally reviewed in 2008. The book was sent to me by the company Laugh Friendly to review and we really like it very much. Enjoy the video and let me know what you think.

Read To Dad, Reviews – Nana Star from BenSpark on Vimeo.

A new review series from Read To Me, Dad.

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Clicktoy – The Meadow

Drew — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 02:37:01 +0000

The other day I was on Twitter and I friended Ken Kavanagh President of Clicktoy Interactive, Inc. I did a little research into his company. I learned that Clicktoy is essentially a pop up book for the computer. It is an interactive environment that children can play in without fear of hitting the wrong key and erasing last year’s tax return. The reason that you need not worry is that the program has “proprietary ClickSafe technology ensures that children can safely play within a contained computer environment using the keyboard, without the risk of accidentally leaving the game and encountering anything else on the computer.” I thought the game would be perfect for Eva and her ever expanding imagination so I asked for a review copy of the software so I could share my findings with you. Ken agreed.

Eva loves our computers, he little fingers love to push buttons and we often have to shoo her away so that we can get real work done. However, there are times when we sit Eva upon our laps and let her play games like those on PBSKids.org and other kids sites. We have to watch her carefully however because on those sites one wrong click and she has shut down the computer. The same cannot be said of Clicktoy – The Meadow. With this game Eva can touch any key and the all it will do is make the game play happen.

The Game

The Meadow is a beautiful environment in which there are numerous 3d illustrations of bunnies, frogs, fish and foxes among its inhabitants. Parents can seat their children on their laps and let the child explore the world with their fingertips. Each key does something different that interacts with the 3D world. Bunnies run around, cows, moo, even an acrobatic chattering squirrel shows up. The meadow is in the round which means that you can spin 360 degrees and change the scene. Two little bunnies run from scene change to scene change. As you explore the world you meet new animals and see many fun animations.

Playing the Game

Click a button make something happen. Click a button and a cute animation occurs. This is completely unstructured and allows children to do what they would like while they play. This gives me as a father chances to ask questions of Eva. We talk about the things we see together as she explores the world. If I was more creative myself I’d make up an overall story to tell about what is happening. As Eva gets older I sense that she’ll be the one who is telling me the story. So for now I ask her questions about what she sees as we play.

Benefits

There are many benefits to playing Clicktoy – The Meadow. Interaction with your child is first among them. Encouraging creativity by asking questions is another. Being entertained also has benefits and shows children that computers are not scary things but can be fun too. Also as you play the game more you can teach your child the alphabet. For example you can ask your child to push the “A” key to see what happens.

Read to Me Dad Ratings

Story – Very Good – You use your own imagination to guide the story along.
Re-~~Read~~-Play-ability – Very Good – Each time you play the game is different depending upon the keys your child chooses to push.
Illustrations – Excellent – This is a beautifully constructed game with a lush colorful environment complete with authentic sounds.
Message – Unstructured game play and imagination are important..
Plot – Up to your imagination.
Characters – All the animals are so well designed and adorable. The animations are cute and funny guaranteed in my opinion to entertain your little ones..
Does Eva Like It – She LOVES it. “Want to play bunnies dadda!”.
Recommended Ages – 1 year old and up.
Price – $20 USD
You can also download the program as a trial and play 3 times for free.

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