graphic novel – Page 16

Caramel reviews Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword by Mike Maihack

Last week Caramel reviewed Target Practice by Mike Maihack, the first book in the Cleopatra in Space series. Today he reviews the next book: The Thief and the Sword. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: Caramel, you are back to talk about another Cleopatra in Space book with us!

Caramel: Yes!

S: So tell us what happens in this book.

C: I can’r spoil.

S: Sure, but you can give us a couple clues about the general events that happen.

C: Okay. In The Thief and the Sword, Cleopatra is still in PYRAMID, Pharaoh Yasiro’s Research And Military Initiative of Defense. You need to boldface the initials of the words so readers can see that they make up the word PYRAMID.

S: Cool acronym! I like these kinds of acronyms; I remember you reviewed a book with a fun acronym before!

C: Yes, I reviewed N.E.R.D.S. and that too opened up, to mean “National Espionage, Rescue, and Defense Society”.

S: Well, I did not know the name of the institution Cleo was in before. So is this the special place Cleo is getting trained to save the galaxy?

C: Yes.

S: And who is Pharaoh Yasiro?

C: He is the person who saved a lot of the information they have to fight the bad people. And we never see him because I think he is dead, but we hear about Pharaoh Yosira, who is apparently Yasiro’s granddaughter.

S: Hmm, that is kind of complicated.

C: Yes, Yasiro and Yosira sound pretty similar but you get used to it.

S: I am sure I will.

Caramel is reading Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword by Mike Maihack. — Caramel is reading *Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword* by Mike Maihack.

S: So tell me more about the thief and the sword.

C: Cleo recovered the Sword of Kebechet in the first book. And apparently it is a mythical artifact. And the bad people want to get it. They actually do get it because there is a thief named Antony…

S: Hmm, that is a name historically connected to Cleopatra. Anyways who are these bad people?

C: The main bad guy is Xaius Octavian.

S: Wait! Octavian is also a Roman name, like Antony. That is interesting…

C: Yes, hmm, maybe I will need to read up on Egyptian and Roman history. Anyways Octavian leads an army made up of a race called the Xerx. In the animated show these are robots. But in the book they are just a different species of aliens I think.

S: Oh, yes, you ended up watching the show!

C: Yes, I watched a couple episodes. It is a lot of fun. But it is very different from the books. And I like them both. They are both a lot of fun.

S: So I am guessing your first word to describe the book would be “fun”?

C: Yes. And I would say, “colorful” and “lots of action”.

S: Well, that last one is a little bit more than a single word, but okay. I see what you mean. Maybe this is a good place to wrap the review up. Do you think you will be reading the next book?

C: Yes! I’m trying to get my paws on a copy. But till then, maybe we can watch another episode of the TV show?

S: Hmm, we will see. What do you want to tell our readers as we close this up?

C: You know what I am going to say!

S: I think so!

C: I’ll say it anyways. Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel really enjoyed reading Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword by Mike Maihack, and is looking forward to getting his paws on the next book in the series. — Caramel really enjoyed reading *Cleopatra in Space: The Thief and the Sword* by Mike Maihack, and is looking forward to getting his paws on the next book in the series.

Caramel reviews Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack

Recently Caramel discovered Cleopatra in Space, a series of graphic novels by Mike Maihack about the famed Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her futuristic adventures. Today he reviews the first book in the series: Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice. As usual, Sprinkles is taking notes and asking questions.

Sprinkles: So Caramel, tell me about this book.

Caramel: This book is about Cleopatra who goes to the future.

S: Wait, the Cleopatra?

C: Yes the famous Egyptian queen. She is not a queen yet though. She is young, fifteen years old. And she touches a tablet, the Ata tablet, which transfers her to the future.

S: What kind of future? Cleopatra lived about two thousand years ago. Does she come to our time?

C: No, she goes into the far future. There are ray guns and stuff in this future.

S: Hmm, sounds science fiction-y…

C: Yes. It is quite science-fiction-y. She is supposed to save the galaxy, there is a prophesy, and she alone is supposed to save the galaxy. But it is not clear what she will need to do to save the galaxy in this first book. She will have to recover a sword, I think, but she also has to go to school in this future. In her own words, she says,

“Light years from my home planet, millennia in the future, and a supposed savior of the galaxy, and I still have to go to school?!”
Cleopatra

S: Hmm, she does not like school?

C: Yeah. She has to learn a lot of things, and she does not seem to like most of her classes. She is taking Algebra, Biology, Literature, Alien Languages, and Target Practice. But she likes Target Practice; it is her favorite class.

S: So what is she training to use in Target Practice?

C: She is learning to use the ray guns.

S: Hmm, so there are some galactic wars coming up in her future, I suppose.

C: I think so. But the war part has not started yet.

Caramel is reading Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack. — Caramel is reading *Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice* by Mike Maihack.

S: Hmm, so it seems like this book is just right up your alley. You like graphic novels, and the book is quite science fiction-y and …

C: And there are space ships! And I like space ships! Hers is shaped like a sphinx.

S: That sounds cool. So tell me three words you’d use to describe this book.

C: Colorful, exciting, historical.

S: So do you learn anything historical from the book?

C: Not much. But Cleopatra is from ancient history and it is fun to see her learn about the far future.

S: And the illustrations are pretty colorful, I agree. I saw that there is a TV series about these books. Did you know about that?

C: Not until now! Can we put in a trailer here?

S: Yes let us do that:

Cleopatra in Space | Official Trailer | Peacock.

C: This looks cool! But I think Akila does not look anything like she does in the book. In the book she looks like a normal person. In the TV series, she looks weird, with pink hair and weird eyes and blue skin.

S: Maybe they wanted to make her look more alien?

C: Yes, she is an alien but in the book she looks like a normal human.

S: Hmm, so I am thinking you don’t want to watch the show?

C: No I did not say that! Maybe we can watch an episode or two. Maybe even tonight?

S: Hmm, we will see about that. What about the book series? Apparently there are five more books about Cleopatra in space.

C: Well, I checked out the second book from my school library already. I will definitely read that one.

S: Sounds like a plan. If you like it, you might even review it for our blog.

C: Yep.

S: So this is probably a good time to wrap things up. What do you want to tell our readers?

C: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Caramel loved reading Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice by Mike Maihack, and is looking forward to reading and reviewing the next book in the series. — Caramel loved reading *Cleopatra in Space: Target Practice* by Mike Maihack, and is looking forward to reading and reviewing the next book in the series.

Marshmallow reviews Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Both Marshmallow and Caramel are keen readers of graphic novels and they have both reviewed a handful of them for this blog. In particular Marshmallow has reviewed two books by Raina Telgemeier in 2020; you can check out her reviews of Ghost (2016) and the graphic novel version of Ann N. Martin’s Kristy’s Great Idea (The Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novels #1) (2006). Today she decided to talk about another book by Telgemeier, the 2012 book Drama.

Marshmallow’s Quick Take: If you like books about school, or you like to think about theatre and plays and performances in school, or if you like graphic novels and have especially enjoyed books by Raina Telgemeier, like Ghosts, for example, then this might be the book for you.

Marshmallow’s Summary (with Spoilers): Seventh grader Callie is on the stage crew as set designer for this year’s production of Moon over Mississippi, with her best friend, Liz, who is in charge of the costumes. However, she is having issues with her friendships. Also, the school has a limited budget for the performance, so she is restricted in terms of the set pieces she can make. She wants to have a cannon for example, but their budget will allow for only two sets.

Callie loves theater and she would try out, but she is unable to sing. However, she makes friends with a pair of twins, Jesse and Justin, one of whom, Justin, is trying out for the leading man. The other twin, Jesse, can sing but wants to give his brother a chance to shine. Unfortunately, when the results come out, Justin does not get the leading role. He gets one of the other roles, Colonel Scrimshaw; Justin is very disappointed. Also, Bonnie, a girl Callie does not like, gets the leading woman role. This creates some issues in terms of the cast and the stage crew.

Also the cannon Callie wanted so much is not working out, as the confetti poppers they are using fails the first time. Callie has to deal with complicated sets, and complications in her social life. Can Callie get Moon over Mississippi up and running?

Marshmallow is reading Drama by Raina Telgemeier. — Marshmallow is reading *Drama* by Raina Telgemeier.

Marshmallow’s Review: This book is written in a different way than is usual. The characters are actually in a play, themselves. The book is written as if we are seeing the scenes of the play; only in between them, we see the author and the audience. I thought it was interesting that the characters were creating a play, as they performed in one themselves, and it worked really well for me.

According to the Wikipedia article for it, Drama was the seventh most banned book of the 2010-2019 decade in the United States. This seems to be due to the fact that two of Callie’s good friends are gay and they are portrayed in a positive way, which some parents believe children should not be exposed to. However I thought the gay characters were portrayed just as all the others were, and things flowed naturally and realistically. Just like To Night Owl From Dogfish, which also had some gay characters without making the whole story about gender identity or sexual orientation (which might make things more contentious for some), Drama tells a good, compelling story about a bunch of middle schoolers, who are diverse in many ways, and is worth the read.

As the story is about middle school, Drama might be more appropriate for bunnies older than 9. Also there is some falling in love and having crushes stuff going on, and younger bunnies will most likely not find that too exciting.

Marshmallow’s Rating: 95%.

Marshmallow rates Drama by Raina Telgemeier 95%. — Marshmallow rates *Drama* by Raina Telgemeier 95%.

Marshmallow reviews Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis, Christos H. Papadimitriou, Alecos Papadatos, and Annie di Donna

Marshmallow recently got her paws on Logicomix, a graphic novel telling of the first two-thirds of philosopher-mathematician Bertrand Russell‘s life, as it is intertwined with the story of the stormy events related to the philosophical foundations of mathematics that occurred in the early twentieth century. The book is most likely not intended for young readers, but Marshmallow found it interesting and wanted to review it for the book bunnies blog. Below is her conversation with Sprinkles about this book, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna.

Marshmallow reviews Logicomix, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna. — Marshmallow reviews *Logicomix*, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna.

Sprinkles: So Marshmallow, tell us a little about this book.

Marshmallow: The first thing I want to say is that this is not a children’s book. It’s not necessarily inappropriate for children, but some concepts might be confusing for young bunnies.

S: Why did you read it?

M: It looked interesting. It is a graphic novel and I like those.

S: I see. So tell us what it is about.

M: It’s about Bertrand Russell. He is a philosopher. Basically it is about his life.

S: And the book has a really intriguing subtitle: “An Epic Search for Truth”. How is that related to Russell?

M: I think it’s because he spent a lot of time thinking about what truth means, the true meaning of “true”.

S: Yes, Russell is a foundational figure for modern mathematical logic today. I find his story fascinating and I really liked this book myself when I read it. So what else do you want to tell us?

M: There are parts of the book where the two authors, the illustrators, and a researcher who is helping them with the project are talking among themselves. And there are the other parts where we basically follow Bertrand Russell give a speech about his life and his work in logic. The speech is supposed to be about “the role of logic in human affairs” and apparently Russell did not give any such speech.

S: But it probably makes a good plot device to tell us about his life, I guess.

M: Yes, I think it works.

Marshmallow is reading Logicomix, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna. — Marshmallow is reading *Logicomix*, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna.

S: So did you know about Bertrand Russell before reading this book?

M: No.

S: What do you think about him now, after having read it?

M: I think he is an interesting person. But according to this book review you showed me, not everything in the book is accurate.

S: Yes, I think the authors themselves say they took some artistic license with some of the facts. And that book review is a careful scholarly overview of the book that readers who might be curious about the accuracy of the text might check out. But let us get back to your reading of the book. What appealed to you most about this book?

M: Well, I liked the switch between the creators of the book and the subject of the book. It made things interesting. I also did not know about Russell and Wittgenstein and Gödel, and any of those philosophers, so I learned a lot.

S: And the book does cover a lot of ground in terms of the foundational debates of the early twentieth century. How did all that work out for you?

M: What do you mean by foundational debates?

S: I mean, the questions about the foundations of mathematics, of logic, of truth. How these folks were trying to understand why mathematics was true, how it worked, and so on.

M: I think some of that went over my head. But I did find it cool that people were thinking so hard about why math is true.

S: I know you find philosophical questions intriguing. The ones in this book are quite specific to math, it seems at first, but then if you think about it, we all want to know what is true, what makes something true, as opposed to false, fake news, or disinformation, or misinformation.

M: Yes. I did a project on all those this year. I used this website which talks about all the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, and how it is everywhere, and how you should be very very afraid. But of course dihydrogen monoxide is just H2O, which is water!

S: Yes, I really liked your project! So we know it is sometimes hard to know what is true and what is not. And this book is about some philosophers who are trying to think about these questions very carefully and trying to see how to connect them to math.

M: Yes, I think that makes sense.

S: So I know you were not looking for philosophy or math when you started. Did all that overwhelm you when you were reading it?

M: No. I think they explained things in ways people could understand. I guess some things are a bit confusing, and I probably did miss some things, and maybe younger bunnies might not get any of the philosophical stuff, but it was interesting for me.

S: That’s great Marshmallow! And maybe you will come back to this book in a few years’ time if you are curious to dig deeper into the philosophical questions in it. I’m glad you read it!

M: Me too.

S: So as we wrap up this review, I’ll ask how you rate the book…

M: I rate this book 95%.

S: Sounds good! I know you always like to end our chats the way Caramel ends his reviews. So go ahead!

M: Stay tuned for more book bunny reviews!

Marshmallow has enjoyed reading Logicomix, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna and rates it 95%. — Marshmallow has enjoyed reading *Logicomix*, written by Apostolos Doxiadis and Christos H. Papadimitriou, and illustrated by Alecos Papadatos and Annie di Donna and rates it 95%.