Just look at that cover! Clearly, the emergency room beckons! Even as you already know what not to do as a parent, these things ...
Grace Lin’s 'not exactly the same’-twins debuted in 2010, then 'shared a birthday’ a couple of years later, and had 'twice as silly’ adventures together. Five years since they arrived on bookshelves everywhere, they're still Together in All Weather – and yes, they're as whimsically captivating as...
Today is the third title by Canadians Eric Walters and Eugenie Fernandes that captures real-life events from Walters' The Creation of Hope complex in Kenya. Together, Walters and Fernandes have become quite the dynamic duo in developing an effective series showcasing the inspiring, courageous stories of resilient, caring children...
I admit it: I'm not much of a dinosaur fan – on the page, anyway. Far too many books starring these behemoth beings seem to loom over my desk. That said, every once in a (long) while, I discover an irresistible prehistoric beast with a story that...
Sweden's Stieg Larsson died of a heart attack in 2004, but his internationally famed, mismatched hacker/journalist duo are proving to be immortal. Yes, Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist are back in a fourth installment of what is now the Millennium series (a 'trilogy' no more) with a new writer, Swedish journalist and...
Well, I've done it now – binge-read two volumes of my latest favorite manga obsession. I really was trying to space out the fabulous adventures of Taichi Hiraga Keaton, our British/Japanese hapa professor/insurance investigator (ha! of course, he's so much more than that!), but once begun...
When’s the last time you encountered a bored superhero – bored because he hasn’t encountered a single worthy opponent? Meet Saitama – albeit you'll need old-people glasses to see the tiny type in the small box in the Table of Contents which seems to be the one and...
Who can resist a lost little kitten? Furry-friendlies unite: this adorable black-grey-and-white fluff-bundle will set your heart all aflutter. Wandering out with Mommy Cat and two siblings, this little one gets lost. She's woofed at by a dog (thankfully leashed), and narrowly misses getting run over...
Here in my temporary exile in the Beehive State, I remain fascinated by the religion that dominates my current location. In a moment of ironic timing, as I was wandering the many surrounding mountains with narrator Kirsten Potter stuck in the ears, this passage stuck: "Whenever friends from other...
Summer is waning way too quickly, but you still have a final week left to indulge in frothy reads: the over-the-top excesses of Singaporean Manhattanite Kevin Kwan’s novels might be just what you've been looking for as Labor Day looms. If you haven't yet relished Kwan's debut,...
Adolescence is difficult enough to navigate, but throw in a few gender-bender issues and you've got multiple challenges earlier generations probably didn't (wouldn't? couldn't?) openly face. With all manner of identity awareness growing worldwide, Shimura Takako’s award-winning, internationally lauded manga series gently and insightfully reflects the gender spectrum on...
Salmon meunière, acqua pazza, mizuna and onion salad, yellowtail teriyaki ...
After more than two-and-a-half years since volume 13 hit Stateside shelves in December 2012, the Kurosagi quintet-plus-puppet (I mean alien) are FINALLY back. And then some. Because in this latest volume, it's Kurosagi x 3, as in three distinct Kurosagi versions fighting for page time. Guess they...
*STARRED REVIEW Before A Wild Sheep Chase made Murakami an international sensation, he wrote these “kitchen-table novels,” so named for where his composition efforts took place after he wrapped up managing his Tokyo jazz bar for the day. Both Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973...
Flood of Fire brings the astounding, exceptional Ibis Trilogy to a close Readers of this review will fall into two categories: (1) Those who are already two-thirds invested in the Ibis Trilogy, and (2) Newbies who might be wondering if continuing the perusal of this review...
In case you initially peruse this manga the Western way (flip pages from the right side to left), here's what you'll see a few pages in: "We used to fanatically watch reruns of Ultraman as kids," the creators Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi confess. "We never dreamed...
For two years, young Leo has worked hard to pay for his bicycle, which he affectionately names Big Red. As rewarding as the boy-and-his-bike relationship has been, Leo is still growing ...
Okay, I admit it: Master Keaton is my favorite new series. Luckily, Naoki Urasawa’s manga tend to go lonnnggggg (24 volumes of 20th-into-21st Century Boys, 18 volumes of Monster, and the shortest, eight-volumes of Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka) so hopefully the good Master will keep me mightily satisfied for a...
Some strong suggestions first: 1. Don't read this hungry (just the phrase "Asian street food" will have many of you salivating); 2. Don't read this all alone at night. And, if you decide to 'read' by listening to narrator Feodor Chin, be further warned: he...
