Little Golden Book Monday #142

I just about forgot about Little Golden Book Monday. I went to my bookcase and pulled one at random, and her you go... Animals on the Farm 1963. My copy is the eighth printing from 1977.

Hero Bear and the KiD

Today at work the librarian passed along a bunch of magazines that she was retiring from circulation, as s she knows that I collect ads. In a copy of Today's Parent, I found an ad for Kraft Dinner that featured some artwork of a turtle and a rabbit. I really liked it so i quickly tore it out to add to my pile ads to keep. When I got home and had a closer look at it I stated to realize that the artwork looked very familiar. It was the artwork of Mike Kunkel, which I recognized from a comic called Hero Bear and the Kid. A few years back I had found a copy of a comic called Hero Bear and the Kid in a back issue bin and picked it up because I liked the artwork on the cover. I ended up enjoying the comic so much that I purchased the Hero Bear and the Kid graphic novel "The Inheritance" from Mike's web site. He even signed it and drew a small sketch inside for me! If you have not seen these comics or the graphic novel, you should check it out. The artwork alone is worth the price. I especially love the way he has done the artwork in black and white except for the drawings of Hero Bear which include red for his cape. It makes for some very visually amazing artwork.

Most recently Mike did the cover to a comic mini series called Scratch 9. I checked it out because of the cover and ended up loving the comic. I just finished reading the 4 issues (over 2 nights) with my son, and he loved it. He couldn't wait for the second night to finish the story.
We have not read Hero Bear and the Kid together yet, so that will have to be our next bedtime reading for this weekend.

If you are looking for some all ages comics to read with your kids, that you will also enjoy, you should check out both of these titles! Visit Mike's website for all his latest projects and to order your copy of The Inheritance. Visit the official Scratch 9 website to order your hard copy or digital copies of the Scratch 9 mini series.

Little Golden Book Monday #141

Today's Little Golden Book is Disney's Tangled. I had to special order this at my local book store, as it was sold out before I though to pick one up, and I could not find it at any of my local stores. I wasn't that interested in the book, or the movie it was based on, as it looked to me to be a pretty lame movie geared towards preteen girls. Apparently Disney though so too, as they made a last minute name change, switching from Rapunzel to Tangled, hoping to make it seem more exciting for boys as well. I didn't go to see it on opening night, November 24th. I figured I would wait a week or two and see it at the cheap theater near my home. To my surprise the movie was getting really good reviews and it didn't show up nearly as soon as I had though it would. Finally last week the movie showed up at my local cheap theater, and I took the family to see it. We were all pleasantly surprised, as we ended up loving the movie... so much so, that less than a week later we went to see it again. If you have not seen it, you should definitely check it out, if not at the theater, on DVD March 29th.
I was also very happy to pick up the Rapunzel long playing record and book shortly after picking up the Tangled Little Golden Book. For more Disney vinyl, be sure to check out my Disneyland Records blog.

Little Golden Book Monday #140

Today's Little Golden Book is the Authorized Walt Disney Productions Edition of The Rescuers from 1977. I can remember seeing the film when it was originally in theaters, and enjoying it very much. I really enjoyed the slapstick comedy of Wilbur the flying albatross, and laughed every time he was on screen. Today my favorite characters in the movie are Madame Medusa's two pet crocodiles named Brutus and Nero. There are a few great illustrations of Brutus and Nero in the book, including the one below showing the two guarding Madame Medusa's old riverboat.

The film was one of the last Walt Disney classics to be animated by members of Walt Disney's "nine old men".