TOON Books Reviews

When I grew up I read comic books, like most young boys. I read Superman, Batman, and the likes. It wasn't high literature by any means, but I was reading right? When I was in high school and college, I discovered Japanese comic books, also known as manga. Manga at least had many genres, and you could find series with better writing and more depth than most American comics. Recently, I have discovered an even higher brow of comics, called graphic novels. I feel behind the times, however, as they have been around for a while, and I am just discovering them. Today, I will be reviewing two from the publisher TOON Books.

Theseus and the Minotaur is a Greek myth that needs no real introduction or explanation. Master French cartoonist, Yvan Pommaux, does a masterful job starting the story from the very beginning though. We learn of Theseus' mom, Princess Aethra, and how both Poseidon and King Aegeus, "had" her. We see a brief glimpse of her raising her son, Theseus, but during that time we learn a great deal about the background and bitter hatred between Aegeus, King of Athens, and Minos, King of Crete. We are then taught where the Minotaur came from. It wasn't explicit, but there were a few images that were surprising. After this, we see Theseus as an adult and learn of his feats, before he finally meets his father, Aegeus. Theseus then goes off to slay the Minotaur, and does so with some help that he received from King Minos' daughter.

There were things I liked and disliked about this book. Let me start with what I didn't like. For starters, it did not read like a comic book. There were text bubbles, but they were few and far between. It more felt like reading a narration than characters interacting. The other thing I didn't like was the sexual themes in the book. Yes, it's Greek mythology, so it is to be expected, but the suggested reading level is 8+. With these themes, it should be middle school, and probably late middle school at that. What I liked is that this adaptation stayed true to the mythology. I also liked that there was phonetic pronunciations of the hard to pronounce Greek names. This is helpful for kids and adults alike. The index and further readings at the ends were also a nice touch and super helpful. Last, but not least, the illustrations were great, but of course I knew they would be! Overall, a very good graphic novel, just use your judgment on what age to let your children read it.

Hansel and Gretel is a joint collaboration of Neil Gaiman and Lorenzo Mattotti. I decided to review this book, because my wife loves Neil Gaiman, so I thought I'd finally give him a shot. The illustrations in this book are shades of black and white. These monochromatic illustrations present a very shadowy and haunting story. That makes them perfect for accompanying this chilling tale that many of us only think we know. This, however, is a Brothers Grimm fairy tale, so it's supposed to be dark.

The story stays true to the original version, with the exception of the mother. In the original, I believe it was the father's second wife, not first wife. This makes the story a little darker, because it is the wife (mother) who convinces the father to leave the children in the woods to starve. The rest of the story is pretty well known. They go to a witch's house. She tries to cook them. They stuff her into and oven and escape. They then find their way home to their father. The mother died from unknown causes, so it's mostly a happy ending. At the end of the book is a brief history lesson on the story of Hansel and Gretel, which would be good for older readers in a school or homeschool setting. Overall, I was very pleased with Lorenzo Mattotti's illustrations and Neil Gaiman's storytelling lived up to my wife's hype.

The Feasts (Image Books) Review and Giveaway

It's been a few months since the last blog tour I participated in, but I am participating in two this month. The first one is sponsored by Image Books and is spotlighting their latest book The Feasts by Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Mike Aquilina. Those involved in the blog tour will provide you with a review of the book and a personal reflection on the Feast or Season. My season is Advent. There will also be a giveaway at the end of this post open to all in the U.S., so read all the way through and don't just skip to the bottom. Finally, you might see #TheFeasts on Facebook or Twitter, if you click on it, it should take you to other people's reviews, thoughts, and reflections. Without further ado, here is my review!

The Feasts is the third, and most likely final, book in a series of books written by Cardinal Wuerl and Mike Aquilina, which are designed to instruct Catholics and non-Catholics on important aspects of the Catholic Church. The first two books in this series are entitled The Mass and The Church. In The Feasts, the authors begin by explaining the value and importance that man places in calendars and tracking of time. They use the example of fishermen using the lunar calendar and farmers the solar calendar to grow rich, and state that if we follow the Church Calendar, we can grow spiritually rich. They then walk us through the Jewish feasts that Jesus celebrated when he walked this earth. Following this a whole chapter is dedicated to defining terms like Memorial, Solemnity, Season, and Octave.

The book then gets to the heart of the matter with the remaining chapters. The authors first start by talking about the importance of Sunday and then there are individual chapters dedicated to Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. Next, they dedicate individual chapters to important solemnities of Jesus, including Epiphany, Ascension, Corpus Christi, and Christ the King. Unfortunately, the Annunciation and Presentation of Jesus in the Temple got lumped in with Christ the King. These are two important feast days, and considered part of the Twelve Great Feasts in Eastern Christianity. Next, we are treated to various other feasts and seasons, including Holy Trinity, Marian feasts (which could have easily taken up more than one chapter), and the Holy Angels.

I was very pleased that they devoted a chapter to Advent, as it is my favorite liturgical season. In this chapter, the authors discuss the beauty of Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparation, not a spend four weeks shopping season. In this season, we are preparing for the two-fold coming of Christ, both at Christmas and again at the end of the age. They also explain that the Eastern Christians view this as a season for purification and penance. I particularly enjoy Advent, because it is the start of a new Church year. It is a time to start over, begin again, and grow closer to God.

Overall, this was a good book with a lot of great information. I appreciate that the Eastern Catholics were not ignored in this book. However, there are a few things I would have changed. As I said earlier, I wish there had been more focus given to some of the particular feasts. I also think the book could have been a bit better organized. Since there was a great bit of focus on the importance of calendars and seasons, I think the book should have been arranged in the order the seasons and feasts appear on the calendar, starting with Advent and ending with Christ the King. Those complaints aside, this was still a good book that can teach both converts and cradle Catholics a lot.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Screwtape Letters: Annotated Edition (HarperOne)

The Screwtape Letters is a masterful work of Christian fiction, allegory, and satire that is recognized globally. However, I have found it to be a hot-button piece with as many people loving it as hating it. I wouldn't say I fall into the "love camp," but I definitely have a great respect for it and C.S. Lewis for writing it. Parts of the book still send chills up my spine, and it took a special author to go that dark place in his mind and write a book of this nature. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of C.S. Lewis' death, HarperOne published an Annotated Edition of this book.

For those unfamiliar with the Screwtape Letters, I will provide some background information on it. It was first published in 1942. The format of the book is a series of letters from Screwtape (a senior demon) to Wormwood (Screwtape's nephew). Screwtape is trying to train Wormwood on how to claim the soul of a man (referred to as The Patient) for Satan. The setting is Britain during World War II. What makes the Annotated Edition special, apart from being a sturdy hardcover with nice sized font, is that there is tons of notes (in red font to contrast the black font of the actual text), which reference Scripture and other Lewis writings. There are also interesting facts about his life in these notes. Also included in this book is "Screwtape Proposes a Toast," which is a brief sequel that is a criticism of public education.

I would classify this book as one for the serious lovers of C.S. Lewis. To those who want to dig deeper into this text, and read the texts cross-referenced in the notes, this book will be invaluable as they will better understand why he wrote what he wrote. To those who just want to read this text for what it is, the notes will get in the way and perhaps be more distraction than help. I personally enjoyed all the notes, the two prefaces, and even the list of C.S. Lewis' favorite books. I feel like I have a better appreciation for both C.S. Lewis the man and C.S. Lewis the author. Plus, as I said earlier, it's a nice hardcover book, so it will stand the test of time. If you can get it for a good price, by all means get it. I read this book often enough, I'm glad I now own it in hardcover as my other edition was starting to show major wear.

This book was provided to me for free by HarperOne in exchange for an honest review. If you found this review helpful, please click here and hit Yes!