Title: Say Cheese, Medusa!

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Stone Arch Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781434229984

Author:Kate McMullan

Illustrated by: Denis Zilber

A word of warning: Never ever read this book while drinking or snacking. You’d choke on your drinks or food. Why? The book is too funny that I’m sure you’d find it hard to resist the urge to laugh.

The mythologist will be going around tsk-ing at the twist, though. ‘Say Cheese, Medusa’ is not exactly the story where Perseus chopped off Medusa’s head and emerge a hero. It’s quite the other way around. A very refreshing and humourous touch to the age old serious story of heroism.

I definitely can get used to reading the books in Myth o Maniac series. It tickles my funny bones and I enjoyed it very much.

I received an ARC of this book from Capstone via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.

Book description:

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a Gorgon — a winged monster with snakes for hair. Anyone who looked at her was instantly turned to stone. But she wasn’t born that way. Not even close. Athena was so jealous of Medusa’s beauty that she cursed her. Zeus changed the story to make his son, Perseus, look good. Hades is here to set the record straight on Perseus, Medusa, and everything in between. A part of the Myth-o-Mania series.

Title: Say Cheese, Medusa!

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Stone Arch Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781434229984

Author:Kate McMullan

Illustrated by: Denis Zilber

A word of warning: Never ever read this book while drinking or snacking. You’d choke on your drinks or food. Why? The book is too funny that I’m sure you’d find it hard to resist the urge to laugh.

The mythologist will be going around tsk-ing at the twist, though. ‘Say Cheese, Medusa’ is not exactly the story where Perseus chopped off Medusa’s head and emerge a hero. It’s quite the other way around. A very refreshing and humourous touch to the age old serious story of heroism.

I definitely can get used to reading the books in Myth o Maniac series. It tickles my funny bones and I enjoyed it very much.

I received an ARC of this book from Capstone via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.

Book description:

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a Gorgon — a winged monster with snakes for hair. Anyone who looked at her was instantly turned to stone. But she wasn’t born that way. Not even close. Athena was so jealous of Medusa’s beauty that she cursed her. Zeus changed the story to make his son, Perseus, look good. Hades is here to set the record straight on Perseus, Medusa, and everything in between. A part of the Myth-o-Mania series.

Title: Say Cheese, Medusa!

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Stone Arch Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781434229984

Author:Kate McMullan

Illustrated by: Denis Zilber

A word of warning: Never ever read this book while drinking or snacking. You’d choke on your drinks or food. Why? The book is too funny that I’m sure you’d find it hard to resist the urge to laugh.

The mythologist will be going around tsk-ing at the twist, though. ‘Say Cheese, Medusa’ is not exactly the story where Perseus chopped off Medusa’s head and emerge a hero. It’s quite the other way around. A very refreshing and humourous touch to the age old serious story of heroism.

I definitely can get used to reading the books in Myth o Maniac series. It tickles my funny bones and I enjoyed it very much.

I received an ARC of this book from Capstone via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.

Book description:

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a Gorgon — a winged monster with snakes for hair. Anyone who looked at her was instantly turned to stone. But she wasn’t born that way. Not even close. Athena was so jealous of Medusa’s beauty that she cursed her. Zeus changed the story to make his son, Perseus, look good. Hades is here to set the record straight on Perseus, Medusa, and everything in between. A part of the Myth-o-Mania series.

Title: Nice Shot, Cupid!

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Stone Arch Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781434219855

Author: Kate McMullan

Illustrated by: Denis Zilber

This is definitely one book your mythologist would definitely won’t approve of. ‘Nice Shot, Cupid!’ is a part of Myth o Mania series and it will surely make you go wacko with the the re-tellings of famous mythological stories.

In this one, Cupid is painted as a wimpy geek with a not so attractive feature but fancies Psyche

I couldn’t help myself but laugh when I read this version of the story about Cupid and Psyche. Highly recommended to those who loved mythology and those who are in desperate need of witty humour.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Capstone via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.

Book description:

The story about the handsome Greek god Cupid and how he met Psyche? Just another lie from that myth-o-maniac Zeus! The truth is, when Cupid met Psyche he was a gawky teen god with bad skin and braces. Psyche was so beautiful, Cupid was scared to even approach her. Instead, he and Zeus cooked up a plan to kidnap Psyche. Hades, King of the Underworld, is here to shine some light on what really happened. A part of the Myth-o-Mania series.

Title: Backward Bowwow

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Picture Window Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781404864801

Author: Sarah Hines Stephens

Contributors: Illustrated by: Art Baltazar

Backward Bowwow is doggie version of Superman, and naturally, being a fan of Clark Kent and Superman, I enjoyed the book very much (after being aghast at the fact that the doggie is bent on making things ‘right’).

Backward Bowwow is funny and highly entertaining. The story is highly captivating and engaging, and I found myself laughing out loud while reading this book. I’m sure my boy was thinking that his mum has finally lost it and gone cuckoo.

Very nice book to read. I highly recommend this book to both adult and children alike. I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Capstone publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review for it, and I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.

Book description:

Title: Secrets, Monsters, and Magic Mirrors

SubTitle: Stone Arch Fairy Tales Volume 2

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Stone Arch Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781434234568

Author: Donald Lemk

If you love fairy tales, you’ll definitely love this bold graphic novel. Each page is beautifully illustrated and the fairy tale re-tellings are just as wonderful.

But as much as I recommend this to older readers, I wouldn’t exactly recommend this book to younger readers who tends to be very curious. This is because one of the fairy tale in this book: Rapunzel is rather creepy.

I’m not sure what exactly the original version of Rapunzel is, but I do not exactly appreciate the fact that the book implied that Rapunzel had spent the night with her prince before they got married in the tower and she got pregnant soon after.

I am not sure I if I want to explain to the children how Rapunzel and her prince managed to have children without being married in the first place. How am I supposed to explain about the birds and the bees to the children if they asked me about it?  Hmm… not sure if I want to deal with the issue of pre-marital sex with younger children.

I suppose this book is not for younger readers.While the retelling are wonderful, the illustration are too bold for a fairy tale. Rather creepy and provocative as well.

I rate this book 3 out of 5 stars. I received an ARC of this book from Capstone publisher via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.

Book description:

Five of the world’s greatest fairy tales are retold in the popular and attractive graphic novel format. Beautiful, bold illustrations give these timeless tales a modern edge. The stories include Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Princess and the Pea, Snow White, and Thumbelina.

Title: Honestly, Red Riding Hood Was Rotten!

SubTitle: The Story of Little Red Riding Hood as Told by the Wolf

Publisher: Capstone

Imprint: Picture Window Books

Pub Date: 1 August 2011

ISBN: 9781404866737

Author: Trisha Speed Shaskan

‘Honestly Red Riding Hood Was Rotten’ written by Trisha Speed Shaskan was a highly entertaining and humorous picture book aimed for young readers.

It’s a fairy tale with a twist, where the story was told from the Big Bad Wolf point of view.

In this story, the wolf was portrayed as a vegetarian wolf who haven’t been eating as food is scarce while Red Riding Hood was portrayed as a little vain pot, just like her grandmother.

Very humorous kind of book, really, and a very refreshing approach to the classic fairy tale. It was beautifully illustrated as well with the wolf looking pitiful and the Red Riding Hood looking vain and annoying as ever.

I’ve loved stories like this; where the story is told from the bad people point of view. To me, there’s always two side of the same story and you ought to not just listen to the ‘good’ people’s version of the story. For what it’s worth, the villains are just poor, misunderstood characters.

I enjoyed this book very much, and highly recommended as a bedtime stories for both boys and girls age 5 years up.

I received an ARC of this book from Capstone publisher via Netgalley. I was not compensated in any ways for writing this review.