Recess Warriors: Hero Is a Four-Letter Word

Recess Warriors #1

by Marcus Emerson

Saving the world... one playground at a time.

When imaginations go wild in the schoolyard, anything can happen. Normal kids become world-saving heroes, girls become power-hungry pirates, and zombies take over the school after being infected by the dreaded epidemic—cooties! It's up to Scrap, his partner Yoshi (don't you dare call her a sidekick!), and Clinton, the baddest cowboy in the, um, badlands, to stop recess from collapsing into total apocalyptic chaos.

With dynamic full-color art and nonstop action, Recess Warriors is an irresistibly fun middle-grade graphic novel from Marcus Emerson, the creator of the hit self-published series, Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Comics, Juvenile, Adventure, Humor

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2017

About the author

Marcus Emerson is the author of several highly imaginative children's books including the popular Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja series and the Secret Agent 6th Grader series. His goal is to create children's books that are engaging, funny, and inspirational for kids of all ages - even the adults who secretly never grew up. He is a 35-year-old comic book reader, video game player, and toy collector.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with the kids and we all enjoyed it so much. It’s imaginative and funny. We all recommend it! On to Book 2!

[Leon E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book embracing imagination.

[brookie the cookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book uses a LOT OF imagination. Seriously. Literally EVERYTHING is their imagination.

If that bothers you, this is not the book for you.😉

If not, sit back and enjoy this very wild ride!

~•~Plot~•~

It's not overly complicated, I guess? In the beginning, a weird kid named Greg introduces this book. It makes 0% sense. Greg doesn't show up for the rest of the book. He's GONE.

Then, we get introduced to Scrap. AKA Bryce, our MC.

(The book always does this big INTRO for every new character, so I shall too🙃)

- SCRAP -

Like I said, Scrap is Bryce. He's an ordinary 5th grader(? I think ?) who pretends to be a superhero named Scrap. 

For some reason.

"Scrap. James Scrap. But minus the James."


He just wants to help everyone! But he's a total coward, and runs away more often than he fights.

"Why don't you fight me face to face?!"

"Well, cuz you might hit me."


He's a total sweetie.

Of course, Scrap gets in trouble, and has to be rescued by a girl: Caitlyn Yoshimura.

~ CAITLYN YOSHIMURA ~

I think she's Japanese?

She goes by Yoshi, BTW.

SO!

Yoshi's preferred weapon of choice is a jump rope!

Wicked awesome, eh?

Technically, she's Scrap's *sidekick*, and is always rescuing Scrap.

Those two go waaayyy back.

I'm gonna stop explaining everyone cuz I am running out of time....

Plot! Right!

Basically, kids are *dying* left and right. It's kinda violent. They have x for eyes and everything...

(That is partly why I took off a star)

So Scrap tries to save them!

Then it turns out it's part of a BIGGER picture, and it goes on and on and on —

BOOM!!!

🎶 Cliffhanger! 🎶

It's so unfair.

————————————————————

It's a fun book, y'all should try it! (All of you old, responsible people who NEVER imagine stuff or daydream!)

Lady Glitter Sparkles ➡ out!🌺

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does it ever seem to you that a school playground is its own little world? Well, actually, it is many small worlds side by side and sometimes they overlap. Scrap just wants to defend the meek from having their lunch money stolen, but when zombiefying cooties get loose in the yard, he calls for help. His best friend Yoshi has mad jumprope skills (imagine Jackie Chan with a rope in "Shanghai Noon"), and Clinton leaves the Badlands (his side of the yard), to lend a hand. But even if they survive the zombie apocalypse, there is always another threat out there. It might be the pirates from the Wreck Yard kidnapping Yoshi, or perhaps the strange group of kids who always play house have wandered into the wrong area. You just never know.

With all the entertaining groups out there - cowboys, pirates, superheroes, etc. - and the complicated relationships between the main characters, readers must pay close attention to make sure they don't miss important clues about what is really going on. Does Scrap see Yoshi as a sidekick or a best friend? What happened between Scrap and Clinton to end their friendship? Who is the Pirate Capt'n? Where did the cooties of doom come from?

The action is nonstop and cleverly blends the real playground with the imagined landscapes of the different groups. Each character is distinctive and unique, whether it is Juliet and her perfect hair or Clinton with his cowboy hat and John Wayne accent. And the kids have all this fun without any devices or technology - pure power of imagination.

Great for graphic novel fans of Doug Ten Napel or similar creators.

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I may be writing very similar reviews for a little while. I'm looking for comics which would appeal to the type of students I work with -- mostly boys, mostly on the ASD spectrum, mostly immigrant or African American, mostly picture oriented, kinesthetic learners, mostly emergent, some in third grade reading at kindergarten level. This has some of the right elements. The cast is somewhat diverse, and there are zombies. (I do a lot of recess duty, so I know too well about zombies.) The layout is still fairly simple, but maybe too much and too complicated for my students.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superheroes, zombies, cowboys, pirates, vampires, lava, and more. This book brings to life the imagined adventures of a school population at recess, day after day. Only a few times do they break character--"Whoa! That kid's pretend game is hardcore." and "Where'd your pirate accent go?" and "What?? Today was zombies?" "Yeah, man, didn't you get the email?"--otherwise readers are with them entirely immersed in their dramatic play. It's a fun place to be. The kids create exciting stories and characters with arcs. I'm guessing most young readers will not only identify, but be a bit jealous.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a winning series by Marcus Emerson. The characters contained so much originality and the illustrations and colors chosen for the book were bright and extravagant. The plot was clear, direct, and easy for the reader to follow and the characters were easy to relate to. Even though I read the second book first, this book was actually easier to pick up than the second book. A great graphic novel read.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man I wanted to like this crazy mishmash of playground imaginative adventures, but the kids talk like 17 year old nerds, and I think many of the jokes will just go over the years of most kids. This book is trying too hard, although I think with the friend conflict and trying to make a girl your sidekick, it has some good things to say. I might still use it in bookclub anyway, and give the kids a shot at it, see what they say.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of a friend knows the author and recommended this book for kids. I thought I would check it out as a potential Christmas gift for some elementary-aged kiddos. As far as keeping my interest, I might have rated the book just 3 stars, but I'm sure I'm not the target audience. On first glance, the story seems pretty weird with zombies and pirates, but then I realized that these are different groups of kids in different areas of the school playground and they have amazing imaginations!

[Ms. Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, recess. The Wild West of the school day. Everyone has their own tales to tell, and when those tales collide...you get something akin to this book. Pirates, cowboys, and even zombies combine to make one zany free-for-all that spans from the Tire Yard to the Out of Bounds.

If you like superhero comics, read this. If you like silly stories that escalate into shenanigans, read this. If you're bored and want to laugh, read this. First in a series.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Armstrong School may seem like any other school on the inside, but out on the outside entirely different worlds exists during recess. Can three unlikely heroes: Scrap, Yoshi, and Clinton put their differences aside, and work together to regain control of the playground from cooties infestation, brain-hungry zombies, and pirates bent on world domination? Only time and teamwork will tell.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of fun and tongue in cheek story of the wild adventures on the playground at school. I like the main characters and the premise is laugh out loud funny in spots (cooties!). I'm interested in sharing this with kids and reading more.

[Sara-Zoe Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

So. Much. Fun. I've been reading graphic novels looking for next year's GSF nominees and I'm sad I missed this when it first came out - the pub date now makes it not qualify. It would have been perfect. Fun and original and great characters and story. I can't wait to share this with all the kids.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think kids will really like this book because it is very imaginative. I never played on the playground like this but my son did. He used to play the hot lava bit. I was looking for different graphic novel to add to my collection. It has some funny parts.

[Annamarie Carlson (she, her)]

Meet the rulers of the playground: kids with bountiful imaginations ready to protect their "turf." Follow their action-hero, cowboy-riding, swashbuckling, zombie-filled adventures, all packed with the excitement only found on an elementary school playground.

[Sarahs Reads ToKids]

My second grade son didn't care for this comic and DNF but he was telling her third grade sister about this comic book and she picked it up and read it. She liked it and wants to read the next one.

[Kavin Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend to anyone looking for some playground nostalgia. This instantly put me in 1st grade with my friends Matthew, Michael, and, Shea. It keeps upping the ante and adding all kinds of creative twists. From start to finish, so fun.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous, imaginative look at playground dynamics. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and the kids at school are going to love it!

[C. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that the art takes these school-yard games as seriously as the kids do. Recommended.

[Sarah Hay · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recess warriors have very involved recess games. Superheroes, cowboys, pirates, zombies, and villains collide to take control of the playground.
Good for ages 8 and up.

[Bookthreat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read our review at https://bookthreat.com/2017/07/24/1749/

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun graphic about life on the playground a recess.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imaginative recess play has never looked so dramatic: zombies, pirates and the shifting alliances of the schoolyard keep Bryce, Yosh and Clinton busy.

[trishajennreads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool art style. Very imaginative story. Zombies just aren't my thing.

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quirky graphic novel. Took awhile to get into it.

[Tommy June · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think it was funny and had a different take on what people play at recess. (:

[Barb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fun concept, cool characters but wayyyy too much put into it. I didn’t finish it. Lunch lady graphics would b my recommendation.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to see how the kids react to it. Maybe the characters are richer and more real than I think they are. We'll see.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is cute and fun. The illustrations are great. But I found it hard to get into at first and then, once I had, it started to feel repetitive and the characters didn't really develop.

[Marcie · Rating 2 out of 5]

May appeal to the Lunch Lady crowd, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Quite a bit of text for the adventure provided.