2019 April Reading Challenge

[Elizabeth]

Spring has sprung, and that means it's Superhero Movie Season! So, your challenge for April is to read a Superhero something. You could absolutely read a graphic novel/comic book, like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power. You could also read a novel like The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World or one of my favorite super hero novels ever Soon I Will Be Invincible. You can also read a non-fiction book about making superhero comics or superhero films like, The Superhero Book or making anything super, like Superhero Sewing: Easy Sewing Projects for Nurturing Little Imaginations--Make Creative Playwear for Your Favorite Superhero, Pirate, Fairy, Magician, and Animal!. Super is the name of the game. Good luck!

[Becky]

I recommend Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal. I'm going to read Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why

[Elizabeth]

Thanks Becky! Thats on my to be read list.

[Stephanie]

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl comics are honestly some of my favorites! Ryan North is hilarious and wonderful, and am so glad he is making such wonderful and fun books.
If anyone is looking for superheroes that aren't the standards.... some great ones include Ms Marvel (as mentioned above!), Black Panther And The Crew #1/ Black Panther: World of Wakanda, The Unstoppable Wasp, Vol. 1: Unstoppable!, Black AF: America's Sweetheart, and so, so many more! If you're a fan of Ms Marvel and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, the Marvel Rising series is quite enjoyable!

oh, also if you loved the Captain Marvel movie, you should absolutely check out Kelly Sue DeConnick's run of Captain Marvel! And if you love Wonder Woman, I really enjoyed The Legend of Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Origins which was an excellent Wonder Woman origin story.

I love this challenge! I am super stoked!

[Debbie]

Reading comics and graphic novels is a skill set which, sadly, I have lost. I've tried reading them again, but I just can't follow them. Alas. Does this mean I won't do the challenge? No! I've found what looks like a cute children's book that just fits the bill and is not standard superhero fare.

[Stephanie]

Debbie wrote: "Reading comics and graphic novels is a skill set which, sadly, I have lost. I've tried reading them again, but I just can't follow them. Alas. Does this mean I won't do the challenge? No! I've foun..."
Excellent, Debbie! There are also plenty of Marvel and DC superhero novels as well! Wonder Woman, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Batman, and plenty more have gotten their own novels that wonderful writers have taken on! and there's a really adorable looking Ms. Marvel JF that we have in the system called Ms. Marvel: Fists of Fury. I haven't read it, but it's on my list!

[Stephanie]

OH and we got a brand new picture book at Columbus Library the other day that is utterly charming Grow Up, Ant-Man!! - I saw it and couldn't resist reading it and it's truly a lovely story! Another picture book: Even Superheroes Make Mistakes OK-- I will try to stop myself from recommending things.... (unless anyone needs more. because seriously, I have more. but I feel like I'm overwhelming this convo!)

[Audrey]

I think I’ll finish up Brandon Sanderson’s Reckoners trilogy.

[Elizabeth]

Debbie,

I know that you like Picture Books. There are a lot of super cute picture books that have a super theme. It sounds like you've got an idea of what you want to read, but if you need any suggestions, let me know!

Audrey,

Those books are on my to be read list. I really must get to them.

[Debbie]

Elizabeth, I'm never shy about asking for suggestions, but I did find a cute one that is NOT of the Superman, Batman, Marvel, or DC universes.

Thanks for the offer. I know at some point I'll be asking.

[Audrey]

Reckoners is SO GOOD.

[Carolyn]

At least one of my little nephews is a PJ Masks fan. One of my first thoughts when I saw the challenge for this month was that I should talk to him and see if he has a PJ Masks book he would let me borrow (or that we could read together). I haven't found out if he actually has one, but I did find a PJ Masks book to read myself while browsing a book store: Super Team. It was about how sometimes we need to be willing to ask for help and how working together can make us stronger.

[Debbie]

I have read, and thoroughly enjoyed, OLIVIA the Superhero by Cordelia Evans.
My Review.

[Tanya]

Eep! I forgot all about the April challenge until today.

I LOVE the stuff you guys are picking, and Squirrel Girl has been on my to-read for a while, but for this month I think I'll do School for Sidekicks.

[Elizabeth]

Nice! We're halfway through the month, keep it up everyone!

[Stephanie]

There's probably more superhero things in my future since I'm finally starting to organize my single issue comics again, but for the moment I read about someone I'd consider a real life super hero, Pura Belpré--the first Puerto Rican librarian in NYC. She made a huge difference in her community and made the library an accessible and welcoming space to spanish speaking families. Her love of storytelling and of making the library a space that welcomes everyone is definitely inspirational to me, and something I want to incorporate into my own work. Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré
If this seems like a stretch to folks and doesn't count by the collective thought process... do not worry. there will be proper superhero comics upcoming.

[Debbie]

Speaking as a librarian (retired), I agree she is a superhero. She was instrumental in getting libraries to start putting Spanish subject headings onto book records opening access as never before. Prior to her efforts, librarians mostly did not, even in areas with large Spanish-speaking patrons, have access to the card catalog with Spanish subject heading. The main argument was the Library of Congress (LC) did not use them. LC's response was that they were never designed nor designated as a national library but rather as a support library for Congress, subject headings designed to meet that body's needs. Believe it or not, there was a huge argument! Part of it was tied to physical library cards and the very real limits of catalog card storage space. But with the advent of computers the reality of the space problem disappeared, though it took libraries more than 10 years to begin to respond to that change. They didn't fully change until LC did with their rule books. A little ancient history for those who care.

[Becky]

Finished Ms. Marvel, Vol. 2: Generation Why. Fun to read for a different kind of reading adventure.

[Teresa]

I read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World. It was cute, definitely YA or MG. Thankfully I understand the text shorthand used in the story.

[Debbie]

Teresa wrote: "I read The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World. It was cute, definitely YA or MG. Thankfully I understand the text shorthand used in the story."

What is MG? (Other than a cute little car?)

[Stephanie]

MG in the context of books = middle grade!

Thanks Debbie for your response about Pura Belpré being a real life hero! I loved your response! I've only so far seen her story represented in children's lit and haven't done deeper research, so knowing more about her work in including Spanish in book records is so fantastic to know. I definitely need to look further into her life and work ♥

[Elizabeth]

Only one week left to finish this SUPER challenge. Is anyone excited for Avengers: Endgame. I am SO PUMPED UP for it. I went and rewatched Captain Marvel, Captain America: Winter Soldier, and I'll be watching Captain America: Civil War after work tonight and then Avengers: Infinity War before I go see Endgame on Saturday!

Anywho, if anyone wants a recommendation, let me know. We'll find you something fun!

[Debbie]

I'm watching Thor: Ragnarok tonight, then Ant Man and the Wasp concluding with Avengers: Infinity War. I found a website that gave a list of the MCU in chronological order of events depicted in the films rather than the order of film release. Did you not watch Avengers: Age of Ultron? I understood it was a lead up to Infinity War, although when I saw it, I did not see that connection. Except that is where Vision came into existence. Well, back to Thor!

[Greg]

It took me a while to find something for this one. I read School for Sidekicks by Kelly McCullough.

[Alyson]

I finished "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel Meets World" the other day. It was a riot!

[Elizabeth]

Hey Debbie,

I read an interview where someone asked the Russo Brothers (the directors) which ones you should definitely rewatch, and they basically said theirs, which are the ones I listed above. I also hear that some other movies might be good to watch, but i'm trying REALLY hard to avoid media about the movie right now, because I don't want any spoilers. I do have some friends that once a week for the past few months they've been watching the movies in Release Date order. But, I didn't think of that soon enough.

Greg,
Ooh, that one looks fun! I'll have to add that to my TBR list.

Alyson,
I love Shannon Hale. She writes fun stuff, and I love Squirrel Girl, so that's a match made in heaven. :D

[Linda]

I found a fun little children's book . I also read . It was fun also.

[Stephanie]

I'm finally starting to make a dent in my single issues and have caught up with the Magnificent Ms. Marvel which was absolutely delightful. As much as I love G. Willow Wilson's work with Ms. Marvel, Saladin Ahmed is definitely doing an excellent job writing her! And the art is quite great! I caught up on the what's out of the new Marvel Rising series (it brings Ms. Marvel and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl and a few other superheros together) and it..... isn't as promising as the previous run. Last year's 4 issue arc was fantastic and fun and compelling, and this one.... is falling a bit flat for me. I've also caught up on the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics written by Jordie Bellaire with art by Dan Mora and it's thus far REALLY EXCELLENT. I'm loving the fact that I'm once again immersed in the Buffy universe in a really familiar yet different way, and the 3rd issue was just... EVERYTHING. Buffy discovers that the slayer has a pet, and the pet is super terrifying and yet, I totally wanted to cuddle with it. ♥

[Audrey]

I’m seeing Endgame tomorrow, but I haven’t seen Captain Marvel yet. Do you think that will matter much?

[Greg]

Audrey wrote: "I’m seeing Endgame tomorrow, but I haven’t seen Captain Marvel yet. Do you think that will matter much?"

Yes. See Captain Marvel, first. There are essential elements to CM that play into EG. And, if you see EG first, it will spoil the end of CM.

[Elizabeth]

Audrey,

If you have time to pull off the double feature, I'd do it. But... I think if you don't you'll be okay. Greg's right, there will be some things that you know about Captain Marvel, but I don't know if that would ruin the experience completely.

[Audrey]

I rarely go see movies and just watch them a year or two later when the library gets them and there’s 400 holds first, so I don’t see a way to see Captain Marvel first. (My real estate agent’s company bought a showing for all the clients.) I may just look for a quick synopsis of CM and accept the spoilers.

[Audrey]

I read Calamity by Brandon Sanderson.

[Debbie]

Audrey wrote: "I rarely go see movies and just watch them a year or two later when the library gets them and there’s 400 holds first, so I don’t see a way to see Captain Marvel first. (My real estate agent’s comp..."

I'm just fininshing a rewatch of all the CMU in order of occurrence timeline. Of course, Captain Marvel was out of order, having just come out. Yesterday was Ant Man and The Wasp, which I had not seen. Today is the last, Infinity War.

[Audrey]

There were a lot of characters I didn’t remember, like Wasp. Endgame has no extra scene after the credits! I felt cheated.

[Elizabeth]

Debbie,

I keep meaning to do that, but end up just watching my favorites instead.

Audrey,

There is an end scene sound effect, which is nice, but super quiet.

[Debbie]

Audrey wrote: "There were a lot of characters I didn’t remember, like Wasp. Endgame has no extra scene after the credits! I felt cheated."

Yes. In an interview, Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) said the MCU is really getting quite crowded now. I agree!

[Elizabeth]

Audrey is our prize drawing winner for April 2019’s reading challenge. They read Calamity by Brandon Sanderson.

[Stephanie]

Congrats Audrey!

ALSO PS for anyone who loves comics & for family and friends who are interested in comics, this Saturday is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! And we're lucky enough in Salt Lake City to have a few rad comic bookstores, Black Cat and Dr. Volt's! If you have this Saturday off definitely be sure to visit them and check out some of the comics you might not have otherwise! ♥