Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

My kids had better appreciate the love, friends, because I took the three older ones to Lagoon (Utah’s amusement park) today, and when I got back into the car that had been sitting in the parking lot for hours on end, its temperature read 107.   Sure, it’s a dry heat, but triple digits are HOT no matter what kind of heat it is, and the altitude gives the sun a burning intensity that it just doesn’t have at sea level.  Add that to the sad truth that many rides are no longer particularly fun for me–call me stodgy–and yes, today was really all about the fact that I do love my kids.  (Also about the fact that other people love my kids, since they drifted from family group to family group as they chose; they seriously have the best aunts, uncles, and cousins in the world.  AND grandparents!)

That being the case, today’s review is going to be a short one.  After reading the Zita trilogy and several of Ben Hatke’s picture books, I checked Mighty Jack out of the library to see if it was something the kids would enjoy.  After finishing it, I imagine it will be; it’s a creative, modern retelling of “Jack and the Beanstalk” with a few crossover characters from Zita, although the main characters are a few years older.  Hatke’s style is patently recognizable–text is sparse in his graphic novels, although the stories don’t suffer because of it–and the ending certainly left me wanting to read the next one.  Mighty Jack ought to appeal to a wide range of readers, including those who struggle a bit.  I’ll let you know how my kiddos feel about it; in the meantime, I am covered in sweat and traces of sunscreen, and the shower calls!