Children's Book Archives | Otaku No Culture

So Which Popular Artist/Illustrator, Do You Want “Story & Pictures By” Under the X-Mas Tree?

To fill in the blank in the documentary, Story & Pictures By, can be tough. That’s because to finish that phrase on who is best at crafting the perfect children’s picture book is difficult to answer.

ROCO Films
Available to view on Apple TV+

Some folks might say the market for children’s picture books is dying, and I have to say no. What Story & Pictures By reveals is this type of publication continues to be popular and when educational content is attached, much more so! And unlike those works that I read growing up (Curious George), what’s different now is a better representation from a group of authors who say it’s better than ever! Christian Robinson, Yuyi Morales, and Mac Barnett are the focus on Joanna Rudnick‘s excellent documentary.

Also, balancing well-known past illustrators with current leading artists must have been a hard task for the filmmakers. The talents who stand out are those who illustrate their own work and will talk about what helped define them.

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My Father’s Dragon, More Than A Thoughtful and Magical Adventure

I can’t help but wonder if My Father’s Dragon should’ve been what PIXAR’s The Good Dinosaur wanted to become.

Now on Netflix

Elmer Elevator (Jacob Tremblay) is young and optimistic, but his mother Dela (Golshifteh Farahani) is worried about making ends meet in My Father’s Dragon. This animated fantasy is loaded with splendid production design, and Cartoon Saloon never fails to deliver. We are never told what happened to his father. It’s assumed he passed on and was the “breadwinner,” but since he’s gone, the family is struggling. Nora Twomey‘s last film had that title, and its story is very similar to this one.

In part one, he’s forced to move to a new town with his mom, and they’re struggling to pay the bills. The boy wants to help, but he’s going all about it wrong. After an argument, he runs away.

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How to Enjoy Halloween 2021 Knowledge Kids Style!

Halloween’s nearly here and quite often, there’s something to fear because not all forms of entertainment are tailored for young tykes to enjoy. Knowledge Kids has fixed that with a specially curated run of fun that’s no doubt going to be educational too.

Streaming online for free within Canada till Oct 31st

Halloween’s nearly here and quite often, there’s something to fear because not all forms of entertainment are tailored for young ones to enjoy. Knowledge Kids has fixed that with a specially curated run of fun that’s no doubt going to be educational too.

Some select shows worth noting are Molang: “The Ghosts’ Castle, Haunted House, and The Pumpkin”; Kate & Mim-Mim: Lil’ Boo and Kiva Can Do! (Can Boo), two Dragon episodes (not from the How to Train your Dragon series) and with The Monster Halloween. Furry-mania took over this list with Clifford the Big Red Dog and Paw Patrol. There’s more than a handful of episodes that’s tailored for the each. Of the former, there’s “The Halloween Costume Crisis” and “Clifford’s Howl-O-ween.” Of the latter, there’s “Pups and the Ghost Pirate,” “Save the Trick” and “Treaters and The Werepuppy.”

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Legendary Comics to Examine Kong and Me

Kong and Me Book Cover — Available to pre-order on Amazon USA

Legendary Comics
Release Date: March 30, 2021

The children’s book, Kong and Me, is an introductory look at the relationship of Jia (played by newcomer Kaylee Hottle in the upcoming Godzilla vs King Kong movie), a young girl living on Skull Island, and the mighty ape. This optimistic look at the two firmly establishes a bright and cheery world they live in. It’s a perfect contrast when compared to the previous films for newcomers–especially kids who want to see big furry apes on the screen–to this franchise.

While everybody is still waiting for the Isla Nublar to reopen with all its dinosaurs to go on parade, Skull Island is looking quite safe in this colourful novella. Not everything has to be dangerous, grey and bleak.

There’s No Need to Be Afraid of The Big Bad Fox

Halloween — Available to purchase on Amazon

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Release Date: July 16, 2019
GKIDS and Shout! Factory

The Big Bad Fox (Le Grand Méchant Renard et autres contes…) is a delightful, hilarious children’s book by Benjamin Renner and it’s animated counterpart is just as whimsical. The breezy watercolours featured in this hand-drawn work was very meditative. The poke at simple life was just as illustrious to the work I also recall in the printed Winnie the Pooh books.

The film released two years after the publication (2015) and what it offers are three shorts within a variety show format featuring Pig (Justin Edwards), Rabbit (Adrian Edmonson), Duck (Bill Bailey) and the titular Fox (Giles New, Pirates of the Carribean movies). More barnyard creatures pepper the background and this parable has a lot to offer to keep the kid in me entertained for years to come. This work is all ages friendly!

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The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear Sails Away on VOD!

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The cinematic adaptation of Jakob Martin Strid‘s Den Kempestore Pere (The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear) may well have some fans of children’s works wonder how it stands to Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach? Both shine as solid pieces of family entertainment. The Danish work is getting distribution in North America courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment and is available on VOD services like iTunes and Google Play.

This delightful work is comparable to Hayao Miyazaki‘s Castle in the Sky, Laputa. This filmmaker was the key animator to notable early works like Animal Treasure Island and Puss in Boots, and for this newest film, it may have drawn some inspiration by it. When two anthropomorphic kids, Sebastian (Alfred Bjerre Larsen), an elephant, and Mitcho (Liva Elvira Magnussen), a cat, find a message in a bottle, revealing where J.B. (the Mayor of Sunnytown) disappeared off to, they embark on a wondrous adventure (in a pear).

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