ABC of Japanese Manga

Every kid knows about Manga comics. Why are they so popular and what are the coolest Manga comics or characters. Manga, also known as Komikku in Japan are comics that are based on a special artistic style developed in 1870.

There are lots of cool Manga that you can consider. Nartuo, for example is an interesting one that tells the story of a young ninja warrior who in course of time transforms into his nation's leader. His strength comes in the nine-tailed fox that lies within him, for which he is ostracized and which also gives him extraordinary strengths and abilities that drive him to his future destiny.

If you want something that's a little bit funny, check out One Piece. This Manga comic revolves around a boy named Luffy, who by chance eats a dangerous fruit that turns him into a rubber man. You can find lots of action from this series, as the boy faces battles and contends with different opponents, to get his goal.

Another interesting Manga is the Fairy Idol Kanon, which revolves around the character Kanon, whose music has the power to save a fairy kingdom. Help comes from the fairy kingdom and she together with her friends Kodama and Marika churn out songs that become highly popular, but as they rise to the top they have to deal with viscous rivals who use black magic to overpower them. Yotsuba is another girl's Manga storyline that revolves around a green-haired girl who have just come into a particular neighborhood and as she mingles with the people there, she lands up in different adventures.

Maximum Ride is another popular Manga, where the protagonist is a teenage girl who is part of a group of mutant orphans. Having escaped from the lab where they were created, she and other try to be part of the outside world, but they have to face the challenge of their creators trying to get them back.

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All This Because of a Dog! A Book Review of Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

India Opal Buloni went to the store to buy a box of macaroni and cheese, rice, and two tomatoes. But she never expected to come back with a new dog that would change her life. Find out what things happened to her in Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo.

Because of Winn-Dixie, there was a big ruckus in the store. Employees were running around, waving their arms. The store manager was screaming mad. And then a big, ugly, scraggly dog came running around the corner.

"He skidded to a stop and smiled right at me. I had never before in my life seen a dog smile, but that is what he did. He pulled back his lips and showed me all his teeth."

Before you know it, India said it was her dog. She couldn't help herself. She didn't want it to go to the pound.

She named him Winn-Dixie, after the store they were in. Then the two of them walked home.

India and her father, the preacher, had just moved to town, so she had no friends. Because of Winn-Dixie, she met Miss Franny Block at the library and got to listen to her story about the bear.

Because of Winn-Dixie, she ended up working in the pet shop, where she met Otis. He had a knack for playing the guitar real pretty, and all the animals would stop to listen.

Because of that dog, she ended up in the yard of the neighborhood witch, Gloria Dump. She told her everything about her life and how she was feeling, and Gloria Dump had a special way to make her feel all better.

Because of Winn-Dixie, she ended up next to pinch-faced Amanda Wilkinson. Both of them found out about an old candy that tasted sweet and sad at the same time.

And because of that dog, the party that India planned with Gloria Dump, which they decorated for, and made egg salad sandwiches for, and invited everyone to, was almost ruined. But it wasn't Winn-Dixie's fault. Not really, anyway. Because can it be your fault if what you did was just part of your character, and not something you were trying to do?

Kids will enjoy the way India and her dog make friends and enemies in the town, and the way things come together to make surprises all around. Children who love animals, or dogs especially, will be able to relate to the special bond you have with a pet, especially when you are feeling lonely and friendless.

Kate DiCamillo won a Newberry Honor Medal for this charming tale of simple values and the kinds of things that kids think about. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo is a book that will make you and your dog smile.

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Books For 2 Year Olds

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Book Review of The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

A stuffed toy rabbit (with real thread whiskers) comes to life in this timeless tale of the transformative power of love. Given as a Christmas gift to a young boy, the Velveteen Rabbit lives in the nursery with all of the other toys, waiting for the day when the Boy (as he is called) will choose him as a playmate. In time, the shy Rabbit befriends the tattered Skin Horse, the wisest resident of the nursery, who reveals the goal of all nursery toys: to be made "real" through the love of a human.

This is the one of the December group read of The Filipinos Group in Goodreads, and after seeing that a PDF is available for free in the web, I immediately downloaded a copy. It is a short read, a fast reader can finish it for 10-15 minutes.

First published in 1922, The Velveteen Rabbit has been republished many times since and several film adaptations were made. Margery Williams Bianco, the author, lost her father to a sudden death while she was 7 years old and she coped with this tragedy by transforming pain and loss into literature.

The Velveteen Rabbit is short but charming, a timeless classic which pinches the heart of every reader, young and old. It tells of the transforming power of love and, as in most children's stories, the desire of every toy to become real.

Here is my favorite portion in the book, my favorite lines underscored:

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. "The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."

The excerpt above, for me, is the whole point of the story. I must confess I had a difficult time grasping the concept of "becoming real", since the story is told from the viewpoint of a toy, an inanimate object, which obviously I am not. I wonder how a child who reads the book could understand it more than I do, since for me being real is a philosophical concept, beyond the grasp of a little child. But who am I to underestimate the wisdom of a child?

Allow me to equate the concept of "real" to being "significant". This is the closest synonym of the word I could ever come up with in this story. The toy rabbit felt, and became, real because it has served its purpose. As a toy, it has brought joy and comfort to its owner, which, for me, is its primary purpose. If you want to get more of life, or in the case of a toy rabbit, to be alive and real, you must learn to live for and with others. Life is not meant to be spent alone. It should be lived not only for oneself, but more particularly for others. To be able to give and share one's life with others. For it is by sharing and giving that man feels unparalleled joy. Indeed, one who feels significant, important, needed, feels real for he/she has found meaning and purpose for living.

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Book Review - The Snail and the Whale

The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler, is a kids' picture book about a tiny snail with itchy feet who travels the world with a mighty whale, eventually saving the whale from a sorry fate. This beautifully illustrated book is a great read-aloud story that both children and adults will find appealing, even after reading it for the hundredth time.

The Snail with Itchy Feet

The story is divided into two parts. In the first part readers meet the tiny snail who gazes outward at the big world and longs to explore it. The other snails in the flock are quite happy with their limited existence and deride her dream. That doesn't stop the snail. Undeterred, she advertises: "Lift wanted around the world", (all that slime comes in handy when writing) and soon gets an invitation from a humpback whale. She climbs aboard his tail and together the pair explore the world. The sights she sees soon give the snail an inferiority complex:

"And she gazed at the sky, the sea, the land

The waves and the caves and the golden sand,

She gazed and gazed, amazed by it all,

And she said to the whale, "I feel so small."

The Snail Saves The Whale

In the second part of the story the whale gets lost and is beached. Unable to move, the whale moans, but the brave snail comes to the rescue, crawling to a school and getting the children to save the whale by keeping it wet till the tide comes back in. This shows the snail that even small creatures can make a difference, a message which young readers and listeners will certainly enjoy and agree with. The snail returns home to share her adventures with the flock, who all climb aboard the whale's tail for a new adventure.

Alex Scheffler's Pictures

Alex Scheffler brings Julia Donaldson's words to life in his illustrations for The Snail and the Whale. They are rich and colourful, with lots of detail for young readers to explore. Children will enjoy spotting and counting the different animal species as the whale and the snail travel around the world, making The Snail and the Whale educational as well as fun.

Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler, the team behind bestseller The Gruffalo, have created another winner with The Snail and the Whale. It's a book made to be read aloud, with unusual rhymes and distinct voices for the characters. This beautifully illustrated picture book will be a welcome addition to any kid's bookshelf.

(The Snail and the Whale, Macmillan Children's Books, 2004, ISBN 978-0333982242)

Sharon Hurley Hall is a professional web content writer, ghostwriter and blogger.  She originally published this review on Suite101.

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Book Review on "Boy" by Roald Dahl

As another Roald Dahl book explains, a boy's imagination seems to prevail over many who read it. "Boy" is one of the many popular novels written by Roald Dahl. It tells the story of Roald Dahl's childhood, with his friend's Thwaites, and Daniel. It was a very eventful period of his life. He centers on his education, where he voices his anger at the use of cruel punishments like caning in the UK at the time. He tells many amusing stories of his childhood and teenage years, but there are some sad and dramatic ones as well. "Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant." he says.

Roald Dahl writes about his childhood adventures, from his parents' first engagement, to his first dentist's appointment. He talks about the events that he remembered, not just by style, but by greatness, unjustness, and difficult situations. His mom was a very enthusiastic and courageous woman. Roald Dahl begins with his parents' histories, then his own birth, and through the time he graduated from high school and got a job with Shell Oil. Roald Dahl was a very mischievous child. He seemed to be different from the others as he explains. Even though he never seemed to get things the way he wanted, his screw-ups were extremely entertaining.

Even at age 13 Roald was far from being right-minded. He was always impenetrable when it came to things he hated, he was essential, and often his stubbornness resulted in punishment and indifference. During his early years, he decided it wasn't really him, and as his awareness grew, so did his self esteem. Seeing how much he did to the world, he grew, and started to do good deeds, he became athletic, and he acquired an acute sense of humor. The author of "boy" explains his childhood in a funny, yet serious way. Roald Dahl also tries to summarize his stories with events the reader might have experienced in his or her life. This makes this book a very touching novel.

A very enjoyable book, although the beginning seems to talk only about his family, he later tells of very entertaining stories he and his friends have. An interesting story like this would impress anyone, even those who never read autobiographies. This book is 160 pages long, packed with influencing stories. "Boy" is truly an excellent story for young adults. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading.

(c)Copyrighted: You may freely republish this article as long as author bio and active hyperlinks are included.

Jacklyn Chen - Webmaster of Gift Ideas and Magazine Subscriptions

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Celtic Fairy Tales - A Victorian Children's Classic

CELTIC FOLKLORE overflows with vivid stories that fire the imagination. This book was compiled, longhand, in the field, by Joseph Jacobs in the 1890's. While these stories were originally published in the 19th. C. they probably date back to the middle ages or even further into the mists of time, back to the dawn of the Celtic race. After being passed orally from grandparents to parents to children before being recorded in the vernacular by Joseph Jacobs, one can only wonder how many evolutions and changes the stories have gone through before being cemented into print.

While some of the themes are similar to those of contemporary fairy tales, other stories in this collection are infused with a flavour that is uniquely Celtic. In Jacobs' own words,"The Celts went forth to battle, but they always fell. Yet the captive Celt has enslaved his captor in the realm of imagination." Here you will find 26 uniquely Celtic tales of horned women, breweries of eggshells, sprightly tailors, gold and silver trees, King o' Toole's goose, sea maidens, and more. Of particular interest could be the 13th century legend of Beth Gellert, wherein the dog of Llewelyn (I) the Great, Prince of Wales, protected the prince's infant son from a wolf attack. When Llewelyn arrived at the house he saw the bloodied dog and an equally bloody cot and assumed the worst and killed the dog. It was only after he slew the dog he found his son alive, under a mattress with a dead wolf alongside him. So wrought with grief was he, that he erected a memorial to the dog which still stands today in the village of Beddgelert, near Snowdon, Wales. Next time you're in Wales, be sure to pay it a visit.

In an attempt to give a library of the Celts' wealthy imagination to his readers, Jacobs has attempted to begin the readers' captivity with the earliest recordings of these tales. And captivate he does - Celtic Fairy Tales not only preserves a cultural history, but also is richly entertaining. In addition some, nay, indeed most of these stories, will not have been read nor heard by most children of today, and dare I say their parents as well. As such it will, and does, make for an interesting and captivating read. Even though the content of this book is centuries old, after reading, it will only be the dullest imagination that hasl not be ignited and set aflame.

For more info, a table of contents or to view a sample of the interior go to http://www.abelapublishing.com/Celtic.html

33% of the Publisher's profit from the sale of this book will be donated to the Prince's Trust charity.

John Halsted is CEO of Abela Publishing and an out-and-out fan of fairytales.

He founded Abela Publishing as a Social Enterprise and specialises in publishing new and old Children's stories, fairytales, folklore, myths and legends.33% of Abela Publishing's profit is donated to charities around the world. To see which charities are currently supported, go to http://www.abelapublishing.com/charity.html

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