Shea Fontana

So much fun! I genuinely enjoyed the take on the different heroes (and villains) and the fact the book illustrated how each hero operated individuallyisually and as a unit. I'm excited to share this with my niece and to follow as the gals continue on!

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For a long time I've bemoaned the fact that while its cool and all for my niece to be into Batman and Superman, I wish there was something age-appropriate to give her that made the female heroes (and villains) just as much fun. We tore through Tiny Titans and Lil Gotham, but those were still pretty dude-centric. When I heard about this series I was cautiously excited. DC has had some issues in recent years with marketing and understanding what makes their females so great. While this was clearly marketed for a much younger generation, I was worried they would then treat the characters more...kiddish.

As a first volume for the interconnected series of DC Super Hero Girls this was so much fun. The bright colors, snappy dialogue and emphasis on individual talents as well as group dynamics was very welcome. The fact that this book also doesn't ever have any of the girls judge each other is a real refreshing thing as well. The girls are obviously competitive, or have quirks the others don't like, but not once does that keep them from doing the right thing.

The inclusion of well known male super heroes - like The Flash, Green Lantern, Beast Boy, etc - was cool and Vice Principal Grodd is HILARIOUS. I didn't guess the villain of the piece, though they weren't really the focus of it anyhow. The nods to continuity were fun for adults reading the book (Supergirl's horse "Comet", Batgirl talking to "Oracle", Harley's speech patterns and Ivy's favorite pet venus fly trap) and all the puns ever for Bumblebee (I honestly didn't know you could make that many about bees).

Can't wait for the next volume and now excuse me I have some toy stores to raid because I need all their dolls like yesterday.… (more)

Great choice having Shea Fontana, the creator of DC Super Hero Girls, write this reference book on the women of the DC universe. Certainly that was a big reason I picked it up. Super Hero Girls introduced me to a bunch of characters I knew nothing about so it was nice to get the history of them as well as others I didn't know. Also nice to see my gals Wondy and Lois getting their due. Felt like the section on the DC writers and artists was a little thin but that's just a small quibble. I now have a list of titles to check out thanks to this book.… (more)

Kenzie hates that her family moved to a castle to start a Medieval-themed resort, but all that changes when a time-traveling squire needs Kenzie’s help to get back home to the past!

Kenzie’s Kingdom is a sweet girly adventure where a young girl learns to overcome her fears to help a young knight from the past. She discovers the true meaning of friendship in the process and understands the strength of family bonding.

The art is really colorful and happy, giving a light atmosphere to difficult topics such as anxiety, inferiority complex or the difficulty to find oneself in a new environment. Using the concept of time travel in the story, the creators incorporate several cool facts about the Medieval period, giving the story an interesting atmosphere.… (more)