Back Porch Book Chat: A casual, virtual conversation about books. Join us as we chat with book lovers like ourselves about a topic we all love! Our guest today is Gina Dalfonzo, currently on staff with Christ and Pop Culture. Check out her bio after the interview for more about Gina. Interview conducted by Betsy. Getting to Know Gina Before we begin, Gina, tell us what iced beverage you’d like as we sit in our rocking chairs on this late summer day: Sweet tea? Lemonade? La Croix? Ice water? I’ve been practically living on Celestial Seasonings peach iced tea all summer! It’s so refreshing during the hot days, I can’t…

Comics: Easy as ABC! is an accessible introduction to drawing for young artists, but the content includes one big misstep. Comics: Easy as ABC! An Essential Guide to Comics for Kids by Ivan Brunetti and contributors. Toon Graphics, 2020, 50 pages. Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 8-10 Recommended for: ages 6-12 You could think of this book as a scaled-down version of Understanding Comics, as it presents a wider perspective than the standard how-to. Several graphic novelists and strip writers contributed artwork, including the late Art Spiegelman, Jeff Smith, and Neil Gaiman. The content is presented in a scrapbook format, blending how-two pages with quotes, random tips, and illustrative examples…

This latest iteration of the Superman legend by Gene Luen Yang includes familiar faces, social commentary, and historical context–also one big misstep. Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang, artwork by Gurihiru. DC Comics, 2020, 239 pages including author note. Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 In postwar America, the Lees are moving from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, where Mr. Lee has taken a job as chief bacteriologist of the Metropolis Health Department. In spite of the prestige and pay raise, the Lees are seen as foreigners by many of their neighbors. But Tommy Lee, who has a great pitching arm, wins a place on…

The Turnover uses basketball as the background for a boy’s crisis of faith in his grandfather. The Turnover by Mike Lupica. Simon & Shuster, 2020, 234 pages. Reading level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 10-14 Lucas Winston loves basketball and he loves his grandfather. In fact, he loves basketball largely because of his grandfather, the best coach in the league. It’s the family game—Lucas’s father might have been a college star but for a knee injury in high school. Pancreatic cancer took Dad out of the game, and out of Lucas’s life, early on. But there’s still Gramps, a substitute dad and a roll model in one. When…

Beast: Face-to-Face with the Florida Bigfoot is a chilling, gripping tale of survival in the unknown. Beast: Face-to-Face with the Florida Bigfoot by Watt Key. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2020, 215 pages. Reading Level: Middle Grade, ages 10-12 Recommended for: ages 12-16 Adam Parks was found by the side of the road. When he came to in the hospital with a police sergeant looking down at him, he couldn’t remember what happened. Or not entirely: he and his parents were on their way back from Disney World on Highway 98, late at night, when something loomed up in the middle of the road. Dad swerved and their car plunged into the…