The Great Dog Man---ummm--Discussion

Hey there, all you rockin' and readin' guys everywhere, April has been a busy month at the library and the Iron Guy just realized that a) the month is almost over and b) he hasn't posted anything since before spring break! Well, I'm reading some good stuff now but am not finished and I hate to go so long without talking to you, so I thought I'd do something I haven't done for a long time and stir up some possible controversy! Or not. Here's what I mean.

The Iron Guy, MANLY MAN that he is, doesn't mind expressing his opinions now and then, even though everyone may not agree. Therefore, a few years ago I brought up The Great Harry Potter Controversy. Some time after that I started The Great Greg Heffley Debate and once even started a Great Dan Gutman Question but answered it right away. Today I want to tread on some potentially dangerous ground because I want to discuss a set of books by an author that all boys everywhere not only love but can't get enough of.

That guy is, of course, Dav Pilkey.

And the books are the Dog Man series.

Now every reader guy in the whole country gets excited over Dav Pilkey's books. And with good reason. They have all the goofball humor that guys love. I recommended his Ricky Ricotta series a while back. I want to read his Ook and Glook series one day. (actually, he didn't write those; he illustrated them) And, of course, there's Captain Underpants. I don't care for them much mainly because George and Harold are disrespectful and not in a good way but boys love those books. Anyway, Dav Pilkey is always a hit with guys (and girls too) and his books are great fun and they're perfect to hand out to what the grownups call "reluctant readers" (I've always said that boys aren't reluctant to read; many of them just haven't found the right things yet), so when this new series came out I snapped them up right away.

Now, the premise of these books is that George and Harold made their own comics when they were in first grade and found them several years later. The comics were about a policeman and a dog who got caught by a bomb when it exploded. The solution was to graft the dog's head onto the policeman's body---that's how we got Dog Man. He can think and act like a policeman but still behave like a dog sometimes. A weird but funny idea and full of lots of comic possibilities. Some grownups think so too. Here's what the School Library Journal said about the third book in the series:

Madcap action and general silliness abound on every page. The book is filled with laugh-out-loud situations, puns, delightful Flip-o-Rama animations, and a lot of licking and chewing on furniture-enough to keep even the most jaded young reader enthralled. VERDICT Pilkey has done it again. This latest installment is just as "supa" funny and irreverent as the first two volumes in the series. Sure to be popular, it's a great choice for elementary school graphic novel collections and of particular interest to reluctant readers and fans of the series.

What did I think?

Boring.

I'ts not because the stories aren't funny; it's because of that six-year-old artwork. Remember, George and Harold wrote and illustrated these comics when they were in the first grade--when they were six. What were your pictures like when you were six? Yep, really, really simple. Now, it's cute when a six-year-old draws a picture. People love them and grownups put them on refrigerator doors. So, one six-year-old picture is nice but a whole graphic novel full of them? It gets old really fast. I enjoyed the first half of the first Dog Man graphic novel but had had to make myself read the second half. I couldn't finish the second Dog man gn. Now if Mr. Pilkey had done these gn's in his usual artwork, I would have have enjoyed them a lot more.

Of course, that's how I see it but the big question is--what do YOU think? Do you like these? A lot?  Or do you, like me, find them boring? But listen up--this is the point at which I'd normally challenge all those who disagree with me to defend their positions. This was usually because I held an idea different from what most people think. Like with Harry Potter or Greg Heffley. (though I'm changing my mind on HP) But you know what? I haven't met anyone who held a strong opinion about the Dog Man series. So I guess can't stir up a Controversy or a Debate but maybe I could spark a Discussion. So what do you think? The DOG MAN graphic novels--are they great? Terrible? Somewhere in between? Put your thoughts in the Comments section below and I'll post them. Come on, everyone, and join in the Great Dog Man Discussion!

(btw, wasn't there a Captain Underpants movie last year? Did anyone actually see that movie?)

The Great Star Wars Movies Dispute

The Iron Guy enjoys stirring things up now and then. Being the MANLY MAN that he is, he does not flinch at expressing an opinion now and again that may stoke the fires of differing opinions. In the summer of 2011, he started The Great Harry Potter Controversy. In October of that same year, he burned up the blogosphere with The Great Greg Heffley Debate. In that same spirit, he's going to present a couple of questions that may have people all over the blogging world either stand up and cheer on the tops of their houses in agreement with or sit up all night choking on their frustrations with my unbelievably silly and ill-informed opinions. Either way, I want to hear what YOU think about these two questions:

Are the Prequels just OK or are they really good or are they enormous embarrassments to the Star Wars universe?

Now everyone knows what I mean by the Prequels, right? They are Episodes I, II and III of the Star

Wars saga. In other words, The Phantom Menace, The Attack of the Clones and The Revenge of the Sith. Some people think they're really good and other think they are terrible. Those in the second group say these movies have rotten acting, superficial characters and a lot of mindless action. People in the first group  say, "Who cares about all that? We enjoy the movies!" I've never met anyone who had a neutral opinion. Those who don't like them don't just mildly dislike them, they hate them! To show what I mean, I saw a sign on the back of a car once that said, in Star Wars letters, "What prequels?" The Iron Guy doesn't fall into either camp, though. I enjoyed The Phantom Menace all right--didn't love it or hate it, just thought it was OK. It did have a lot of superficial characters and mindless action but at least it wasn't boring. I liked the second movie much more and the third was so good that it made the other two better. So what do you think? Were the Prequels a big waste of time? Were they great? Or just OK?

Is The Force Awakens the best of all the Star Wars movies?


Ooohhh, boy, I bet this will start some arguments! It's like asking a random group who their favorite sports team is or if Michael Jordan or LeBron James is better. People will argue that stuff for days. Same thing with Star Wars. Everyone has a favorite movie and can tell you lots of reasons that particular one beats all the others. Well, for years I always said The Empire Strikes Back was the best but, after The Force Awakens, I may have changed my mind. Yes, it's basically the same plot as Episode IV but it has a lot more going on. And I don't mean just the action, either, although there was plenty of that! Rey's mysterious background, Kylo Ren's conflicted nature and Han Solo's fate grabbed hold of me in a way that none of the other movies did. Did that happen to you, boys? Or to you, grownups? Maybe or maybe not. But I could also add that the action, the effects and the humor were every bit as good in this movie as in the others--and I think they were even better! So that could mean this is the best of the bunch. What do YOU think? Leave your comments under this post and don't be shy!

(PS, if you'd like to see what people said in the Harry Potter Controversy or the Greg Heffley Debate, click on those labels under this post)

The Great Dan Gutman Question Anwered--For Now

Greetings, all my fellow reader guys. I hope you're enjoying your summer--and I hope youhave signed on for Summer Reading. If not, there's still plenty of time and lots of cool stuff to get for reading. I'm going to talk toady about an author that guys everywhere love. It's Dan Gutman, he of the My Weird School, Baseball Card Adventures, Genius Files series, as well as several other books. Many boys have written in over the years and told us how much they like his books. Not only did they like them, boys LOVED them! Especially the My Weird School series. Don't believe me? Click on the "Dan Gutman" tab under this post and see! Anyway, I've read a few of his books over the years (plus it was one of my 2014 Iron Guy Resolutions) and--and--well, I hate to admit it but--------

I wasn't impressed.

Now don't get me wrong. I didn't think his books were terrible; I just didn't think they were all that great. Let me give you a little background. I really liked the first DG book I read. It was Qwerty Stephens: Stuck in Time with Benjamin Franklin and I really liked it. In fact, I LOVED it! (see my review here) So I naturally thought all his books would be that good. And I was disappointed. I read Getting Air and it was OK. (see that review here)  I read another, The Homework Machine, wasn't impressed at all and didn't even review it. I even tried a couple of the My Weird School books but couldn't get into them. "So what's up with this?" I wondered. "Why do all these guys rave about Dan Gutman? Am I missing something?" It got to the point that I thought about making a special Controversy Post about him and calling it The Great Dan Gutman Question. I've done two Controversy Posts before. One was about Harry Potter (I'm not a big fan) and the other was about the Wimpy Kid books (I think Greg Heffley's a jerk) The Iron Guy is never afraid of expressing a reading opinion when it's not popular, but, in true MANLY MAN fashion, I decided to rethink my position before saying something I'd regret. Truly MANLY MEN always think before speaking!! Anyway, I checked out two My Weird School books and, wow, am I glad! These books are indeed terrific!!

The first one I read was the first one in the series, Miss Daisy is Crazy! Here we are introduced to AJ, who hates school. But even he can read, write and add. So how come his teacher, Miss Daisy, can't do any of those things? A teacher who can't read? Write? Add? Hey, that might be cool after all--that teacher couldn't make you work! But AJ and his friends  still hate school anyway--which gives them an idea. Maybe they could buy the school and turn it into a video arcade. Sounds great, huh? Do you think they can do it? You'll have to read to find out!

The other one was Mr. Jack is a Maniac form the My Weirder School series.In this one, a guy rides up onto the school playground on a motorcycle! Turns out that he's new martial arts teacher who's going to teach the some self-defense moves, how to breathe and to expect the unexpected. So what does Mr. Jack do when the truly unexpected happens--like a bear walking into the gym!! What will Mr. Jack do? Check out this book to find out!

These books are funny, funny and I need to say one more thing about them--they're funny!! The situations are wacky, the grownups are wacky and the kids are truly like second-grade kids everywhere--like being impatient with martial arts training. Except they come up with some wacky ideas too--like buying the school!
I really enjoyed these books and I can see why guys everywhere like them. Not to mention they're fast, good and quick read. Enthusiastic readers, as well as those the grownups call reluctant readers, will enjoy these books. So count me in as a Dan Gutman fan! At least, for now. I like these books a lot but I'll have to read some of the other series, like the Baseball Card or Million Dollar books to see if I'm a DG fan or a My Weird School fan.

Which means I'm going to need YOUR help! I want to read one of the books in the My Weirder School series. But which one should I get?? There are a lot of them out there--which one should it be?? I'll wait until I hear from you and the one that gets the most recommendations is the one I'll read. So write a title in the Comments section under this post and let me know!!

And one more thing. I'd like to get on my Fourth of July soapbox for a moment. Without getting all political, I'd like to remind you that we live in a country in which we're free to read. That's not true in many places of the world. Here we can go to the library, bookstore, online book site and select whatever we'd like and read it without having to worry about who's going to break down our door for having that book. As I said, that's not the case everywhere. So, while you're having fun on the Fourth, remember to celebrate your independence!

 HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Sammer Claims His Prize(s)!

Our good friend Sammer came to the Myers Park library on Friday to claim his prize for winning The Great Greg Heffley Debate Giveaway. We were all glad to see him coming into the place like a victorious Roman general entering the city after conquering the barbarians. And, like the mighty man he is, he claimed not just one but two prizes from the ultra-cool prize box. Here he is with his trophies of victory:
As you can see, he's deliriously happy. And with good reason--he picked the second and third books in the Gregor the Overlander series, a true favorite with guys. While he was here, he checked out the first book, Gregor the Overlander, so he could read them in order. Wow, not only is he mighty, he's smart as well! (BTW, the second book is called Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane and the third is Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods)

Congratulations, Sammer, and enjoy your books! (and let us know how you like them!)

Sammer striking an Iron Guy pose

Sammer Wins the Great Greg Heffley Giveaway!

Yes, indeed, our very good friend Sammer wins the chance to pick out a prize from our ultra-cool and ultra-rocking prize box. He gave us the best reason why he likes the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. (check out what he said here and here) OK, maybe he changed his mind a bit but that's just the sign of an open mind. Come on over to the Myers Park library and claim your prize, Sammer, and congratulations!

More and More Voices in the Great Greg Heffley Debate!

Yes, indeed, readers everywhere are knocking the doors to give their opinions in the Great Greg Heffley Debate. (don't forget that the one who gives me the best reason why the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are great or why Alan Silberberg's book Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze is better wins a prize!) The first person to weigh in Is Super Simran, who won the March Madness Contest this year:

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is much better than Milo or whatever!

Thanks Super Simran, but we need a little more. We want to know WHY Diary of a Wimpy Kid is better. Write us back and tell us, OK? We'd love to know!!

The next person is someone new--lets' hear him:

Greg Rules. Yea thats the ticket!!!! Gimme Prize, Gimme Prize!!! This is not by the way, Library Ninja Bill, not at all. Don't even know the guy.

Karate Guy Will

Thanks, Karate Guy...WAIT A MINUTE!! This sounds suspiciously like my good friend Ninja Librarian Bill over at the Boys Rock, Boys Read! blog. Trying to sneak up on me to get a prize, huh?? Well, it won't work. The Iron Guy exercises his brain as well as his iron muscles and I see through your disguise. Nice try!!!
(BTW, there's a Great Greg Heffley Debate going on over there too. Take a look)

Next is our good friend Sammer, the first voice in this Debate:

I have never heard of the Brixton Brothers but, it sounds pretty good to me. I said I liked Diary of a Wimpy Kid but, I like Maniac Magee better. the 3 part thriller winning the newberry medal. It's like no other book I've read (Which is a lot.) so I'm on both sides of this.

You are so right--Maniac Magee is like no other book. A lot of thrills and a lot about growing up. Interesting comparison. (BTW, speaking of the Brixton Brothers--this is a BIG reason I run this blog--to tell other guys about books they don't know about)

Last of all is another good friend, Ms. Yingling. She's a librarian in Ohio and runs such a great blog--Ms. Yingling Reads--that we gave her the ultimate compliment and made her an Honorary Guy. Let's hear what she says:

Don't count me in the contest, but I have to agree with you that Greg is annoying. I want to slap him. I can't find him funny, because if he were a real kid he would be causing so many of his own problems. Milo was okay, but the one I really like is Big Nate. he means well and is so exuberant, but things just don't work out for him.

Well, all of the grownups seem to agree with me that Greg Heffley's a jerk (see my original post about him here) while kids seem to take the opposite tack. So am I wrong? Am I right? Tell us and you could win the prize in the Great Greg Heffley Debate Giveaway!

YES!! The First Voice in The Great Greg Heffley Debate! (and the new Brixton Brothers Book)

ALL RIGHT! The first boy has responded to the challenge of The Great Greg Heffley Debate. That boy is none other than our good friend Sammer, who has sent us a lot of first-rate reviews. Let's hear what Sammer has to say:

I'm writing in from Orlando.I like the diary of a wimpy kid books because you never know what is going to happen next.Like when they go camping it just starts to rain.And that's why I like diary of a wimpy kid.

Thanks, Sammer!! We really appreciate your taking time out while in Orlando to write to us. You've made a good point--you never know what's going to happen in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. But I could also say the same about Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze by Alan Silberberg. I was often surprised and amused by what happened to Milo. So what do you boys think?? Tell us why D of a WK are so great or why Milo is better. You have until October 28 (two weeks from today) to write in. The winner will get to choose a prize from our uber-cool prize box! (if you want to know more about The Great Greg Heffley Debate, click here)

And here's something else to get excited about--the arrival of the newest Brixton Brothers book. I'm a big fan and am looking forward to reading this one. (It's called It Happened on a Train and it's by Mac Barnett) Steve Brixton thinks he's retired from detective work but looks like the mysteries won't leave him alone. This books are great fun and, judging from the cover, this one should just as entertaining.

Have a great weekend and send those comments in!