Synopses & Reviews
Welcome to Hereville, home of the first-ever wisecracking, adventure-loving, sword-wielding Orthodox Jewish heroine. A delightful mix of fantasy, adventure, cultural traditions, and preteen commotion, this fun, quirky graphic novel series will captivate middle-school readers with its exciting visuals and entertaining new heroine.
Mirka is back, and sheand#8217;s still the only sword-brandishing, monster-fighting Orthodox Jewish girl in town. Or so she thinks.
When a misguided troll aims a meteor at the witchand#8217;s house, the witch grabs hold of the closest thing possible to transform the flying, flaming rockand#151;and that would be Mirkaand#8217;s hair. The meteor is changed, all right: itand#8217;s now Mirkaand#8217;s identical twin.
Doppelganger Mirka, vowing to be a better version of the real girl, sets out to charm all of Hereville, including Mirkaand#8217;s own family. Our heroine challenges the meteor girl to a three-part contest . . . and the loser will be banished from Hereville forever!
Praise for Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite:
STARRED REVIEWS
"Deutsch has created a wonderful world in Mirka's insulated Orthodox village and continues to capture it adroitly... Mirka is unflinchingly likable because she is so tempestuous and inexact, and really, who canand#8217;t relate to that? This truly clever series is lots of fun."
and#151;Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"The color illustrations are as crisp and clear as they come. The endlessly creative panel and perspective work adds visual interest and gives experienced graphic-novel readers plenty to savor. A well-crafted addition to a truly distinctive series."
and#151;School Library Journal, starred review
"She's both a fish out of water (she dreams of being a sword-wielding dragon slayer) and committed to her Orthodox Jewish faith, family, and community. All of this makes her one of the most original and comically endearing heroines to come down the pike in a long time."
and#151;Publishers Weekly, starred review
"The graphic novel format serves the quirky story well, with strong inks and a subdued palette that emphasize charactersand#8217; personalities and facial expressions as well as the taleand#8217;s action. As with Mirkaand#8217;s first adventure, this volume brings diversity and wit to comics for young teens and tweens..."
and#151;The Horn Book Magazine
"Deutsch is a masterful storyteller with both realistic kid patter and expressive cartoonsand#151;not only of Orthodox life but also of assorted trolls and other mostly benign fantasy creatures. A spunky adventure in kid-accessible truths revealed through the employment of fantasy."
and#151;Booklist
Award
2013 Sydney Taylor Award - Notable Book, Older Readers
Texas Library Association Maverick Graphic Novel 2014 list
Review
"The cartoon illustrations are simple, bold, and accessible. Teens who clue in to the comic's self-aware goofiness will enjoy this title."--School Library Journal "With chapters that are short, deliberately silly, and often hilarious...this book is a good grab for teens looking for a quick laugh."--Booklist "Teen Boat takes a wacky concept and places it in the realm of high school life."--VOYA, 3Q 2P M J
Review
andquot;Colossaland#39;s full-color, cartoonish illustrations, with their heavy linework and simple figures, match the light, goofy tone of the stories.andquot;
Review
andquot;Colossal perfectly mixes action and humor...A promising first course in a series that could really take off.andquot;
Review
andquot;Rutabagaandrsquo;s culinary feats in the comic...could easily inspire young adventure chefs to make some gourmet grub of their own.andquot;
Review
andquot;The graphic-novel format works well here, pairing vivid retro-toned illustrations with a mostly cheerful, bouncy narration...future chefs will be well pleased that there are a few real recipes at the end of the book.andquot;
Review
andquot;An excellent complement to his prose, Schweizerand#39;s cleanly paneled art is bright and busy, ever ready with a gag that helps blend the ghastly with the goofy, making his gangand#39;s antics reminiscent of Scooby Doo...Silly fun with a smattering of science.andquot;
Review
andquot;Schweizer has created a story with just enough icky, spooky action for middle-grade readers who want horror stories but donandrsquo;t want them too scary...The mixed-gender, multicultural team guarantees that this series opener will appeal to a broad range of readers.andquot;
Synopsis
Spunky, strong-willed eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg isnandrsquo;t interested in knitting lessons from her stepmother, or how-to-find-a-husband advice from her sister, or you-better-not warnings from her brother. Thereandrsquo;s only one thing she
does want: to fight dragons!
Granted, no dragons have been breathing fire around Hereville, the Orthodox Jewish community where Mirka lives, but that doesnandrsquo;t stop the plucky girl from honing her skills. She fearlessly stands up to local bullies. She battles a very large, very menacing pig. And she boldly accepts a challenge from a mysterious witch, a challenge that could bring Mirka her heartandrsquo;s desire: a dragon-slaying sword! All she has to do is findandmdash;and outwitandmdash;the giant troll whoandrsquo;s got it!
A delightful mix of fantasy, adventure, cultural traditions, and preteen commotion, Hereville will captivate middle-school readers with its exciting visuals and entertaining new heroine.
Accolades and Praise for Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword
- Sydney Taylor Award
- Eisner nomination
- Harvey nomination
- Ignatz nomination
- Nebula nomination
andquot;Utterly ingenious.andquot; --
Kirkus,
starred reviewandquot;Withouth a doubt, the best graphic novel of 2010 for kids. Bar None.andquot;--School Library Journal, starred review
andquot;A terrific story, told with skill and lots of heart.andquot;--Publishers Weekly, starred review
andquot;Mirka is a spunky, emotionally realistic, and fun heroine.andquot;--Booklist, starred review
andquot;Sequel, please!andquot;--Horn Book Magazine
Synopsis
The first-ever wisecracking, troll-fighting, Orthodox Jewish heroine, Mirka is a spunky, strong-willed 11-year-old girl who wants to go out and fight dragons. This charming graphic novel is "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" meets Isaac Bashevis Singer. Full color.
Synopsis
In a world where there are dragons, wyverns, and haunted squash, youandrsquo;d figure someone would have recipes for them, right?
Rutabaga and his magic cooking pot, Pot, join young adventurers Winnifred, Manny, and Beef on a quest to defeat a dragon, discover new ingredients, find monsters to have for and/or to dinner, and to save the day through cooking. Rutabaga will dare any danger to uncover new tastes, and thereandrsquo;s a whole world full of food to tryandmdash;from roasted mud leech to spider soup to peanut butter on crackers. His heroic recipes combine real ingredients, fantasy ingredients, and real ingredients that sound fantastical. Rutabaga the Adventure Chef is the perfect adventure for any kid grossed out when something weird shows up on the dinner table.
Synopsis
High school drama! Pirates! Emotions! The Ignatz Award-winning mini-comic about a young man who has the power to turn into a boat is finally collected in never-before-seen full-color graphic novel, with brand new episodes that combine all the ANGST of being a teen with all the THRILL of being a boat!
Synopsis
High school can be a time of terrible angstandmdash;Fs on tests, bullying jerks, broken hearts, and late-stage puberty are just some of the potential issues that all teen boys face. But what about the issues facing a Teen Boat? In this hilarious send-up of teen story tropes, the best-selling author Dave Roman and the cartoonist John Green deliver high school and high seas drama with a boatload of laughs.
Synopsis
In Pumpkins County, weird things happen every day, but nobody ever makes a fuss. Nobody, that is, except the Creeps: Carol, a big-city girl new to Pumpkins County, who finds kindred spirits in Mitchell (monster expert), Jarvis (military brat with logistics know-how), and Rosario (girly girl on the outside, muscle underneath). The Creeps are on the case to figure out the spooky mysteries and still get to class on time. Last week it was a pudding monster. This week, itandrsquo;s killer frogsandmdash;reanimated from the teamandrsquo;s biology class dissection experiment. Whoandrsquo;s behind the Frankenfrog attacks? The Creeps will track down the answers!
In this new creepy graphic novel series, Chris Schweizerandrsquo;s art is full of the visual excitement that only the best graphic novel creators can pull off.
Synopsis
Welcome back to Hereville, where Mirka, the worldandrsquo;s first time-traveling, monster-fighting Orthodox Jewish girl, faces her greatest challenge yet: babysitting! Mirka just wants to find new adventures, but instead sheandrsquo;s stuck babysitting her disapproving little sister, Layele. When Mirka pushes her sister into a stream, they both get in too deep with an angry magic fish. No matter how hard Mirka fights this fish-out-of-water, it gets stronger and strongerandmdash;and itandrsquo;s out for revenge. Mirka is in over her head, and this time, her whole family is on the line! When the fish kidnaps Layele, Mirka must find a way to save her little sister, and the clues she needs are hidden in her stepmother Frumaandrsquo;s past. Mixing adventure, cultural traditions, squabbling siblings, and preteen commotion, Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish is sure to captivate readers with its exciting visuals and indomitable heroine.
About the Author
Barry Deutsch attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and Portland State University. He won the national Charles M. Schulz Award for Best College Cartoonist in 2000 and was nominated for the 2008 Russ Manning Award for Promising Newcomer. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Visit him online at www.hereville.com.