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A cool tool can be any book, gadget, software, video, map, hardware, material, or website that is tried and true. All reviews on this site are written by readers who have actually used the tool and others like it. Items can be either old or new as long as they are wonderful. We post things we like and ignore the rest. Suggestions for tools much better than what is recommended here are always wanted.
PROFESSOR ASTRO CAT TAKES YOUR CHILDREN ON A JOURNEY TO THE VERY FRONTIERS OF SPACE
Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space by Dominic Walliman, Ben Newman (Illustrator) Flying Eye Books 2013, 64 pages, 11.5 x 0.6 x 11.5 inches, Hardcover
Cats are innately curious creatures, innate scientists and explorers constantly exploring their environments. Perhaps that’s in part what prompted physicist and YouTube personality Dominic Walliman and illustrator Ben Newman to decide on a feline protagonist for their book, Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space. Newman formerly worked at a bookshop and wasn’t impressed with the children’s non-fiction section, so he asked Walliman to write a children’s book on space for him. “My inspiration was all of the books that I used to read as a kid,” says Walliman. “I used to love getting lost in books about space and nature and dinosaurs, and I wanted to have characters to make the books more Ben came up with Professor Astro Cat and it all fell into place.”
Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space charms the reader immediately. Newman’s clean, modernist illustrations have a strong retro-futuristic bent that suggest the golden age of science fiction pulp magazines ,while Walliman provides lucid prose to help Professor Astro Cat explain topics such as the birth of stars, the speed of light, the solar system and the history of space exploration. A rapt audience of dapper birds, cats, insects and bears are enraptured by all of the professor’s lectures, acting as stand-ins for the readers who share their curiosity.
The book is a delight of design in its own right. It’s an expansive hardcover volume with vibrant pages and even a bookplate on the inner cover that makes it strongly reminiscent of the classic children’s books which Walliman remembers so fondly. Children will want to make many return voyages with Professor Astro Cat, but so will the generations before them who still fondly look to the stars for inspiration.
– Lee Hollman
GARBAGE NIGHT EXPLORES HOW ANIMALS MAY INTERNALIZE THEIR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT AND EXPRESS THEIR FEARS AND HOPES
Garbage Night by Jen Lee Nobrow Press 2017, 72 pages, 9.8 x 0.6 x 7.2 inches, Hardcover
Garbage Night may be the most beautifully colored graphic novel I’ve seen. These colors are somehow moody yet vibrant. The characters and the story, meanwhile, are somehow whimsical but also somber…clearly this is a book that’s comfortable playing with surprising combinations.
The story centers on three friends who are scrounging and scavenging for survival. With their hoodies and beanies, they look like a lot of teens who spend most of their time on the streets. But this is a trio of abandoned or semi-wild animals – a dog, a deer, and a raccoon – searching for a better life.
The plot is a simple one, about tested loyalty. But the impressive artwork, like the moods it conjures up, is richly layered.
