Nathan Hale (1)Critiques

Independent Reading Level: Grade 3 and up
Awards: none

This book is very good for children to learn about historical stories through fictional books. This is a fun way to teach children about history and implanting them into lessons and activities. They are very interesting stories and reliable for any school curricular activity.

I really liked this, but I feel like I didn't get it. My grown-up brain was unable to suspend disbelief. There were too many illogical, confusing things about this world. Why doesn't that final bubble kill Strata? How does Kleidi still work when she's been broken into three pieces? How is it so easy to kill pipers and at the same time they've almost completely wiped out human civilization? Where did Kleidi come from? Will it be explained in sequels?

Still, very fun to read and I'm sure less critical readers will just enjoy it and not demand that the world make more sense.

Anthropomorphized prehistoric critters mingle and compete with humans, ghosts, and gods in an internet content creator showdown. So much nonsense, so many antics.

I love Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series of historical graphic novels, but his fantasy books for kids -- Apocalypse Taco, One Trick Pony, and now this -- well . . . not so much.

Hale gives a couple nods to Dav Pilkey's Dog Man as he sets out to make a book that would please his nine-year-old self, loaded with frantic action and poop jokes. I'm pretty sure I would not have enjoyed this at nine, and I'm waaaay past that now.

Not for me.

I would recommend this book to older elementary school students because it is a longer book and it has history content that students will read when they are older. It is an early chapter book that goes through historic stories in a fun way for students. This would be good in the classroom because it is a way to incorporate history into chapter books and allow students to learn history in a way that is different from just reading textbooks.

Nathan Hale takes a side step from his Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series to serve up a how-to book with writing and drawing prompts for aspiring cartoonists. For those of us who aren't very creative, he still manages to tuck in interesting little historical tidbits and a plethora of jokes.

│Graphic Novel│Science Fiction│Dystopian│Steampunk│

One Trick Pony is a fun graphic novel set in a futuristic world where technology has become rare and strange creatures called pipers are constantly eating up what's left of the TVs, cameras, guns, cars, computers, robots and movies of the past age. This is the land Strata and her family and friends live in, and when she discovers (and falls in love with) a robotic pony, she invites trouble to their door—in the form of the piping aliens.

I gotta say that this book was a little strange, but then again, I could list quite a few graphic novels that are stranger than this one. The thrills, adventure, and chases of One Trick Pony alone make this a satisfying and worthwhile read. Other than that, I also loved the gray and gold color palette that helps to distinguish this book as both dystopian and steampunk.

This history of the Donner Party in graphic novel form tells the tale of the settlers' (colonizers) westward journey from Springfield, Illinois toward Sutter's Fort, California. Not all of those in the wagon train survived, and some, faced with starvation, ate the dead bodies of others to stay alive. Like the Titanic, this story holds gruesome fascination, and like Titanic, there were a number of decisions that could have been made to avert the appalling outcome: particularly, if James Reed had not insisted on taking the Hastings "shortcut" instead of the regular route. Hale crams a lot of text and images into small panels in a small trim size, and uses his framing device (Nathan Hale, spy, about to be hanged, telling his hangman and British soldier (his)stories, Scheherezade-style) for commentary, humor, and pointing out how people are sometimes more upset at the thought of the dog dying than people dying.½

First class history, and the graphics really help encompass the scope of this tragic incident.

I like the detailed history that these books represent, even as I am a little uncomfortable with the subject and the very American viewpoint. Don't get me wrong, the Very American Viewpoint is EXACTLY what was going on in this country during WWII, especially after Pearl Harbor, so I think it's appropriate, I'm just uncomfortable. I also think the author does an excellent job trying to look at the events in the book from both a Japanese and an American perspective, but it's a really complex subject.

anyway.... great history, very focused on a particular bombing run and what it took to get there and the aftermath. Super appealing to boy history or adventure fans, really complicated story well told.

This is some really excellent storytelling. Some really amazing history made accessible and really hard to put down. Turns out, there's a lot I didn't know about Harriet Tubman, and I'm even more astonished at the sheer extraordinariness of her life -- She's such a badass (sorry, kids) -- but her unrelenting hard work and unflinching daring is pretty breathtaking. Wow, wow, wow.

Having read various articles and books regarding the famous abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, Nathan Hale's graphic novel format of this political activist allows readers to not only learn about her bravery but experience it as well. Hale's depiction of Tubman's dreams and the guiding voice that assisted in her journey- the whimsical coloring and illustrations allows readers to be filled with hope knowing Tubman is being guided. Being able to see the anxieties and uncertainties of Tubman's journey as she utilizes the Underground Railroad to guide others towards freedom, these instances are well known about Tubman. Yet, being able to see what could have possibly went on during these journeys as a conductor and passenger, this graphic novel does well to illustrate Harriet Tubman's courageous and inspiring life.

Nathan Hale continues to delight me with his educational and humorous looks at history. This time a female journalist covers the opening weeks of the Korean War as unprepared and ill-equipped American forces are routed by North Koreans driving Russian T-34 tanks.

It's fine military history, with the focus almost entirely on American officers and reporters. It does veer a bit too much toward the whole thing being an adventurous lark in a foreign land. I wish more attention could have been paid to the effect all these maneuvers and battles were having on South Korean soldiers and civilians. Still very good, if not the most well-rounded.

Blades of Freedom is a great graphic novel of why Napoleon Bonaparte sell the Louisiana Territory after the Haitian Revolution. I really like this Graphic Novel because it does a great job of creating a timeline for students to analyze cause and effect, and connect events in history as each builds on the next. Students can take a look at how we have Louisiana as a state because of the actions of the Haitian Revolution. I think this book would be good for students in either the 5th or 8th grade as it satisfies the TEK 4.C, which employs students to be able to identify concepts in territorial expansion such as the Louisiana Purchase. This Novel can invite students to explore more history and make connections with a complicated story, and explore how the Louisiana Purchase continues to connect with American History past and present.

Honestly, this book was not my favorite. I wasn’t much of a fan for the story as it was so convoluted with three different things going on at the same time. I had a rough time distinguishing characters because of the art style, but that was easy to work with. However, just because I didn’t personally enjoy this book doesn’t mean that others won’t. Just be warned that it is a horror story even with the almost silly title (the title betrayed me! I thought it would be somewhat silly and fun as a kids book, but nope!).

I originally found this book in my library for a graduate assignment I’m working on and I was amazed to find it in the children’s room. This book was the thing of nightmares full of body horror. It honestly felt like an Invader Zim comic without the humor and fun colors (and I love Zim to death, but those are still classified as teen in my library). Again, it just wasn’t for me.

children's middlegrade graphic nonfiction - history (beginning of cold war, beginning of Korean war, female war correspondent Maggie Higgins, 1945-1950 US forces in Korea)

lots of information, but still very readable. This series of graphic nonfiction remains popular with the kids at the library, for good reason.

For kids especially interested in reading graphic novels, this book is a great way to introduce some history into their brain - and hopefully get them interested in learning even more!

Received via NetGalley for review.

Nathan Hale sure knows his audience! A perennially popular author in many middle-school libraries, Hale hits it out of the park again with this graphic novel. Weird, fun, and fast paced, this little graphic novel attracts your interest right from the title and never lets up with its surrealistic and humorous take on your typical "kids save the world" plot line.

I tried to win this in a giveaway but didn't succeed, so recommended it to my boss for purchase at the library. And I'm glad she got it! We've got a couple of Hale's Hazardous Tales series, and while they have plenty of adult appeal, I think they're a tough sell to middle schoolers. One Trick Pony is quick-paced, fun, and imaginative, and kids will love it.

(From the beautiful cover I was expecting the contents to be a little more colorful, but I guess the grey/blue-scale with splashes of yellow makes sense in context.) I love science fiction novel that start in media res and actually pull it off, and this one does a pretty good job. Immediately there's the impression of a barren world where it's hard to survive, and the relationship between Strata and her brother is full of warmth. I don't understand why they hang out with Inby, but it's nice to have a male character who's annoying and whiny instead of a female, for once.

The reveal of the aliens was great, their motivations classic, and their downfall perfectly in tune with the story that came before. The idea of the Pipers getting their name from the Pied Piper of Hamelin was great, as were the hints that they initially came because the technologies of our wars attracted them. The glimpses of various surviving modes of civilizations was nice, too. I just wish we could have stuck around to see what happened with all the huge chunks of metal and technology falling from the sky.

A good explainer for the curious. Balances the gore with humor, a.self-aware book

This graphic novel is the sixth in Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales Series. Featuring Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Stephen Austin and Vicente Guerrero, the detailed illustrations and witty dialog explain Texas’s fight for independence. Bibliography.

A graphic novel biography of Harriet Tubman introduces readers to the abolitionist movement, including sidebar stories about Nat Turner and Frederick Douglass. Bibliography.

This informative graphic novel chronicles the disastrous Donner Party expedition. Focusing on the journey through the eyes of the Reed family, the travelers meet with one calamity after another as they strike West, due to poor planning and bad decision making.

Nathan Hale (the patriot) is still standing at the gallows awaiting his execution, and is asked by his executioners to recall another story. This one is about the iconic battle of the Confederacy's Merrimack (Virginia) and the Union's Monitor. Hale has done his research about the military men and epic battle. A colorful graphic novel, which may be an effective way of teaching history to those that would otherwise not be interested.

P.S. Sorry to see the return of the simpleton, hangman.