Saturday Morning Cartoons- The King of Kazoo

Feuti, Norm. The King of Kazoo
July 26th 2016 by GRAPHIX
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

When a mysterious tunnel opens up in a nearby mountain, Bing, the daughter of King Cornelius and a budding magician, sets off to find out why it has appeared. She goes with her father, who is a bit dim and not the nicest monarch, and Cornelius, who is the royal inventor and does not speak. In comic book form, the three have an almost Phantom Tollbooth type adventure involving a local alchemist, Quaf, as well as other fantasy characters. 
Strengths: This reminded me a lot of the comic books we would buy at the Breezewood, PA gas stations when I was very. There was something about the artwork that reminded me of Richie Rich and Little Lulu. I was glad to see that Betsy Bird (who is much more well versed in comics and graphic novels than I am) offer a lengthy opinion of this book.
Weaknesses: I'm just not the audience for this. Reading this felt like watching random children's television from the 1960s for me.
What I really think: I will probably buy a copy, since my students would love this, but it just didn't do anything for me personally. 

Krosoczka, Jarret J. A New Class (Star Wars Jedi Academy #4)
July 26th 2016 by Scholastic Inc.
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Victor Starspeeder is excited to go to the Jedi Academy, even though his older sister claims that she won't talk to him at all. He has a lot of problems controlling his use of the Force, which gets him into a lot of trouble. When he arrives, he runs afoul of Artemis, who appears to be a Sith in training. In order to learn to control his anger, Yoda has him work on scenery for the school play, My Fair L8-E. This gets Victor close to his crush, Maya. He also spends a little too much time with Zach, an older cool kid who doesn't have Victor's interests at heart. 
Strengths: This is a combination of graphic and notebook novel, with Victor's journal interspersed with cartoon story panels. Many characters from the films are incorporated, there are others that are not from the canon. It's goofy fun, and fans of this author's other titles will not be too sad that this franchise has passed from Jeff Brown's hands. 
Weaknesses: These are for younger readers, or those who are not hard core Star Wars fans. I was surprised that Victor was allowed to use the Force irresponsibly. I'm just not the target demographic for this one!
What I really think: My 6th graders love these, so I'll purchase this once. Since it's paper over boards, I may or may not replace it when it falls apart.