sare-endipity: Uglydoll: Goin' Places

I remember the first time I saw an Uglydoll. November of 2006; I had just flown into LAX, and my friend who picked me up took me to Chinatown to walk around. One of the stores we went into had this, well, ugly doll. Sadly, I can't remember which one it was- I think it was Little Ugly Big Toe. Anyhoo, I wandered around the store clutching it and, remembering my scant budget, had to put it back before leaving.

Now! Fast forward a few years, I'm at ALA 2013 in Chicago, and Viz Media is having a Book Buzz session on their Children's Publishing! I geeked out a bit, because, of course, all the manga I read is through them! One of the new products? Uglydoll graphic novels!

The running theme for all the vignettes in the graphic novel is..."goin' places!" Which would have worked so well for our "Have Book, Will Travel" summer reading theme! Their adventures lead them to the sea, into space, back in time...and to a library!

The first thing you notice is the bright, fun colors. And the kooky characters. They instantly draw you in! There are many talented authors and illustrators- Sun-Min Kim & David Horvath, Travis Nichols, Phillip Jacobson, Ian McGinty, James Kochalka and Mike LM Kelly. They provide so many little details and jokes throughout the stories that you may not catch the first time.

The stories are great. I was chuckling reading the whole GN...actually I think a few guffaws made it in there ("We're SO bats right now!" did me in...I ended up reading it out loud to my husband after). Two of my favorites were "Get Lost" and "We're So Bats Right Now." Babo was just adorable, trying not to lose his stuffed bear when he traveled, and Ice Bat & Ninja Batty Shogun were hilarious, honing their radar (oops, I mean sonar) skills. [sidenote: as I'm typing this there's a bat outside my window chittering EXTREMELY loud.] Babo's postcards are super-cute, too.

Annnnd...in trying to remember the first Uglydoll I saw, I went to the website. Um...guys? I don't care if I'm almost 30, I would be stoked to get either of these:

http://www.uglydolls.com/p/ice-bat-hello-kitty

http://www.uglydolls.com/p/babo-bear

[the mugs are pretty cool, too!]

I'd recommend this to anyone who likes these dolls- young and old alike. As I mentioned before, there are lots of jokes that will appeal to all ages. The colors are fun, and the Uglydolls are adorable. Definitely planning on getting this for the library. It would also be good for those who enjoy humor and adventure.