My daughter, Violette, and I received a spread of Iron Man 2 books from my friends at Hachette (who run Little Brown and a handful of other publishing houses). With the movie coming out, kids are going to be excited to see the latest exploits of their comic book hero come to life. Now, the movies aren’t exactly made for little kids (I think they’ll have the PG rating) and Violette (who’s almost 8) isn’t permitted to see them, but Hachette and Marvel are smarter than to let that stop them.
Violette’s a learning reader. She’s not fast, but she’s good once she gives it some time. I made her read cold on this video (not her strong suit), so you’ll be able to judge how the books relate to your kids ages. She’s also not an Iron Man fan (I know, I know; you try to bring them up right…), but you’ll get a sense of what she thinks in this video. (Can’t see the video? Click Here.)
I think the books are decent for kids. They mix some pretty tricky words with some much more appropriate reading level stuff. The violence isn’t exactly called out, especially in the books for younger kids, and you’ll basically be left with a lot of pictures of Tony in his armor and Black Widow with her curly red hair (obviously there to draw in female readers who were left out in the last movie/books).
Here’s a sampling of the books we reviewed, if you want to see what they look like (these are amazon affiliate links):
All in all, Violette wasn’t exactly blown away, but I think they’re suitable, if your kid is into Iron Man and superheroes. The magic, don’t forget, is to get them to transfer their enthusiasm for a movie into an enthusiasm for the written word.
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Hey Chris,
I loved the video; really sweet and actually very good from a child’s perspective to see what your daughter thought of each of the books.
Also not the perfect subject for a 7 year old girl so I thought Violette’s reactions were really good.
Hachette should be proud of your video blog – priceless feedback for them.
And I just loved the sign off! :-))
Chris Brogan from chrisbrogan.com
Violette Brogan from nothing!
Not for long I suspect!
Great job Chris.
Happy Easter
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Boy books. She’s so disinterested. 🙂
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Hey Chris,
I loved the video; really sweet and actually very good from a child's perspective to see what your daughter thought of each of the books.
Also not the perfect subject for a 7 year old girl so I thought Violette's reactions were really good.
Hachette should be proud of your video blog – priceless feedback for them.
And I just loved the sign off! :-))
Chris Brogan from chrisbrogan.com
Violette Brogan from nothing!
Not for long I suspect!
Great job Chris.
Happy Easter
#
Hey Chris,
I loved the video; really sweet and actually very good from a child's perspective to see what your daughter thought of each of the books.
Also not the perfect subject for a 7 year old girl so I thought Violette's reactions were really good.
Hachette should be proud of your video blog – priceless feedback for them.
And I just loved the sign off! :-))
Chris Brogan from chrisbrogan.com
Violette Brogan from nothing!
Not for long I suspect!
Great job Chris.
Happy Easter
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Boy books. She's so disinterested. 🙂
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Boy books. She's so disinterested. 🙂
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It really sounded like her little brother had some thoughts he wanted to add…
Roo thought those books looked very “boy” and suggested Violette would prefer the Junie B. Jones books that she’s into right now. (Her little brother likes Iron Man and has already gotten his grandma to buy him action figures and light-up sneakers. Sigh.) She does think the girl is pretty, though, and that Violette looked nice and was a good reader.
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It really sounded like her little brother had some thoughts he wanted to add…
Roo thought those books looked very “boy” and suggested Violette would prefer the Junie B. Jones books that she's into right now. (Her little brother likes Iron Man and has already gotten his grandma to buy him action figures and light-up sneakers. Sigh.) She does think the girl is pretty, though, and that Violette looked nice and was a good reader.
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It really sounded like her little brother had some thoughts he wanted to add…
Roo thought those books looked very “boy” and suggested Violette would prefer the Junie B. Jones books that she's into right now. (Her little brother likes Iron Man and has already gotten his grandma to buy him action figures and light-up sneakers. Sigh.) She does think the girl is pretty, though, and that Violette looked nice and was a good reader.
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hey now. If they were about Star Wars she’d be tripping over herself.
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It’s a good suggestion, but Violette says (and i quote) “Junie B Jones’ books give me a headache :P” She’s more into graphic novels right now. Just not Iron man! 🙂
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Well, Roo’s only in kindergarten so I suspect Violette might have more experience with kids who are actually like Junie B… (eek!) She likes robot stuff and Star Wars but it’s mostly in deference to her little brother. She’s more of a sparkly heart princess puppy kind of girl. I am hoping she’ll be more interested in graphic novels and comix one of these days. I welcome any suggestions that might turn her from the girly girl route!
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hey now. If they were about Star Wars she'd be tripping over herself.
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hey now. If they were about Star Wars she'd be tripping over herself.
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It's a good suggestion, but Violette says (and i quote) “Junie B Jones' books give me a headache :P” She's more into graphic novels right now. Just not Iron man! 🙂
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It's a good suggestion, but Violette says (and i quote) “Junie B Jones' books give me a headache :P” She's more into graphic novels right now. Just not Iron man! 🙂
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Well, Roo's only in kindergarten so I suspect Violette might have more experience with kids who are actually like Junie B… (eek!) She likes robot stuff and Star Wars but it's mostly in deference to her little brother. She's more of a sparkly heart princess puppy kind of girl. I am hoping she'll be more interested in graphic novels and comix one of these days. I welcome any suggestions that might turn her from the girly girl route!
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Well, Roo's only in kindergarten so I suspect Violette might have more experience with kids who are actually like Junie B… (eek!) She likes robot stuff and Star Wars but it's mostly in deference to her little brother. She's more of a sparkly heart princess puppy kind of girl. I am hoping she'll be more interested in graphic novels and comix one of these days. I welcome any suggestions that might turn her from the girly girl route!
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My daughter is very into superheros and reading, so I think these might be just right for her!
Of course, as a confirmed Iron Man fan I might even enjoy reading them with her!
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My daughter is very into superheros and reading, so I think these might be just right for her!
Of course, as a confirmed Iron Man fan I might even enjoy reading them with her!
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My daughter is very into superheros and reading, so I think these might be just right for her!
Of course, as a confirmed Iron Man fan I might even enjoy reading them with her!
#
My daughter is very into superheros and reading, so I think these might be just right for her!
Of course, as a confirmed Iron Man fan I might even enjoy reading them with her!
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My daughter is very into superheros and reading, so I think these might be just right for her!
Of course, as a confirmed Iron Man fan I might even enjoy reading them with her!