While I love the term washroom, I had a bit of a struggle with Canada’s approach to public toilets. I’m used to stopping for a snack and being able to pee. But cafes with only counter service don’t seem to offer customer restrooms in Victoria, so we had to learn some new planning skills.
Due to the hand-drawn nature of these comics and the overwhelming time-suck they describe, I have not transcribed these comics. I apologize. If you need the transcription, please drop me a line and I’ll gladly put energy into it when I can!
Buuuuut I haven’t heard from Goodway about that auto-fill that should be ready… (glances at calendar) yesterday…
ARGH
After my doggo died, I stopped walking to the bus stop. It wasn’t like she’d joined me this year- so it must have been grief that was stopping me wanting to go and chat with the other parents at the school bus- but the result was I was feeling a bit more isolated than usual. My close friends are all super busy and I think I underestimated the bus-stop value. So when one of my D&D kids’ parents said there was a wiffle ball gathering at a local field, with popsicles, on the last day of school, I decided to go. It ended up being incredibly community-affirming and nostalgic and I’m glad I did.
Transcript
It started out just me and my kid. Another mom had told me there was a little gathering at the park on the last day of school, with wiffle ball, but we were a bit early and there were only a few kids playing soccer.
Panel: I bend down, wearing a hat, next to my cane, and say OOF as a ball hits the ground in front of me. My kid, holding a wiffle bat, says “Ugh, I suck at throwing.”
Panel : After I threw my 10th “ball”… My kid runs off saying “I’m gonna go see if that’s my friend.”
Panel: …we picked up a classmate from the soccer game. Another child high fives my kid. Phew.
Panel: My kid piutches low and says “Ugh, can you pitch any better?”
Panel: A couple of older kids in hawaiian shirts joined in. “Can we play?” “Yeah!” “Can ya pitch?”
Panel: One of the new kids is pitching. Ball! Ball 2! Ball 3! Ball 4! Walk it.
Panel: The other kid says “Let me try” and takes the ball.
Panel: He pitches. Ball! Ball! Ball! Ball! I am watching from afar.
Panel: I call, “Y’all want me to pitch?”
Panel: a big YES from all 4. I don’t know that I”ll be any better but they’ll stop blaming each other.
Panel: I was NOT much better- “Whoops!” my pitch bonks into a kid’s butt. From off panel comes “hahahaha butt ball”
Panel: But some more kids showed up to pitch and eventually I was made redundant (mostly). A line of kids chat behind the batter. I call from the sidelines, “BACK UP BATTERS! Someone’s gonna get hit in the mouth!”
Panel: A blond kid in wraparound sunglasses says smugly, “Me! I am!”
Panel: I look sarcastically at him. “Not on my watch, random kid. BACK. It. UP.”
Panel: He scoots backward quickly. “Bet.”
Panel: The sunglasses kid hits a ball – POP! The pitcher says “Ahh get it to first!” The batters sya “Let’s GO!”
Panel: This is not a field that’s been kept up. It’s just grass with a batting cage on one corner. Kids just keep showing up. It’s very nostalgic and I’m enjoying it….
Panel: Safe! Out! He was totally safe~! nah uh! HOw?? Saaaafe!
A kid approaches me, sitting on my cane. “Um, someone’s mom? We need bases.”
Panel: I rummage through my backpack. “I got….”
Panel: I pull out two cloth grocery bags. I am proud. “GROCERY BAGS!”
Panel: After a bit….
Panel: Another kid joins. “Hey!” “We got Tim!”
Panel: and another – “HI!” “go bat!”
Panel: There were enough kids to actually play. The panel shows a bunch of kids yelling OUT, Safe! MLB RULES! to the right, a man bikes up the path with pizzas on his handlebars.
Panel: And then maybe too many! The field is full, the pitcher says “I just need a warmup!” “Let me pitch!” “It’s my turn!” The batters are again standing too close to the batter up. I say, “BATTING TEAM: If you don’t back up I’m gonna make you back up!”
Panel: Another kid approaches me. “Ollie’s mom, will you go yell at someone?” It takes me a minute to recognize this child who has grown about a foot since the class trip in April.
Panel: I shrug. “Uh, sure, why?” “He keeps stealing 2nd base.” “I thought it was MLB rules?” “No, like…”
I look out to the field to see some kids with a frisbee literally stealing 2nd base – the bag we’ve been using is around their ankle as they head out to the soccer area.
TO BE CONTINUED
Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke is a middle grade graphic novel (my kid enjoyed it at 5-6 years old, but I think the titular Jack is at least 12 yo in the book and I fully enjoyed the story as an adult).
Actually, we’re reading the collected works of Ben Hatke, because he easter-eggs characters from all of his books in his other books, and once we read one (I think we started with Julia’s House for Lost Creatures), the kiddo wants to read them all and figure out why the dragon in Julia looks familiar (it’s a hero in Mighty Jack, and makes a cameo as a baby in Nobody Likes a Goblin). Ben Hatke is one of my inspirations, too, as an artist and a storyteller. His picture books are really lovely pen, ink, and watercolor (what I love to make) and his graphic novels are bold, energetic, and fun.
ANYWAY.
Mighty Jack and Zita the Spacegirl is a mashup sequel to both the… you guessed it, Mighty Jack AND Zita the Spacegirl books. The Jack stories are a little bit older target audience than Zita (I’d say solidly middle-grade, with a maybe 13 year old protagonist, vs Zita who we meet at a younger age and worked for my kid at 5 years old). It’s a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk… loosely… in that there’s a really awesome garden that opens up a portal to other worlds and there are kids climbing on beanstalks and eventually the adventure saves the family home. Do you like magical gardens? YEAH! Start with MIGHTY JACK and go from there. Prefer space adventures and maybe have a younger kid? Start with ZITA THE SPACEGIRL, a space-portal adventure about saving your friends and making new ones on the way, with lots of cute and/or creepy many-worlds characters. Either way, get all three of the books in the series you’re starting, because you will surely want to keep reading.
HEARTS!!
Sarah
Owly by Andy Runton
Early reader graphic novel, ages 4+
Oh my goodness pals, this is such a SWEET series. Not cloying, but just genuine and kind and lovely. Owly, who speaks only in icons, is a flightless owl who feeds birds, even though they’re terrified of him. He wants a friend… and his kindness in helping others despite their fear gets him MANY over the course of the series to date (including his bestie Wormy, humminbirds, a possum, a butterfly, and some bluebird buds). My 7 year old, who is totally into fighting goblins and being intense, is in love with the the gentle kindness and the relatable adventures. He also likes that there aren’t a lot of words and they’re nearly always paired with iconography, so he can understand the story without an adult or too much struggle. And they’re fun to read aloud, with just enough emotional tension to keep everyone really rooting for Owly and his buds.
Hilo: The Boy who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick
Graphic Novel series for middle grade readers (I’m guessing ages 6-12 interest level, 9+ reading level)
Robots! Robots that look like kids! A robot that crashes to earth and learns to burp! And then fights intergalactic robot powers with two human kids and a robot sister and a magical cat warrior! Seriously, there is nothing not to like about this series, unless you’re not into fantasy-adventure punctuated with burp jokes. If you’re not into those things, probably this is not the mini-book-review site for you, because my kid and I love mild rudeness, unexpected magic, and drama. My reluctant-reading rising 2nd grade kiddo does all the sound effects, and is learning to recognize Hilo’s catchphrase (“Outstanding!”), so we call it a team reading effort. Highly recommend, and don’t think you’ll get away with just having book 1. We absolutely tore through the 6 book series!
Just a warning – this one’s probably not for the little ones, as it’s about drunken mermaids with foul mouths. It’s hands down the funniest book I’ve read this year, and if you know me personally, you’ll know that irreverent potty-mouths are kind of… on brand. Add it to powerful femmes with magic making bad decisions but making it work anyway, ride-or-die besties (I’m a Scorpio, I dig loyalty) and the beach? Oh, am I here for it. This book is bright. It’s queer (great for Pride Month!) It will make you laugh, and want to give your bestie a hug.
