A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Blog

Agents of S.U.I.T. From Badger to Worse

By Leave a Comment

Do you remember the Investigator books that I reviewed a while ago?   The Investigators and The Investigators Take the Plunge.  Agents of S.U.I.T. From Badger to Worse continues the series by John Patrick Green.  In this particular case the Badger InvestiGators need to learn to keep within a budget while going about their investigating.  Hmm… Wonder if they can see their way through? 

Agents of S.U.I.T; From Badger to Worse

The Basic Details for Agents of S.U.I.T. From Badger to Worse

Title: Agents of S.U.I.T. From Badger to Worse
Series: The InvestiGators
Author: John Patrick Green & Christopher Hastings
Illustrator: Pat Lewis
Publisher: :01 First Second (Roaring Brook Press)
Pages: 208
Intended Audience: 3-4 grade, ages 6-8
Genre: animal comics, mystery, detectives, children’s book, graphic novel
Available formats: Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Received: Hardcover
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

About the book and Author

Agents of S.U.I.T. is a series written by John Patrick Green and Christopher Hastings.   This series, which continues The InvestiGators Series has a website devoted them.   Animal Characters that take on Human jobs and the lessons they learn whilst doing so.   The Badger investigators have much to learn, you’ll have to read to discover if they learn it in time! 

John Patrick Green and Christopher Hastings have written several Agents of S.U.I.T. books.  John Patrick Green has loved comics and cartoon strips since childhood.  Being silly and including puns as he writes about animals doing human things is something he very much loves to do.  To discover about his quirkiness with lego, check out his website. 

agents of S.U.I.T - FROM BADGER TO WORSE

Taking a Closer Look

In this second book, of a three book series of Agents of S.U.I.T, we again see colourful images light up the pages.  Combined with easily written text, this makes of a graphic novel that is quick to read.   

The first part of the book started off a bit slowly, but quickly built up speed as Bongo and Marsha go undercover to solve the bungalow burglaries in Bora Bora.

agents of S.U.I.T. - badger to worse

The text is very much geared to upper elementary/middle school humour.   I admittedly didn’t really enjoy the humour, but I can see how younger minds might enjoy it.   For an instance of the humour used.  At one point the badgers were called honey badgers (due to some honey they were covered in) and they responded with “We’re European badgers”.  The on-lookers responded with “If You’re a-peein’, find a restroom!  You’ve made enough of a mess already!”

Would I recommend?

I can’t really recommend this book.  I suspect that upper elementary/middle school kids would have a lot of fun reading these books but I didn’t enjoy i.  It bounced around alot and didn’t really make a lot of sense to me. 

But I’m not the target audience.  Agents of S.U.I.T: From Badger to Worse does introduce us into the characters of Bongo and Marsha.  Puns are very much in evidence, and there was a lot of off-beat humour.  I was reading some other reviews and some folks called it “dad-humour” but I would not classify it as such.  More like low-grade kid humour. 

I guess, for me, the book was trying to much to be funny and fun-filled, that it forget to tell a solid, coherent story.  

I’m fairly disappointed that I didn’t really like From Badger to Worse.  I liked the first one in the series if you may recall from my review last week.  Perhaps the third one in the series will be as good as this one.

Fight Fight with all your Might

By 7 Comments

Miss Kate provided us with the word fight as our five minute Friday word prompt. I thought this would be a super easy word to come up with a post.  And it was!   Fight fight with all your might sprang into my head so fast.  The words came a bit slower and I’m admittedly not really happy with it all, but I’ll let it sit as is eh?   It’s part of how the five minute Friday community works.  Write for five minutes with no editing!  So you are kinda stuck with what I wrote eh?  :

text: fight fight with all your might Image of kittens fighting

Fight Fight with all your might!

Fight, Fight, with all your might
before you know it will be night.
When the trials and terrors
of the day come out,
playing with thoughts and emotions.

Nightmares roiling around in a brain,
setting one to sleeping in a middle
of a waking dream, where one can
sorta change things but those changes
often take the dream deeper and scarier.

So in the light of day one stops and considers
what things during the day did one choose
not to fight, or could cause the
roiling around deep within? What hidden
monsters did one allow within?

Where did the fight fight with all your might
run short of the mark? Did I listen to a story
or TV show that lurked within leaving unanswered
thoughts and emotions? Or argue with someone at work?
Maybe forgot something vital? or didn’t sleep enough?

Sometimes I wonder, if those nights are just
a sign that I haven’t been spending enough
time with the One who knows me best.
And yes, hubby counts, but looking deeper into
who my creator is.

Perhaps nightmares/living dreams are
just a symptom of a deeper lostness.
of a need to cultivate a relationship
with someone a great deal more important.
A wake-up call perhaps?

Agents of S.U.I.T.

By Leave a Comment

Disclosure: I received this complimentary product Agents of S.U.I.T. through Raincoast Books. Affiliate Links will be used, thank you for your support of my blog, costs you nothing to do so, and it is so much appreciated. 🙂

Agents of S.U.I.T. is part of the InvestiGators Series of books, following up with some of the characters of that series.  This first book focuses on the Cilantro the Chameleon.   She’s getting her first mission!  Oh the excitement of that very first assignment. Her partner will be Monocle.   Let’s dive in yes? 

Agents of S.U.I.T

Basic Details for Agents of S.U.I.T.

Title: Agents of S.U.I.T.
Author: john Patrick Green, Christopher Hastings
Illustrator: Pat Lewis
Series: Agents of S.U.I.T, Book One
Publisher: First Second
Pages: 208
Intended Audience: 7-9 years, grade 2-3
Genre: graphic novel, animal comics, mystery, detective, humorous comic,
Available formats: Kindle, Hardcover
Received: Hardcover
Reviewed for: Raincoast Books

Book and author

Agents of S.U.I.T. by John Patrick Green follows the InvestiGators series.   You may recall that I have written about this series in the past the books InvestiGators Take the Plunge and InvestiGators.  Agents of S.U.I.T. is the first in a series of six books.  

John Patrick Green and Christopher Hastings are the authors.  I was unable to find details about Mr. Hastings, but Mr. Green likes legos, being an artist, and humorous comics. 

Agents of S.U.I.T.

Taking a Closer Look

Agents of S.U.I.T. takes animal characters and gives them human jobs.   You’ll find cats herding sheep, dogs being deputies, and so on.  Cilantro the Chameleon has the job of being a detective, and is battling her desire to do her job the way she wants to, and doing it the way her job wants her to.  It’s hard to know how to fit in you know? 

Fortunately, Pat Lewis provides excellent graphics to help tell the story.  Loads of colour on bright pages delight the eye.   Clearly written text makes it easy to read the story. 

You will discover many puns and humorous situations throughout, perfect for grades 2-4.  Remember the adage of counting sheep so you can fall asleep?   You’ll find it playing an active role in this story. 

I love that the story line makes sense.  A detective sent out on a vague mission, discovers what needs doing, and uses their talents to solve the case. I love that Cilantro makes use of the skills of others to help resolve the situation with the aliens. 

Do I recommend?

I couldn’t find anything in this graphic novel, Agents of S.U.I.T. that was objectional.  Engaging story with a real problem, with characters that reacted differently depending on the scenario.  Having to think through problems and discover solutions by working together.  It’s good stuff packed into a fun read. 

Not to the Void

By 5 Comments

So I’m reading a book right now where there’s this fantasy world and between worlds there is a void.  What’s in the void folks aren’t too sure of, but when the void is breached, monsters come in. But those monsters aren’t evil, just different beings with a hunger to live.  And that hunger comes with a cost… when the void is breached by those who aren’t welcome.  But even knowing that the void has a lot of unknowns, people aren’t afraid of going to the void when they die. It’s like a welcome release when needed from life.  But people don’t volunteer you know?  Not to the void when living, only when dead.  NO ONE wants to face those monsters who live there, those beings changed by death. 

How does the fit with today’s word?  Well.. THE WORD is void.  🙂   So there you go!  But I do plan to go elsewhere with this, so bear with me a bit.  🙂 

image of empty space with text not to the void

Not to the void

A small, four letter word
void… what shall I do with it?
A void
is a space of nothing,
and area where an emptiness exists.

I mentioned this word to a
co-worker and his immediate response
was “the word of God does not return void”
it always has a place to go.

And when you think that God’s word
is living and active, you can’t really
see it as a place where a void can exist.
Something that is busy doesn’t really
leave room for emptiness does it?

But what does it really mean when you
hear of God’s word being living and active,
a “something” that always has a
destination and purpose.

Today in church we considered what
it means to consider who Jesus is, and how
we are part of him, meaning that our past
has no hold on us.

So when we struggle we need to consider
God, to consider Jesus all the more.
to think of what he truly means to us
and what it means that we are PART of him.

Death has no hold on us.
We aren’t bound by who we used to be.
Freedom is right in our hand.
Captured by sin is NOT in our vocabulary.

Yes, we can struggle with sin,
but it’s the struggle of a winner
against one that doesn’t see it’s defeat
is already at hand.

But to battle as a winner,
we need to see whose we are truly.
See it, ponder it, understand it.
Make it part of your beingness.

Remember, God’s word
is not to the void. It
has meaning and intent.
Listen to it!

See what it means for you
as you live as a stranger in the
world of your past. Look to
whose you are and live in your future.

Toward the Future

By 2 Comments

I was sitting here talking with my son’s girlfriend about this five minute Friday gig that I join almost every week.  I was telling her how unexpected it was last week that I couldn’t come up with anything that worked.  And she promptly gave me oodles of ideas that I could have used.  I told her I should have talked to her last weekend!    But this weekend we have the word Toward to work at.  And what pops into my mind is the thought “toward the future”.   Lets see where it takes us yes? 

grey mouse pictured with text toward the future

Toward the Future

Stopping I gasp
is it possible
could one thing
is off my to-do list?

Yes indeed, on this cold,
slightly windy Saturday my
metal has been taken off to
the recyclers, Bulbs have been
planted, mice cleaned and reorganized,
and leaves have been raked up!

WOOT WOOT, as I look
toward the future, it’s
looking a whole lot less
busy and that is a
wonderful thing!

My social scene at work
has changed a huge deal
lately. The kids (and yes, that
is very subjective) are moving
on, looking toward their futures.

They are leaving it seems
in droves. Kids I’ve gotten used
to, laughed with, shared hugs and
zucchini bread with, and now they
are moving toward brighter futures.

Some to marriage, others to school,
others to seeing other job
possibilities.
As much as I hate seeing them go,
at the same time I love that they
are stretching wings and seeing
what possibilities are held
looking toward the future.

Chatting with my lad
about how he’s working both
full-time and part-time. And he’s
young so can burn the candle at
both ends. He LOVES that he can
save money (for a house and future work)
and STILL have enough
money to help pay for needed
cat surgeries and for his hobbies.

Don’t you just love all
this future looking?!?!?!?!
It’s wonderful if we can just
switch our eyes toward something more.

Weight, it’s a battle

By 2 Comments

Did you know this truth?  Weight, it’s a battle, a constant daily battle that takes time to adjust to.  🙂  It does.  Society says one thing, doctors say other, and yet one’s body has it’s own thing to say as well.  One’s heart and mind as well.   Let’s explore that idea a bit eh?

weight, it's a battle text. image of person holding measuring tape to abdomen

Weight, it’s a battle

Weight, it’s a battle
not always seen but more
often felt deep within.

You see weight isn’t just
a physical thing, though
at times it very much is!

Too fat, too thin,
too boney, too well padded
even when it might be just right.

Doctors and websites and
various pundits will say a
person of this height should be “X”.

Without considering body type,
family history, work requirements
and mental health.

All these things bear weight you know?
Like sometimes even if the healthiest
weight isn’t attainable, the mental is.

And sometimes mental weight is what
makes the physical loss (or gain)
nigh on impossible.

So how do we bear the weight of
family, history, life, and more?
What makes that weight bearable?

For me… family matters. My physical
family and my spiritual one, reminding
me that I am more than what I seem.

What helps you to bear the weight,
that weight we gain from simply being,
people active in life?

Undecided

By 2 Comments

HEY, it’s Friday afternoon and I’m not at work. You’ll discover why later on. Anyways, I haven’t a clue what to write here…. My brain is a bit of mush right now. Do you ever find that if you are undecided about something, that somehow the decision ends up being made for you? That’s been my week. 🙂 Shall we see what I do with this week’s word prompt?

text undecided, picture of cat on chair

Undecided

Undecided.  
That’s what I was
all week at work.

I went in on Tuesday,
not wanting to be there,
joking with my manager all week
about how I might be “sick” on Friday.

And finding as the week went on
that I was struggling with headaches
and a sore throat.

Combine that with lack of sleep
last night with a cat saying
HEY, wake up, someone’s missing!
HEY, wake up, Lizzy’s outside.

But in my stupor I didn’t understand
cat very well.
I understood when I finally got
up and said cat, ran to backdoor
and there I saw other said cat staring at me.

So my lack of decision about
going to work on Friday turned out to
be fairly prophetic. 🙂
I did go in my only stayed 1.5 hours
my lack of sleep and now sneezing
sent me home

My thought being that to nap
would be a great thing to do.
I get home and find someone
sitting, actually NAPPING, in my chair.

So I did something I don’t normally do,
I sat in Jim’s chair, put my laptop
on my lap and turned on a mindless show
which always puts me to sleep at night.

And then promptly fell asleep
I had a lovely nap.
until a mr. mew named Benji
said “long enough, pay attention to me!”

But that made me…..
woot woot
Awake enough to write
this post! HA!