Adventures of Meno Review and Giveaway

Campy humor, retro art and simple-yet-sweet adventures are the hallmarks of the first two books in the Adventure of Meno series by Tony Diterlizzi and his wife Angela. Published by Simon & Schuster and “Presented in Vibrant Meno-Color”, kids and kids at heart will love cuddling up together and giggling as they get to know space elf Meno (“I Am Meno, Elf of Space, Here to Visit Human Race!”) and his best friends Yamagoo and Wishi in the first two titles in the series: Big Fun! and Wet Friend!.

To get just a taste of the series that Publisher’s Weekly calls “A preschool epic so polished that it looks untouched by human hands” and PixieStix.com describes as “the …clean layout, punchy full bleed art, and bouncy text add up to a high-style package that will be equally at home on a children’s bookshelf or a pop-culture lover’s coffee table” please visit www.planetmeno.com.

This six-book series about Meno, a nostalgically modern space-elf and his out-of-this-world adventures, by award winning author/illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi and his wife Angela, will have kids and parents excited for each and every adventure. Each story is told with bright illustrations in nonsensical language, as if it were translated from Meno's Alien language into English. As childlike as they are sweet, these stories find humor in the simplest places, and are a delight to readers both young and old.
In book one, Big Fun!, tots and their lucky parents join Meno and his best friend Yamagoo, and find out what Meno thinks is the biggest fun of all!

In Meno’s second adventure, Wet Friend!, Meno and Yamagoo decide they want a “friend trio” and, thanks to their wish-granting friend Wishi, get some out-of-the-ordinary choices along the way.

Award-winning author and illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, has been creating books with Simon & Schuster for over a decade. From his fanciful picture books like, Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure, G is for One Gzonk! and The Spider & The Fly (2003 Caldecott Honor), to young chapter books like the New York Times best-seller, Kenny and The Dragon, Tony always imbues his stories with a rich imagination. His middle-grade series, The Spiderwick Chronicles (co-created with Holly Black), has sold millions of copies and has been adapted into a feature film. Tony grew up in South Florida, and lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his wife, Angela, and their daughter. Visit Tony at www.diterlizzi.com.

Angela DiTerlizzi is an up-and-coming author within Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. In addition, to the Adventure of Meno series, Angela's picture book Say What? comes out from Beach Lane Books in Spring 2011. She lives with Tony and their daughter in Amherst, MA.

A little about the characters:


Meno – An elf of space who travels far to visit Earthland. He lives in the sky in a house of cloud. After learning about Earth through a radio wave he became curious and visited Earth. Now he stays because he likes our Earth.

Yamagoo – A jellyfish and Meno’s best friend. Jellyfish are one of the oldest life-forms on Earth and Meno assumes Yamagoo will be knowledgeable. Unfortunately Yamagoo has lived in the ocean and doesn’t know about life above. Yamagoo is a nervous one and is prone to flatulence.

Wishi – A little wish-granting sprite from another dimension. She has been friends with Meno since he was a baby elf. Is always eager to grant the perfect wish.

Zanzibar – A gift given to Meno and Yamagoo by Wishi and is an all knowing fish that posses magical powers.

My family was lucky enough to receive the first two titles in the series: Big Fun! and Wet Friend along with a super cute little pin of Meno! When I first received these books I was so excited to read them to my son the book covers were just way to cute! My son was also very anxious to get to reading as well. That night before bed I decided to read them to him instead of his usual books and I must say we both had a blast reading them! I absolutly love these books they are so cute and funny and are a very quick read with beautiful pictures that my toddler also enjoyed very much! They are now the books he grabs everynight before bed I am really looking forward to getting him the rest of the series and I deffantly recommend these books to anyone with a kiddo who love to have books read to them!

Giveaway:

I have a super special giveaway for all my readers! One lucky winner will receive a prize pack that includes: signed copies of both Big Fun! and Wet Friend! and a custom made Meno (blue) or Wishi (pink) blanket (winners choice!)


Mandatory Entry: Tell me in comments who you will be sharing these awesome stories with. Please remember to leave your e-mail address if it’s not visible in your profile.

Want or need extra entries? Check out how to grab em’ below! (Mandatory Entry must be complete for these to count)

1. Become a public follower of my blog (current follower count too)

2. Follow me on twitter @sgrant2005 and tweet this giveaway (can be done daily)

3. Subscribe to my feed via a reader

4. Blog about this giveaway with a link to Planetmeno.com and this post and be sure to leave me a link (5 extra)


Giveaway ends Feb. 13, 2010 @ midnight CST. Winner will be chosen at random, using random.org and contacted by e-mail and has 48 hrs to respond before a new winner is chosen.

This review is based strictly my opinion. Others may have a different opinion with the product listed above. I received the two books mentioned above complementary for this review.