Friday 17 March 2017

ReadItDaddy's Book(s) of the Week - Week Ending 17th March 2017 - A Smorgasbord of LEGO BATMAN! (Scholastic)

The Lego Batman Movie looks like it's an essential cinema date for Charlotte and Me. So we had to make a trio of fabulous Scholastic titles based on the movie our books of the week!
Let's get a couple of things straight from the offset. Batman is cool. Forget Superman with his silly costume and solid kiss curl. Forget Spiderman, the bug-eating web-slinging weirdo. As for Flashing Underpants Man, who even REMEMBERS that dude!

Nope, it's all about Batman - Lego Batman to be precise, and three fabulous titles based on the new Lego Batman Movie.

We loved the Lego Movie, mostly because of the 'on the spot' throwaway gags in it, but also because Lego Batman's first big-screen appearance was a bit of a scene steal. This egotistical ditzy and totally hilarious characterisation of one of DC's most renowned superheroes just caught our imagination and attention.

Do you want to be as cool as Lego Batman? Well the first book could help you out there. In "Batman's Guide to Being Cool" by Howie Dewin you'll learn all the tricks of the superhero trade from the man in bat-black himself.

Taking its humour riffs directly from the movie, it's a complete hoot! Usually movie books are a bit poo and feel like a bit of a cash in but this is utterly fantastic and had us both giggling. Though what's with the yellow colour? Does no one know that Batman deals exclusively in black?

"Batman's Guide to Being Cool" by Howie Dewin is out now, published by Scholastic. 

Next up it's over to the Batman's arch nemesis (and my personal favourite character in the Bat-Universe...

"The Joker's Big Break" by Michael Petranek is a fantastic insight into the insane clown genius' master plan to scupper Bat-freak once and for all.

The best thing about this book is that it's narrated by The Joker himself, giving me the chance to wheel out my own slightly rubbish version of Mark Hammil's fantastic characterisation of The Joker (Hammil has loaned his vocal talents to the animated Batman series as well as several fabulous videogames - he just nails it every time).

Charlotte actually thought my voice was pretty good and it helped to bring the story to life as The Joker embarks on its most twisted scheme yet - to put ol' chisel-chin behind bars once and for all!

Will he pull off this escapade with style and aplomb or end up banged up in Arkham Asylum once again? You'll have to read the book to find out.

"The Joker's Big Break" by Michael Petranek is out now, published by Scholastic. 

Last but by no means least is the "Lego Batman Movie Junior Novel" by Jeanette Lane. This is the

official book of the movie, and it's a rip-roaring hilarious adventure for the dynamic duo as Lego Batman and Lego Robin (with a lot of help from Lego Batgirl) face an army of the weirdest foes ever to inhabit Gotham City. Of course the Joker is there, along with Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Clayface, Two-Face, Catwoman, The Penguin, The Riddler and The Scarecrow. Oh and Bane, who could forget BANE!

It's going to be the toughest challenge yet for Lego Batman, but he's so supremely confident in his own abilities that all he needs to do is slap on his "Insane Megamix" and duff the baddies up. Foolproof plan - or is it?

So many brilliant bits of the movie perfectly captured here, this is THE book to grab if you can't wait for the film to arrive on Blu Ray.

"The Lego Batman Movie Junior Novel" by Jeanette Lane is out now, published by Scholastic. 

This is just a small sample of the Bat-Titles Scholastic are producing around the film so go and take a look at their website for many, many more!