In our quest to feature brilliant books from independent and self published folk, we've come across a rather interesting series of books. Nils Johan-Jorgensen has tapped into stories from the four corners of the earth for a series of 'Wind' tales examining folklore and stories from all over the world.

In "West of the West Wind" (part 3 of an eventual four-book series including North of the North Wind, East of the East Wind, West of the West Wind and the upcoming South of the South Wind) I worried that the subject matter might be a little dark for Charlotte, dealing as it does with one of the most harrowing eras in modern history, the outbreak of the Second World War.

Johan-Jorgensen's sensitive storytelling and expertise in dealing with such a dark subject comes to the fore in this tale of a young book-obsessed boy. Hearing horrific tales of books being removed from libraries, books being hoarded and then eventually burned and destroyed by Hitler's troops, the brave young lad embarks on a mission to rescue some of the illicit stories before they're lost forever.

With great courage and pluck, his mission is a success but the poor boy is soon caught, and faces persecution for being in possession of forbidden texts.

Michael Avery's atmospheric drawings accompany the fabulous "Winds" stories

"West of the West Wind" is presented in a simple chapter format that's suitable for children who are just delving into their first 'big and proper' chapter books. I read aloud to Charlotte, and soon we found ourselves completely gripped by the story. It reminded me a little of "The Tale of the Book Thief" though perhaps purposely avoids some of the grittier subject matter you'd expect from a story about WWII - though not at the cost of providing an amazing engrossing and atmospheric tale, illustrated throughout by Michael Avery.

West of the West Wind by Nils-Johan Jorgensen is published by Book Guild Publishing on 27th March 2014; Price: £8.99; Hardback PPC; 49 pages. An E-book is also available.

For more information on West of the West Wind, and Nils' other books take a look at the Book Guild Website.

Charlotte's best bit: Thrilling and exciting though it deals with fairly dark subject matter (but is a great story to inspire children to explore the second world war in more detail)

Daddy's Favourite bit: Superbly atmospheric, and nicely short enough to be devoured over the course of a few bedtimes before settling your little ones down to sleep.

(Kindly sent to us for review by Book Guild Ltd)

Comics and graphic novels for kids are once again rising up to defeat naysayers who still have a skewed view of their worth when it comes to engaging children with exciting stories. Comics are such a natural fit for children, visual storytelling is like nectar to kids who want to progress from picture books to something a little meatier.

We've previously featured Vince Kamp and "Robotslayer" on last week's indie-pen dance slot, to spotlight Vince's vision and creative processes and how he pushed the envelope for what self-published author illustrators usually do to engage readers with their work.

Creating a graphic novel (the first of many, we hope) called Robotslayer, Vince has put together an exciting and fast paced story that will excite and delight boys and girls in equal measure.

Life in Robotolis is idyllic at first...(all images © Vince Kamp)

We pick up the story as a genius professor called Professor Robotolis creates robots to assist and serve, and eventually to create a sprawling robot metropolis in his own name.

Working with his partner Dr Grububble, the professor's robots are amazing - stepping into jobs and roles that humans no longer want, and ensuring that people never want for anything, have acres of free time, and can enjoy life to the full.

Eventually Dr Grububble and Prof. Robotolis part company seemingly amicably. But during the annual "Robotfest" talent contest one year, Professor Robotolis' robots win again and again, while Dr Grububble's robots trail behind. This is the final straw for Dr Grububble. Accusing the Professor of cheating, things take a nasty turn and just as the police arrive to stop an assassination attempt, Dr Grububble is rescued by one of his own creations and goes into hiding.

A talent contest goes sour. Simon Cowell, be warned! (Images © Vince Kamp)

Soon afterwards, robot behaviour across the city becomes increasingly erratic. Robots start to malfunction, and soon turn to crime and vandalism. A virus seems responsible, but Professor Robotolis is powerless to prevent it spreading to every robot in the city bar one.

The Professor's young grandson Leo and his robot 'brother' Benny (the only robot unaffected by the virus) become the central characters in a fight to find out the source of the virus, and thwart the evil Dr Grububble's nefarious plans.

We won't give away too much of the plot, we really want you to read the story yourself - so you can find out what happens to the Professor, Benny and Leo.

We love that granny! (Images © Vince Kamp)

Vince's storytelling and artwork are fantastic, and putting the children (based on his own kids) front and centre in the plot is an extremely good move. Children can more readily identify with stories and heroes if they are fairly ordinary everyday kids themselves - and we've seen this again and again in the best loved children's stories that have consistently bagged awards and big sales.

Between the excitement and adventure, there are subtle shouts out to things we love. The value of teaching is described within the plot, versus the value of simply consuming information (or being programmed with it). We love the subtle thumbs up to groovy grandparents (Opa - Professor Robotolis is the sort of gadget-obsessed grandad we all wish we had!) and of course the relationship between Benny and Leo - looking out for each other and believing in each other when it comes to the crunch.

It's an inspirational graphic novel, beautifully produced and printed and available at a very reasonable price (£7.99 RRP) so if you're a parent who wants something brilliant as their child's first foray into comics, this is very much a fantastic place to start.

"Robotslayer" can be obtained from:

Amazon

Waterstones in Dorking, Surrey

Orbital Comics (London)

Gosh! Comics

Or the fab and groovy Nobrow Press Shop

Here's a trailer for the book too!



...and don't forget to drop by the Robotslayer Website


Charlotte's best bit: Loving all the different types of robot at the start of the book (the chef one was her fave)

Daddy's Favourite bit: A thumpingly good fast-paced and exciting graphic novel for kids. Brilliant, more please soon!

"Humans Will Prevail" in Vince Kamp's exciting and pacey graphic novel for children, "Robotslayer". All images © Vince Kamp

I've had conversations with parents that sort of go along these lines before...

Parent: "So, what, you let Charlotte read comics?"
Me: "Yep"
Parent: "But, like, aren't they really bad for kids? Stunt their learning?"
Me: "Nope"
Parent: "My parents never let me read comics. Comics are bubblegum for the eyes"
Me: <Exasperated sigh>

There's a whole missed opportunity and there's also still a huge misconception that comics are the worst possible way to help children develop reading and storytelling skills (as well as improving their drawing and painting skills no end too!) Thankfully there are a few people around who don't share this view and realise that comics are a fantastic 'fit' for the way children perceive and decode stories in a visual way as they first start to explore books.

Vince Kamp, creator of new graphic novel "Robotslayer" isn't just a dad, he's an author-illustrator who has pushed the envelope further than any other self-published author illustrator we've encountered since we first started looking at self published children's books. Vince's story is pretty similar to my own - rediscovering a lapsed love of sketching late on, as a means of developing stories our own kids can enjoy, but looking beyond that to how it would be possible to share them with other kids and parents too.

"I used to draw loads as a kid but then at around 14 I just stopped, I got into riding my bike and art was never considered a valid option in my house. I studied all the sciences and then ended up running the family business which designs and manufactures scientific instruments. I started drawing again when my eldest son Leo was around 3 and half. I started making up stories with him and that's how I started robotslayer."
Then my son Benny came along. We played robotslayers and jumped around the bedroom, you know that dad kinda stuff. Then I thought why don't I make this into a comic book. I used to love Asterix and TinTin when I was growing up so I thought how hard can it be. Hard. Very Hard (Very true, am definitely finding that too! - Ed)

Can you think of an awesome name for this big guy? Join Vince's competition to name him over at http://www.robotslayer.com/name-the-big-guy/ All images © Vince Kamp

During all of this I had decided that I wanted to build an app of the book. I got in touch with several
design companies and found a small team in london who totally loved robotslayer and we figured out a deal whereby we would split the profits, if there were any. The app is really great, a buddy of mine who composes for movies and adverts and tours with various big bands composed this fantastic cinematic score for each of the 56 pages. It really brings the whole thing to life. 

"Robotslayer" and the fantastic envelope it arrived in. All images © Vince Kamp

Vince working outside the Robot Lab. We're guessing "Pizza Chef Robot" All images © Vince Kamp