The Secret Coders or How I Learned to Love a Teeny Eni Robot Turtle
Download MP3It’s only our second graphic novel, and boy was it graphic! And novel. And second! It’s The Secret Coders written by Gene Luen Yang and illustrated by Mike Holmes, the first in a six-book educational graphic novel collection.
Mike and David bring on the cowbell for the first time. And the last?
It's educational. (Just a little. Just a bit of coding. It’s basic. Not Basic.) It’s a mystery! The Mystery of the Black Squirrel? Nope. The Murder Grounds of the Dead Horse? Neigh. But there is mystery. And intrigue. And subterfuge. If anyone knows what that last one means, please email us.
And the story? A mother drops her daughter off at a creepy, haunted-looking boarding school. It’s her first day. At a new school. It won’t be her last... Well actually, we don’t know that for sure as the entire book takes place in one day. And there are six books. Hmmm. 6 days? Consecutive days?
Mike and David are huge fans of Gene Luen Yang's protagonist Hopper, a relatable, feisty yet vulnerable girl and her new friend Eni. (Oh, don't forget the little turtle robot dude). They stumble upon a mystery, seek to solve it, make some discoveries, which only creates more questions. Only five more books to figure it all out.
Graphic novel awesomeness, from Mike Holmes. The illustrations are classic with different points of view and perspectives, shadows, light, foreboding, four bearings, intriguingly coded chapter headings, meaningful captions like, “This is when we started changing into what we would actually become.” Whoa...
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Mike and David, shockingly, take a detour down memory lane to their first data memories. David talks about programming in Basic on a TRS 80 and storing the data on a cassette. Mike is all, “Hold my beer.” His dad brought home a stack of WHAT? Wait for it... Punch cards! What's that about hanging chads?...
And the Dan jokes? There’s a plenty. And about computers. But you'll have to be patient. They take a while to process.
If you liked this episode, check out these:
Our first (and other) graphic novel: El Deafo by Cece Bell
R. L. Stine’s Monster Slime, another good mystery and available as a graphic novel
Our author interview with Dan Gutman
Amelia and the Babysitter because we mentioned it. And it’s a fun take on babysitting. Again with the whatever.
Future Episodes: More graphic novels!!
And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsor us while you're there).
Books in Stock in Wooster, OH
Mike and David bring on the cowbell for the first time. And the last?
It's educational. (Just a little. Just a bit of coding. It’s basic. Not Basic.) It’s a mystery! The Mystery of the Black Squirrel? Nope. The Murder Grounds of the Dead Horse? Neigh. But there is mystery. And intrigue. And subterfuge. If anyone knows what that last one means, please email us.
And the story? A mother drops her daughter off at a creepy, haunted-looking boarding school. It’s her first day. At a new school. It won’t be her last... Well actually, we don’t know that for sure as the entire book takes place in one day. And there are six books. Hmmm. 6 days? Consecutive days?
Mike and David are huge fans of Gene Luen Yang's protagonist Hopper, a relatable, feisty yet vulnerable girl and her new friend Eni. (Oh, don't forget the little turtle robot dude). They stumble upon a mystery, seek to solve it, make some discoveries, which only creates more questions. Only five more books to figure it all out.
Graphic novel awesomeness, from Mike Holmes. The illustrations are classic with different points of view and perspectives, shadows, light, foreboding, four bearings, intriguingly coded chapter headings, meaningful captions like, “This is when we started changing into what we would actually become.” Whoa...
BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! Mike and David, shockingly, take a detour down memory lane to their first data memories. David talks about programming in Basic on a TRS 80 and storing the data on a cassette. Mike is all, “Hold my beer.” His dad brought home a stack of WHAT? Wait for it... Punch cards! What's that about hanging chads?...
And the Dan jokes? There’s a plenty. And about computers. But you'll have to be patient. They take a while to process.
If you liked this episode, check out these:
Our first (and other) graphic novel: El Deafo by Cece Bell
R. L. Stine’s Monster Slime, another good mystery and available as a graphic novel
Our author interview with Dan Gutman
Amelia and the Babysitter because we mentioned it. And it’s a fun take on babysitting. Again with the whatever.
Future Episodes: More graphic novels!!
And now a word from our sponsors. (Well, not really sponsors (yet), just places we love to get books from and hope that you'll go to if you need one (and get them to sponsor us while you're there).
Books in Stock in Wooster, OH
A House with Books in Keller, TX
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!
Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com
River Forest Public Library, River Forest, IL
Grapevine Public Library, Grapevine, TX
Keller Public Library, Keller, TX
Questions? Comments? Concerns? Have a great library or independent book store you love? Let us know!
Email us at dadsonbooks@gmail.com
Creators and Guests
Host
David Patrick
Read books to his kids. Rereads them and talks to Mike about them. And has a lot of other interesting things about him, but Mike wasn't sure what he wanted said about him. Peace out. Stay in scene.
Host
Mike Walker
Mike reads his kid's books. And now he talks about them with David on "Dads on Books." He also produces the HigherEdJobs Podcast, loves Tiki art, and does lighting for corporate events to pay the bills.
