Thursday, March 5, 2015

When Viral Internet Memes Turn Into Books

I had a Barnes and Noble date with my husband this past Sunday morning, after my yoga class. These dates usually involve trying to get the comfy chairs in the cafe. He browses the mystery section and I browse the Children's and YA sections. We then grab coffee and snacks and browse through our selections to make a pile that we'll purchase. I love these dates.

I am way behind in my picture book reading and found plenty to dig into. Two of the books, coincidentally also happened to be viral internet memes before being turned into picture books. Here's a mini review of both of them. 

These aren't the first viral memes to be brought to print. Grumpy Cat hit the shelves in July of 2013. There might be more. Let me know in the comments. Oh! Wait, there IS more, Dog Shaming from the fall of 2013 and a series of web comics was made into a book called, My Dog. The Paradox from May of 2014.



Marcel the Shell with Shoes on: things about me by Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp. (Marcel the Shell series #1) 42 p. Penguin Young Readers Group, November, 2011. 9781595144553.

I don't know why this one happened to be featured in the display. I assumed it was new but now I see it has been around since 2011. I really enjoyed the stop-motion film on YouTube of this cute little guy so I sort of "read" the book with his voice. I did find the font, while beautiful a bit difficult to read and know that many younger readers would struggle to read it. The humor translated fairly well from the film. The illustrations were watery and lovely. 



Nap Time with Theo & Beau by Jessica Shyba. 40 p. Feiwel & Friends, February, 2015.  9781250059062.

I can't think of anything more beautiful than a sleeping baby. Or a sleeping puppy. Put the two of them together and my heart just melts.  I saw a link to a Huff Post article about the author's blog and the photos a while ago. The tow-headed toddler is ridiculously adorable and has the most amazing eyelashes I have ever seen. These supposedly candid photographs feature the best friends napping in a variety of positions. They look professionally photographed. I want Beau's stylist. His clothes are very cool. Sweet commentary accompany each photo. Best yet, Theo was adopted and a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book will support shelters.

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