Leon Levels Up (Orca Currents)

Written by Paul Coccia

Orca Book Publishers

978-1-459837355

112 pp.

Ages 9-12

RL 2.3

February 2024

 

Twelve-year-old Leon Garcia considers himself a low-level kid gamer. He's not low-level because of his game playing but because of who he is. All he sees is that he's chubby, his mom cuts his hair, he wears his cousin's hand-me-downs, and he uses outdated tech. So, when his classmate Nico Saito, son of the founder of video-game developer Pix Grid, approaches him and invites him to game together on the weekend, Leon is surprised, pleased, and nervous. Leon figures this could be his chance to level up his life, or at least his coolness.

 

But a day of gaming is not just hanging out at Nico's house. Instead, Nico takes Leon to Pix Grid where they meet up with Gabs Lucas in the lab to play a next-level virtual-reality game which is so immersive the two boys suit up in full-body tracking outfits before being dropped into tanks filled with nanobots. Though Leon's thrilled with how strong and tall and skilled he is as an elf archer, Gabs tells him she's lost the connection with Nico who may have damaged his helmet when he plunged headfirst into the tank. And with the nanobots programmed to fill every available space, there's the danger of hurting Nico.  The only way to get them out safely is for Leon to complete the mission of saving the kidnapped Prince SpearMint from the dragon Lord Tachi. Oh, and before the timer runs out.

Leon Levels Up has all the excitement of a video game adventure in which Leon evades and fights a dragon, an old hag, and some ogres, while figuring out clues and strategy to rescue Prince SpearMint. As with many quests, the learning is in the doing, and Leon is plunged into this VR game with its life-or-death outcome with only his wits and character. He might have hoped that gaming with Nico would level up his game, but his cleverness and perseverance demonstrate he's already top drawer. 

Author Paul Coccia, whose other books include I Got You Babe, The Player, and On the Line with Eric Walters, often gives voice to young people who question who they are and whether they are good enough, and that's many tweens and teens. (It's also most adults.) Except for the narcissistic and the very confident, we compare ourselves to others and whether we pass muster. When faced with the good-looking and rich Nico Saito, Leon turns to look within and take stock. He ruminates about how he will be seen and judged, while judging himself. Only when he's in the "Dragon Hunt" game does he eventually set that aside, first appreciating his new persona and skills but ultimately recognizing that it was him, low-level Leon, who won the game. Paul Coccia takes us for a wild ride in Leon Levels Up, all at a lower reading level than typical for the middle grade reader, but never forgets to remind us that Leon never needed to advance to a higher level of self. For a twelve-year-old, he was already there.

The Three Spartans

Written by James McCann

Crwth Press

978-1-7753515-4-2

160 pp.

Ages 8-12

October 2019

"This is our war!" I yelled, pumping my fish in the air. "It's our turn to take back our freedom! No more are we the weak children alone in the water park, fearing the Immortals. Today, we are warriors. Today, we are Spartans!" (pg. 64)

The Spartans may have fought the Athenians and the Persians in ancient Greece but their legacy is valiantly upheld by Art and Lea as they come together in Birch Bay to challenge rich kid and bully Zeke for the freedom to enjoy the local water park and private beach.

Summers for Art and his parents have meant visiting the family cabin at Birch Bay and, for Art, enjoying the friendship of local and year-rounder Lea. The kids have their routines of exchanging books at the bookshop, eating at the Fish Shack and playing video games. This summer, they're playing Zero A.D., a game which Art's dad helped develop about ancient Greece. The two kids, lovers of ancient history, are all into the game and Lea even shares with other kids how to get onto the game's server. After Art is humiliated at the local water park when a video of him throwing up at another water slide is revealed and Zeke makes sure to share it with everyone, Art finds solace in playing Zero A.D. That is until Zeke too gets onto the game, building an army of Persians, and threatening Art and Lea's dominance. 

When they challenge Zeke to a game of environmentally-friendly paintball with the local tree house as the target for Art and Lea to defend against Zeke, the kids hope to win back access to the water park and a private beach without Zeke impeding who is allowed in. Wearing colourful helmets adorned with crests of feathers, just like the Spartans, Art and Lea are joined by another local, George, and other kids tired of being bullied by Zeke. Unfortunately Zeke has likewise added to his army mostly with kids who want to stay on his good side. With so many players, many of whom are unknown to Art and Lea, it's hard to tell who to trust and how to stay safe.

The Three Spartans is about taking on a challenge to defeat an enemy but, by basing the story on the ancient history of the Spartans and blending it with a video game and paintball, BC author James McCann has translated it into a contemporary conflict with which middle-graders will be familiar. They know bullies and being embarrassed and being afraid of colossal water slides and gossip and viral videos and gaming. They get jealous when friends spend time with other friends and when some kids think they can do whatever they want. They know how to do things under the radar of their parents but also know when to enlist the help of an adult. And they know about making mistakes. Told in their voices, The Three Spartans will speak to them about being kids and managing bullies and life's challenges, sometimes with a trashcan lid as a shield and a feathered paintball helmet.

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A book trailer for The Three Spartans was posted by publisher Crwth Press at https://youtu.be/6UcyTzuMGfY

Uploaded by Crwth Press to YouTube on October 17, 2019.

AlphaBit: An ABC Quest in 8-bit

Written by Chronicle Books

Illustrated by Juan Carlos Solon

Chronicle Books

978-1-4521-7030-5

36 pp.

Ages 2-5

August 2019

Most concept books like those that teach the alphabet struggle to find a unique theme on which to hang that instruction.  But AlphaBit is like no other alphabet book, embedding the teaching of the letters and words that start with those letters in some classic video/arcade game scenarios. It's a trip down memory lane for many and, for young children, it will a new and fresh design motif that links with technology without the complications.

From AlphaBit, illus. by Juan Carlos Solon

For each of the twenty-letters, displayed in large yellow font, common words like apple, banana and castle are posted in a text box. Chronicle Books may have created the lists of words for each letter, but it is Toronto's Juan Carlos Solon, video and gaming artist as well as illustrator, who gives the context for the words. The illustrations, reminiscent of old video games, display indoor and outdoor settings to showcase the words and more. Up to six words may be listed but many more words are illustrated for children to discover. For example, for the letter B, the words bird, bed, banana, buttons and barrels are posted but in the illustration, children will also find books, bowl, bookcase, bell, and bear.

From AlphaBit, illus. by Juan Carlos Solon

The pixel art, so much like the old 8-bit devices, is currently very trendy. You can find online pixel art generators and apps that help anyone create pixelated art. But Juan Carlos Solon goes beyond just illustrating "things" and designs complex scenes in which those alphabet objects are inserted, all based on a quest. From the first double-spread for letters A and B which depicts where the protagonist lives, to stepping outside and discovering a treasure map, our hero embarks on a quest to locate a diamond. There are obstacles from robot enemies and rope walkways over swamps, to ghosts and invaders. And as our hero advances, reaching the diamond, the story finishes off with an X-cellent! Yay! Zoiks! Or does it? Is the quest ever really over?

From AlphaBit, illus. by Juan Carlos Solon

Since everything old–or should I say retro?–is new again, young kids will love sitting down with AlphaBit as much as the adults who will be reminded of Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Space Invaders from forty plus years ago. I don't know if young children will be familiar with these classic video games but if the Press Start font and Juan Carlos Solon's graphics don't get them curious about them, then hopefully they'll at least enjoy a quest of alphabet discovery.