In my head Saturday: YES! I finally did it! I can finally participate in the Manga Movable Feast! Good Comics for Kids (at School Library Journal, many kudos to Robing Brenner on this one) this time is the host it and it doesn't start until August 30, and I have read the title and...oh drat, I've posted the review all ready...
PS: I haven't read any of the other discussions this week, so be prepared for an addendum.
Little Librarian:
I am surprised to think about Yotsuba&! as a kid's title. Honestly, I would not suggest to put it in my children's collection at the library I work at and I almost always find it in the teen and adult collections at libraries. Why? I'm not exactly sure. Considering the creator behind the work (he wrote Azumanga Diaoh), I'd suspect that somewhere along the way, the creator would sneak something "questionable" in, but I haven't read past volume 1.
When I think of Yotsuba&! I don't think of kids reading the title, I think of adults reading the title. I learned about Yotsuba&! in college, from my college friends. Those in the web comic community know that a particular artist really loves reading Yotsuba&! so I link all of those things up to a teen and adult readership. In fact, if this is to be billed as a children's story, then why does it say in this post that Yotsuba&! is "seralized in Dengeki Daioh (Japanese website here), a magazine aimed at adult men[.]" I'm sorry, but that does not help the cause that this should/could be a kids' title. I honestly did not know that "While Yotsuba! is not officially a children’s series, as noted above, it has been embraced by young readers here in the United States as well as older readers." (Same post as above). I'm not one to go recommending this title to children. That's despite, if I remember rightly, the All Ages stamp on the back of the book by ADV.
Now don't get me wrong. I loved Yotsuba&! and think it is fantastically funny, adorable comic. I enjoyed her sense of wonder and her abandonment of her safety in the name of exploration, but some of the situations make me feel it is better suited for a teen and adult audience (although, that's not to say kids won't discover it).
This is a place I'm willing to hear your thoughts. Why kids? Do you picture it or is it located in your library's children collection? If it is not, why do you think that? Why are kids picking this up (I'm pretty sure I know why...) Please discuss. I'm willing to be convinced.
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