I guess Viz has faith in their chapter books line. In the Naruto line, they already have 4 books out with more scheduled for release. And honestly, as reading material for young ages 5-8, the books haven’t been bad. They have stayed true to the manga, adding embellishments that are appropriate for young ages and uses panels from the manga for illustrations. I know this probably irks older readers who don’t like to see their favorite stories “dumbed down”, but with Naruto, and now this new series I’ve found, I don’t think it’s bad, especially as a parent. As I was searching Amazon for links for my previous post, I found this listing. Dragon Ball (the first, actually good, half of the series) is getting made into Chapter books. It’s not scheduled until August 2009, and there were at least 3 more set to follow this one. Those didn’t have any cover pictures though. While Dragon Ball Z got all the hype, Dragon Ball, the part of the series that made it popular in the first place hasn’t gotten nearly the attention it deserves. The manga started here in the US when Viz was publishing floppy comics, before the graphic…
With the start of the 2008 Book Expo America, Viz has announced a new addition to their Vizkids line, a sadly neglected line if you ask me. But today, they announced chapter books about who? Why, everyone’s favorite ninja, Naruto! They’re older brother are reading the manga, they’re watching the anime, with their Leaf Village Headbands. Those young ‘uns should be able to read about him too! And now they can. And I know this will sell. Taking my own kids to the bookstore always had them drifting toward the books with TV and movie character they knew. This will be no different. Press Release after the break