Review by Booklist Review
Bea and Parker want to cosplay at a comics convention. They have imagination and a bit of experience helping to make costumes for the school play; what they don't have is a budget. Together, the friends build costumes for six different pop culture genres, from magical girls and guys to aliens and monsters, by using clothes and materials they already have at home plus a few purchased craft supplies. The reader follows along with the help of the Costume Critter (Bea's pet hamster), who acts as a guide, explaining step-by-step how to create at home what Bea and Parker are creating on the page. Written with budget crafters in mind, the projects become more elaborate, each one building on skills acquired while making the previous costume. It can take careful reading to spot some important steps (like lining a shirt with newspaper before painting it). So, just as for Bea and Parker, it will be helpful for budding cosplayers to have a little bit of crafting experience before diving into their first costume. Ending with tips on posing, con etiquette, and consent, this is a solid primer for kids who want to take their fandom to the next level.--Eva Volin Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Comic book fans Bea and Parker decide to attend their first comic con in cosplay, dressing as their favorite comic book characters.The Costume Critter, a hamster that lives in Bea's bedroom, introduces this graphic novel as an instructional manual for creating self-made costumes. Within the story, each chapter offers illustrations, starting with all of the tools needed to sew, along with sewing safety tips. Following this introduction, there's a primer on patternmaking, then on how to use a sewing machine. In each chapter, Bea and Parker come up with various theme ideas for costumes, including witches and wizards, superheroes, and space travelers and astronauts. This guide extends from gathering materials for a costume to step-by-step sewing instructions, seeing the cosplay outfit from conception to fully made garment. A nice touch is the addition of body empowerment that recognizes that cosplayers don't need to look exactly like comic-book characters in order to enjoy the experience. Myer also offers comic con attendance tips as well as smart rules of cosplay to help young people stay safe while enjoying the event. The level of detail empowers a young cosplayer to create a costume, though there is the suggestion that an adult may be needed to assist at times. Bea is fat and has beige skin, and Parker presents black.This user-friendly DIY cosplay guide is just the ticket for creating a fantastic cosplay persona. (Informational graphic novel. 9-13) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
