Weblog Love on Wednesdays

This week's post is dedicated to the forth-coming children's/middle grade choose-your-own-adventure-style graphic novel, Meanwhile by Jason Shiga. If this book isn't on your radar, then prepare to be shocked and awed...

First off, Chad Becker (Book Designer/Art Director for Abrams... the book's publisher) does a fantastic photographic montage of the storyboarding that went into creating this soon-to-be (in my opinion) iconic cover. Check out that post because, in addition to getting a glimpse into how book covers are developed, you'll get a real feel for the awesomeness of what this book is about.

100 Scope Notes' review sums up the essence of the book thusly:
"One element that is the same for every reader is the first page, where our dark-haired protagonist Jimmy has a decision to make: chocolate or vanilla ice cream. After that choice is made, the story splinters into (literally) thousands of different directions. Jimmy meets scientist Professor K, inventor of devices that have the ability to read minds, travel through time, and possibly kill every living thing on the planet. Testing these inventions leads to trouble, and Jimmy is forced into life or death situations that leave him (and the reader) trying to figure a way out."

Those are the blog-specific posts that I picked up in my Reader this week, but a quick Google search also brought about these links that are worth checking out:
Shiga's Website (Most of Meanwhile is available for online reading... although you'll want the book too.)
Laughing Squid (Shiga was interviewed at the Alternative Press Expo 2009 and the video is available here... complete with a Shiga demo of how the book works.)
Comic Book Resources (Shiga was interviewed and gave a "hint" for how to have a happy ending for the book... even if it takes two years to get there.)
TIME (Shiga was interviewed back in 2002 and this interview puts Meanwhile into the bigger context of Shiga's work... and it's a great context to be in.)
Riddleberger (Shiga was interviewed [in two parts] by Tom Angleberger [author of forthcoming Origami Yoda... another MG Abrams book] and this second part on his blog contains Shiga's recounting of what self-publishing Meanwhile was like in the early years... think photocopies and hand cuts.)

I'm not sure if I've made my point, so let me say it again: Get this book when it comes out on March 1.