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Works From Others

Free and legal! stuff is marked with a -$. None of these are listed in any particular order.

Contents

Novels
Short Stories
Poems
Graphic Novels / Comic Books
Movies
Shows / Cartoons
Video Games


Novels

I usually read non-fiction, but there are a handful of fiction stories that I have enjoyed very much, a couple of them written by friends...

Robert Campbell - Escape From Purgatory [$6.00]

Bradley Smith - Remnants of Light [$2.99]

Marie Corelli - A Romance of Two Worlds -$
There is also a free audiobook of this one.


Short Stories -$

Daniel Keyes - Flowers for Algernon (Original Version)

Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Collection


Poems -$

Kate Gleeson - Wonderful You

Nick Bantock - Averse To Beasts (23 Reasonless Rhymes)

Christina Rossetti - The Skylark
Christina Rossetti - A Birthday

Emily Dickinson - The Brain Is Wider Than The Sky

Ralph Waldo Emerson - The Rhodora

John Godfrey Saxe - The Blind Man And The Elephant

William Blake - The Tyger
William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

Thomas Traherne - Innocence
You might also enjoy his Centuries of Meditations.


Graphic Novels / Comic Books

Comics are an interesting medium. They are like the story of a novel fused to the cinematography of a film, or the synthesis of a screenplay and storyboard. Art and writing can be combined in a way that is complementary, conveying more than either can alone. If you decide to read any of these, be warned that some of them have sexuality and/or violence...

• Kamome Shirahama - Witch Hat Atelier [or in Japanese, とんがり帽子のアトリエ]

• David Mack - Kabuki: The Alchemy

• Terry Moore - Strangers In Paradise

• Usamaru Furuya - Genkaku Picasso [lit. "Hallucinatory Picasso", or in Japanese, 幻覚ピカソ]

• Tsugumi Ohba & Takeshi Obata - Death Note [or in Japanese, デスノート]


Movies (w/ Ratings)

I stopped going to the cinema long ago, but there are still quite a few movies that I think are wonderful in some way. The MPAA ratings of these movies are given in parentheses and link to their respective Kids-In-Mind pages whenever possible. Regular film ratings are not always all that helpful. If you are looking for other websites that help screen movies for content, there is Common Sense Media, Dove, and Does The Dog Die?. [Many thanks to JustFluffingAround for this last link!] IMDb pages of movies usually have a "Parent's Guide" too. For example, here is one for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Please keep in mind that some of these websites may contain spoilers or opinions on the movies...

• The Swan Princess (G)

• Chicken Run (G)

• Freaky Friday (G)
The one from 1976, not the newer one

• Mr. Bean's Holiday (G)

• The Red Balloon [or in French, Le ballon rouge] (NR, probably G?)

• Jack and the Beanstalk (NR, maybe PG?)
The Abbott and Costello film

• Somewhere In Time (PG)

• The Day of the Dolphin (PG)

• Ernest Scared Stupid (PG)

• Atlantis: The Lost Empire (PG)

• Castle in the Sky [or in Japanese, 天空の城ラピュタ] (PG)

• To Sir, With Love (NR?, probably PG)

• Children of Heaven [or in Persian, بچه‌های آسمان‎] (PG)

• Matilda (PG)

• Undercover Kitty [or in Dutch, Minoes] (NR, but again, probably PG)

• Nacho Libre (PG)

• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (PG)

• To Kill A Mockingbird (NR)

• Ping Pong [or in Japanese, ピンポン] (NR)

• Are We In Love? [or in Korean, 사랑하고 있습니까?] (NR)

• Hackers (PG-13)

• Stargate (PG-13)

• The Fifth Element (PG-13)

• School of Rock (PG-13)

• Finding Forrester (PG-13)

Sherlock Holmes & Dr. Watson [or in Russian, Шерлок Холмс и доктор Ватсон] (PG-13?) -$

• What Dreams May Come (PG-13)

• Arrival (PG-13)

• Good Will Hunting (R)

• Waking Life (R)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (R)

• The Matrix (R)

• Run Lola Run (R)

• Returner [or in Japanese, リターナー] (R)

• The Green Mile (R)


Shows / Cartoons

Like the movies, I stopped watching television long ago, but here are some favorites...

• Star Trek: The Next Generation

• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood

• Proposal Daisakusen [lit. "Grand Proposal Strategy", or in Japanese, プロポーズ大作戦]

• Happy & Love Forever [or in Mandarin, 幸福一定强, lit. "Happiness Is Strong"]

Love Designer [or in Mandarin, 幸福,触手可及!, lit. "Happiness Is Within Reach"] -$

Balala the Fairies: Finding Melody [or in Mandarin, 巴啦啦小魔仙之梦幻旋] -$

Balala the Fairies: Ocean Magic [or in Mandarin, 巴啦啦小魔仙之魔法海萤堡] -$

• Pretty Cure: Splash Star [or in Japanese, ふたりはプリキュア Splash Star]

• Pretty Cure: Delicious Party [or in Japanese, デリシャスパーティ♡プリキュア]

Shining Star [or in Korean, 샤이닝스타] -$

• AK Magical Maidens [or in Mandarin, 艾可魔法少女]

• The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
The television series that first aired on the BBC

• The Lost Room

• Touch
Only the first season; it is criminal how it got destroyed

• Noragami [lit. "Stray God", or in Japanese, ノラガミ]

• Bakuman [or in Japanese, バクマン。]

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [or in Japanese, 鋼の錬金術師]
Not to be confused with the first series that is just called "Fullmetal Alchemist"

• Wishbone

• Gullah Gullah Island

• Sliders
Only the first two seasons

• VR.5

• The Pretender
The ending, or lack thereof, was disappointing. The episdoes are also quite formulaic after awhile.

• That Love Comes [also known as "Welcome Love", or in Mandarin, 欢迎爱光临]

• No Game, No Life [or in Japanese, ノーゲーム・ノーライフ]
I could do without all of the sexual jokes, but the general idea is amazing!

• Tonikawa: Over the Moon for You [or to go with the Japanese title, トニカクカワイイ]

• Hey Arnold!

• Angry Beavers

• Wolfblood

• Beakman's World

Bill Nye The Science Guy

Sherlock Holmes -$
The one from 1954, not the newer BBC one


Video Games (w/ Ratings)

Like comics and cartoons, video games are often treated as if they are "immature" mediums (in contradistinction to the "maturity" of novels and movies). However, all of them have a huge potential for storytelling in my opinion. Although I don't really play that much now, my childhood was filled with video games. ESRB ratings are given in parentheses whenever possible. All games are organized by console...

Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) / Nintendo Family Computer (Famicom)

Many people already enjoy the more popular games like Metroid, Super Mario Bros. 3, and The Legend of Zelda, so I will try to pick a few that are probably less well-known...

• The Adventures of Lolo 1, 2, and 3 (E)
I love this series of puzzle games, and the main characters are adorable. I also highly recommend Lab Cat for the Pico-8. It has similar gameplay.

• Blaster Master (E)
The storyline is a little silly, but the vehicle upgrade mechanic and the different styles of gameplay are interesting.

• StarTropics (E)
Such an intriguing plot

• Alfred Chicken
A fun little platformer with a cute mascot

• Solomon's Key
An entertaining puzzle-platformer

• Little Samson
A platformer where you can switch between characters with different abilities

Watara Supervision

This console is similar to the Nintendo Gameboy, but many of the games are a bit generic and the build quality is a lot cheaper (e.g.: the cartridges have exposed pins, the speakers sound tinny, and the screen has a lot of ghosting). However, it holds a special place in my heart. I got one at a local discount store when I was a small child. Surprisingly, it was one of the first handhelds that could connect to the TV (long before the Super Gameboy). And depending upon which version you got, the screen itself could tilt upward so that you could have a better view.

Eagle Plan
A fight-sim that has some cool music for a handheld game

Hero Hawk
A top-down action adventure game where you try to activate bombs within an enemy base without getting shot by guards

Matta Blatta
A very simple shmup, but amusing for at least a few minutes

Sega Master System

• Shanghai
A mahjong game with some pleasant music

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
This one holds a special place in my heart. My sister and I would play it all of the time as children.

Nintendo 64

Zelda: Ocarina of Time (E)
Hands down my favorite of the series, but I haven't played anything past Windwaker on Gamecube

• Glover (E)

PC

• Spy Fox in "Dry Cereal"
While this game is for young children, the writing is hilarious.

• Moon Buggy
The soundtrack to this is bumpin'...no really, check it out!

• Uplink: Hacker Elite (E)
A "hacking" simulation game that makes me feel like watching the movie Hackers

• Croc: Legend of the Gobbos (E)
Smooth controlling platformer with some great music

Animaniacs Game Pack! (E)
Blechinator Too is my jam.

• Owlboy (E10+)

• Phoenotopia (E10+)
The original one -$...I haven't played the newer one yet

• Celeste (E10+)

[In Progress...]