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Mal and Chad #2
Mal and Chad: Food Fight!
Mal is a kid genius with a talking dog . . . so why doesn't anyone seem to notice him? When Chad begins having scary dreams, Mal builds a dream portal to defeat Chad's nightmare beast once and for all. Something goes wrong, though, and the beast follows Mal back to reality.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 19, 2012
29 people are currently reading
305 people want to read
About the author
Stephen McCranie
45 books345 followersStephen McCranie has been drawing comics since before he could read or write. He graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Fine Arts and currently lives and works out of a small apartment in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
April 28, 2017
Mal on lapsinero, joka keksii kaikenlaisia juttuja, kuten esimerkiksi näkymättömyyssprayn. Malin paras ystävä on puhuva koira nimeltä Chad. Mal pitää taitonsa salassa, sillä hän ei halua elää mitään neron erikoiselämää.
Mal on ihastunut tyttöön nimeltä Megan, mutta Megan ei edes huomaa Malia. Megan innoittaa Malia keksimään hienon kerhon, johon Megan pääsisi jäseneksi. Valitettavasti Megan kavereineen ei ole kiinnostunut kerhosta. Lievän suostuttelun jälkeen Mal saa kerhonsa jäseneksi kaksi koulukaveriaan, mutta jäsenten ranking-järjestys ei menekään aivan Malin suunnitelmien mukaan, kuten ei kerhomajan valinta tai moni muukaan kerhojuttu.
Toinen tarinalinja koskee Chadin näkemiä painajaisia. Chadin unia kiusaa eräs kissa, jota Chad pelkää. Mal päättää auttaa koiraansa ja kehittää laitteen, joka lukee aivoaaltoja ja jonka avulla Mal pääsee mukaan Chadin uneen. Aluksi unessa on hauskaa ja ystävykset pääsevät maistamaan unimaan herkkuja, mutta sitten "kissa" ilmestyykin paikalle ja se osoittautuukin leijonaksi!! Ja tämä leijona onkin oikea verenhimoinen peto, kääk!
Mal ja Chad on viehättävää lastensarjakuvaa, joka on piirretty erinomaisen hyvin ja jossa tarinaa on kehitelty niin hyvin, että mielenkiinto säilyy kyllä koko ajan tätä lukiessa. Tarinan leijona on todella pelottava, mutta onneksi lopulta siitäkin selvitään neuvokkuudella. Suosittelen lämpimästi.
Mal on ihastunut tyttöön nimeltä Megan, mutta Megan ei edes huomaa Malia. Megan innoittaa Malia keksimään hienon kerhon, johon Megan pääsisi jäseneksi. Valitettavasti Megan kavereineen ei ole kiinnostunut kerhosta. Lievän suostuttelun jälkeen Mal saa kerhonsa jäseneksi kaksi koulukaveriaan, mutta jäsenten ranking-järjestys ei menekään aivan Malin suunnitelmien mukaan, kuten ei kerhomajan valinta tai moni muukaan kerhojuttu.
Toinen tarinalinja koskee Chadin näkemiä painajaisia. Chadin unia kiusaa eräs kissa, jota Chad pelkää. Mal päättää auttaa koiraansa ja kehittää laitteen, joka lukee aivoaaltoja ja jonka avulla Mal pääsee mukaan Chadin uneen. Aluksi unessa on hauskaa ja ystävykset pääsevät maistamaan unimaan herkkuja, mutta sitten "kissa" ilmestyykin paikalle ja se osoittautuukin leijonaksi!! Ja tämä leijona onkin oikea verenhimoinen peto, kääk!
Mal ja Chad on viehättävää lastensarjakuvaa, joka on piirretty erinomaisen hyvin ja jossa tarinaa on kehitelty niin hyvin, että mielenkiinto säilyy kyllä koko ajan tätä lukiessa. Tarinan leijona on todella pelottava, mutta onneksi lopulta siitäkin selvitään neuvokkuudella. Suosittelen lämpimästi.
January 19, 2012
So what are “Mal and Chad” books like? Well imagine "Dexter's Laboratory," "Jimmy Neutron," and a dash of "Calvin & Hobbes" and you've got a pretty good idea. And please don't take that as me saying that Stephen has co-opted these other guys for his own, no no...Mal and Chad is unique in it's own way. This is the second printed adventure for “Mal and Chad” (they started off life as a webcomic which can still be found online) and this adventure is even bigger than the last one. Yes, even bigger than dinosaurs!
Mal is a certifiable genius. He doesn’t like to brag about it, but he’s invented invisible spray, a time machine, a dream machine, and most importantly gave his best friend, Chad, the ability to talk (Chad is a dog by the way.) But he tries to be a normal kid. But Mal is feeling a bit left out as Megan and her girlfriends have started a no boys allowed club and the club he started kicked him out. What’s a guy to do? Fortunately Chad has a problem that needs to be solved. He’s having really, really scary dreams and only Mal can help him face his fears. So using his dream portal Mal enters Chad’s dreams, but something goes wrong and the dream creature follows them back to the real world and now Megan and her friends are in danger. Can Mal save everyone and stop the monster? Or will things go from bad to worse?
This is a fantastic read, regardless of age. Even though Mal is a supergenius, he's one that we can all relate to. Who can’t relate to someone wanting to help their best friend out? Even though Mal is a super genius and invents things like a dream portal, all he wants to do is help his friends. It’s his first thought with Chad and it’s his first thought when the dream monster escapes. The sense of humor, such as everyone calling Mal’s lab coat a robe, is something that everyone will get a laugh or two out of. The artwork is imaginative and the images will be enjoyed by everyone, especially the depiction of Mal’s mom after she uses invsispray on her head. This is the type of book that I’d hand to any young kid struggling to fit in.
Stephen's tapped into memories and dreams of childhood and put them on the page for everyone to explore together in the form of best friends, Mal and Chad. His writing is simple and easy to read and his drawing style evocatively catches the everyday world and gives new life to it. I highly recommend this book to children young and old and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Mal is a certifiable genius. He doesn’t like to brag about it, but he’s invented invisible spray, a time machine, a dream machine, and most importantly gave his best friend, Chad, the ability to talk (Chad is a dog by the way.) But he tries to be a normal kid. But Mal is feeling a bit left out as Megan and her girlfriends have started a no boys allowed club and the club he started kicked him out. What’s a guy to do? Fortunately Chad has a problem that needs to be solved. He’s having really, really scary dreams and only Mal can help him face his fears. So using his dream portal Mal enters Chad’s dreams, but something goes wrong and the dream creature follows them back to the real world and now Megan and her friends are in danger. Can Mal save everyone and stop the monster? Or will things go from bad to worse?
This is a fantastic read, regardless of age. Even though Mal is a supergenius, he's one that we can all relate to. Who can’t relate to someone wanting to help their best friend out? Even though Mal is a super genius and invents things like a dream portal, all he wants to do is help his friends. It’s his first thought with Chad and it’s his first thought when the dream monster escapes. The sense of humor, such as everyone calling Mal’s lab coat a robe, is something that everyone will get a laugh or two out of. The artwork is imaginative and the images will be enjoyed by everyone, especially the depiction of Mal’s mom after she uses invsispray on her head. This is the type of book that I’d hand to any young kid struggling to fit in.
Stephen's tapped into memories and dreams of childhood and put them on the page for everyone to explore together in the form of best friends, Mal and Chad. His writing is simple and easy to read and his drawing style evocatively catches the everyday world and gives new life to it. I highly recommend this book to children young and old and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
September 30, 2012
This was a great addition to the Mal and Chad series. The other kids are mean to Mal, and I don't enjoy that, but I do think it is something other kids will relate to.
Read
March 12, 2013Mal and Chad: Food Fight is a great short comic series for students. It deals with a boy named Mal and his imaginary talking dog named Chad. This story deals a lot with problems boys can have growing up. The girl he has a crush on, named Megan, has started a club he can't join because it is a girls only club. Eventually, Mal starts having nightmares and his dog Chad builds a machine that allows him to go back into the dreams with him to fight the monster. There are some conflicts that happen from here that I don't want to ruin but they are all fun stories.
This story was cute and charming for being a comic book series. The characters are not only adorable but entertaining at the same time. The story offers an element of sci-fi and creativity that just isn't seen in the ninja and Dragon Ball Z era of comics. It is also entertaining and about kids. They can very easily relate to the topics that Mal goes through and that is why I found it so entertaining.
This story, though a lower reading level, could spur kids into reading comic books for fun. This could also be used as a very base line text for students who are at a lower reading level to start with. Though I find this comic very low level and not high ended, or of substantial content, it is a fun read and is entertaining to kids.
This story was cute and charming for being a comic book series. The characters are not only adorable but entertaining at the same time. The story offers an element of sci-fi and creativity that just isn't seen in the ninja and Dragon Ball Z era of comics. It is also entertaining and about kids. They can very easily relate to the topics that Mal goes through and that is why I found it so entertaining.
This story, though a lower reading level, could spur kids into reading comic books for fun. This could also be used as a very base line text for students who are at a lower reading level to start with. Though I find this comic very low level and not high ended, or of substantial content, it is a fun read and is entertaining to kids.
February 6, 2013
This was my favorite of the Mal and Chad books. For one thing, it's very Chad-centric, and I am all about stories with talking dogs in them. I'm really glad that Stephen McCranie has given some more page time to the little guy.
Short summary for this book is that Chad is forced to face his biggest nightmare, so Mal builds a machine that will allow them to face it together. The drawings of the dream worlds are pretty incredible, and there is one really beautiful moment where Mal goes into Megan's dream (she's the love interest of the series) and finds out that she's actually more impressed by him than she's ever let on.
Also, I totally plan to use Megan's dream sequence as reference material for my own art.
Some notes:
I really enjoy how dimensional McCranie's characters are becoming. Megan is becoming more and more of an individual rather than just another pretty girl.
Chad is given the chance to show that he's more than just a scaredy-puppy, (although throughout the adventures they have together, I've always found him to be filled with justifiable caution!)
McCranie's ability to convey complex emotion with very few lines also has me somewhat jealous, but then again, that's why I'm using this book as reference material for my own work.
Short summary for this book is that Chad is forced to face his biggest nightmare, so Mal builds a machine that will allow them to face it together. The drawings of the dream worlds are pretty incredible, and there is one really beautiful moment where Mal goes into Megan's dream (she's the love interest of the series) and finds out that she's actually more impressed by him than she's ever let on.
Also, I totally plan to use Megan's dream sequence as reference material for my own art.
Some notes:
I really enjoy how dimensional McCranie's characters are becoming. Megan is becoming more and more of an individual rather than just another pretty girl.
Chad is given the chance to show that he's more than just a scaredy-puppy, (although throughout the adventures they have together, I've always found him to be filled with justifiable caution!)
McCranie's ability to convey complex emotion with very few lines also has me somewhat jealous, but then again, that's why I'm using this book as reference material for my own work.
April 9, 2016
Another adventure of Mal and Chad--this one with elements of school-age politics (bullies, boy vs. girl relationships, secret clubs, etc.).
July 18, 2019
This is the second book in the Mal and Chad MG graphic novel series. In this second installment, Mal invents a machine to help Chad tame his nightmares, only to discover that Chad must conquer his worst nightmare by standing up to his demons. The endearing relationship between the boy genius and his talking dog, established in the first book of this series, continues in this story. Black-and-white art is high-quality and expressive of action, context, and emotion.
June 6, 2020
Review (and stars) from my 9–year-old reading buddy: "dramatic and interesting." This being "2" in the series we can now read #1 and #3 as soon as they are available to borrow. Meanwhile some other series??
February 17, 2024
I think this book was fine because one I like silly and funny not when it is all fitting and people get hurt! For an example one person got REALLY hurt when I say hurt I maen really hurt! That is why I think this book was fine.
October 17, 2025
A cute graphic novel that shows childhood crush awkwardness, science fiction, and adventure. There's enough tension in the story that isn't too scary for kids or too cringey for adults. Very enjoyable!
October 14, 2017
Very good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 12, 2018
A fun story for kids. Really liked the invisible spray.
January 10, 2020
Dexter (11yo) read.
June 25, 2020
FIVE STARS!!!
This book was just as AMAZING as the first one! It’s funny, and you can read it over and over.
This book was just as AMAZING as the first one! It’s funny, and you can read it over and over.
December 18, 2020
Good visuals and story
May 3, 2021
I love the friendship between Mal and Chad. It's hard to see Mal be treated like a bit of an outcast when he's so friendly and kind, but I think kids will find some parts of this relatable.
November 29, 2025
Excellent book series. Fingers crossed that these will get an update with colorized illustrations someday.
May 30, 2016
Wow this book was awesome. This book is the second book in a series which has three books so
far. This book centers around mal and chad, Mal being the smartest boy in the world and chad being the only talking dog in the world. These two are best friends and go on crazy adventures. However no one knows of mals genius. He stays a normal kid to be … in the same grade as a girl he likes. It seems he doesn’t have common sense. Instead of using his ability for good like solving world hunger or stopping global warming he stays in the same grade as a girl he likes and acts stupid. He still has perfect grades though. So in this book he tries to be in a club with his crush megan. Boring. BUT then he goes into the dreams of chad to stop them from being scary. He then fails. But then he starts a club with two other boys and get in a fight with the girls club. So in the end they have to …. I ain’t gonna tell you! Now go read the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes funny comic books with some sci-fi mixed in. If you like any one of those things this is the book for you. This book also occasionally has some weird “omg megan is so cool” moments. Overall I am very hooked with this series and I can’t wait for the next one. After reading this book I kind of really want to read more comic books and sci-fi books. This book has a total of 219 pages and has 3 books in the series. I recommend you read the first one before this one though because there are some references you wouldn’t understand.
far. This book centers around mal and chad, Mal being the smartest boy in the world and chad being the only talking dog in the world. These two are best friends and go on crazy adventures. However no one knows of mals genius. He stays a normal kid to be … in the same grade as a girl he likes. It seems he doesn’t have common sense. Instead of using his ability for good like solving world hunger or stopping global warming he stays in the same grade as a girl he likes and acts stupid. He still has perfect grades though. So in this book he tries to be in a club with his crush megan. Boring. BUT then he goes into the dreams of chad to stop them from being scary. He then fails. But then he starts a club with two other boys and get in a fight with the girls club. So in the end they have to …. I ain’t gonna tell you! Now go read the book. I recommend this book to anyone who likes funny comic books with some sci-fi mixed in. If you like any one of those things this is the book for you. This book also occasionally has some weird “omg megan is so cool” moments. Overall I am very hooked with this series and I can’t wait for the next one. After reading this book I kind of really want to read more comic books and sci-fi books. This book has a total of 219 pages and has 3 books in the series. I recommend you read the first one before this one though because there are some references you wouldn’t understand.
December 16, 2012
Kid-genius, Mal, and his talking dog, Chad, are back! This time Mal has created a dream portal that he uses to try to help Chad battle the evil lion that has been terrorizing him in his dreams since he was a puppy.
Meanwhile, at school, the boys and girls are club crazy. The girls start a club and nickname all of the boys in their grade after fruits so they can whisper about them in secret. Mal decides to start his own club, but at first no one wants to join and then when he does manage to get a few recruits they take over and he gets kicked out of his own club.
When Mal's invention backfires, the evil lion is on the prowl and it's up to Chad to finally face his greatest fears.
Action-packed and full of realistic school drama. Recommended for grades 3-5.
Meanwhile, at school, the boys and girls are club crazy. The girls start a club and nickname all of the boys in their grade after fruits so they can whisper about them in secret. Mal decides to start his own club, but at first no one wants to join and then when he does manage to get a few recruits they take over and he gets kicked out of his own club.
When Mal's invention backfires, the evil lion is on the prowl and it's up to Chad to finally face his greatest fears.
Action-packed and full of realistic school drama. Recommended for grades 3-5.
April 20, 2012
I decided to scan through this while processing it at work. My daughter had read this (even met the author and had her copy signed) and really enjoyed it. The scanning turned into a full out read. It is a quick, easy, and enjoyable book. A story about a young boy who's best friend is a talking dog and the adventures that they go on. This focuses on adventures in their dreams.
Side Note: The author Stephen McCranie actually graduated from the high school that I now work at (in the library). We are so proud of Mr. McCranie!
Side Note: The author Stephen McCranie actually graduated from the high school that I now work at (in the library). We are so proud of Mr. McCranie!
August 13, 2012
I thought this book was really fun and really weird all at the same time. Mal is a total nerd who has a crush ona girl named Megan. Mal's named dog is Chad and he is a worrier. His biggest fright is cats. Chad is the dog who has nightmares all the time, so when he has a nightmare, Mal(being a nerd) got down to bussnis. Mal made a dream portal machine so that chad and mal could fight the dream cat. fallow mal and chad on their journey in the book MAL AND CHAD: FOOD FIGHT!!
April 11, 2012
I've been a fan of Mal and Chad ever since first seeing them on Neatorama as part of a regular caption contest. Stephen has a very good sense of both story and whimsey. I also like his clean lines and the balance of his chock full of detail panels against his simple single character panels. I'm looking forward to his third Mal and Chad book Belly Flop.
July 24, 2012
This Mal and Chad felt different to me but I still really enjoyed it just as much. The first book was more about Mal and Chad and his inventions and troubles at school. This one focuses on Mal's crush on Megan and fighting your fears. Amazing the ideas that Stephen McCranie has come up with. Looking forward to the next book!!!
September 27, 2012
Smart kid Mal and his dog Chad are back! This time Chad is having nightmares, so Mal builds a machine that lets him enter people's dreams. While he is in there, they can confront the lion scaring Chad together. Great illustrations and relevant themes for elementary and middle school students ensure this will be a popular choice.
November 29, 2012
An invisibility spray? A portal into the dream world? This kid has some awesome ideas and creative inventions. Sprinkle in a little discussion of the theory of relativity and you have a book that will appeal to fans of science, adventure, and a little mayhem.
More information (and NF pairings for the series) here. http://www.mariaselke.com/2012/10/sci...
More information (and NF pairings for the series) here. http://www.mariaselke.com/2012/10/sci...
May 24, 2012
Mal (boy genius) and Chad (his dog who's afraid of cats) try to figure out how to cure Chad's nightmares. They time-travel to a place made of huge delicious foods...and from there, it's food fight time! Zippy text and crisp black and white comics move us through this story quickly.
March 19, 2014
These new graphic novels are very well written and illustrated! I really enjoyed Chad and his genius inventions that got him into trouble. Mal is a fun dog with a fear of cats. Their adventures are sure to be a hit with kids who enjoy graphic novels!
February 21, 2013
A nice graphic novel with an interesting main character (Mal) and his loyal dog (Chad). Mal is a genius inventor who wears a lab coat and creates inventions like invisible spray. It was entertaining with a nice message about talents and fitting in.
June 19, 2016
#graphic novel sweet tale of an underestimated boy genius and his dog and their trials and tribulations with boys who bully and the lovely Megan who never gives him the time of day until right at the end. Sweet and fun
August 6, 2016
My daughter begged me to read this book after she did. At the beginning I thought it would be too childish for me, but there were some great quotes and interesting plot twists that kept it entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews