We’re honored that Zita the Spacegirl creator Ben Hatke broke out the watercolors to have Zita recommend Mordicai Gerstein’s The Old Country.

Ben is an amazing artist whose comics appeared in several of the Flight anthologies (Volume 2, Volume 3, Explorer Volume 1). He has also illustrated several picture books. Ben has recently been running a series of comics in his blog (start at the bottom) about his family’s visit to the site of New Yorks’ Occupy Wall Street movement in October. (There’s an audio component to each, too.)

If you’ve never heard of Ben, check out my interview from ALA 2011.

And if you have, good news! You can start your countdown. Zita the Spacegirl Book Two: Legends of Zita the Spacegirl will be published in September 2012.

Also, this week in the Unshelved Book Club, you’ll find books about French cartoonist Lewis Trondheim, young Sherlock Holmes, the Green River Killer, a young artist, magical candy, twisted nursery rhymes, Tokyo, and vampire hunting.