Comic Fun

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A young boy visits his grandfather, but neither of them speak each other’s language. The power of art and love of visual storytelling bridge the language divide and these two generations get to share each other’s experiences. A mix of picture book and comic book, Drawn Together is a great choice for early readers especially, but the message is good for all age groups. Nan and Clarion are two passionate witches who specialize in monster veterinary medicine. From familiars to phoenixes, they’re here to make sure magical creatures are happy and healthy. When mysteries arise, Nan and Clarion must work as a team to save their patients. Kids who loved Hagrid in Harry Potter will delight in the many monsters they’ll find in this charming series, especially with Davies’ colorful style.

In this spin-off of Princeless, the titular Raven was placed in a tower by her pirate father and her rotten brothers have taken the pirate fleet that was rightfully hers. Now free from her prison, Raven is putting together her own ship crew to go after her brothers and reclaim her birthright. This is a great book for older kids looking for a thrilling adventure on the high seas. They’re sure to find a new favorite character among Raven’s brave, quippy crew.In this poignant graphic novel memoir, Krosoczka shares his experience growing up with a largely absent addict mother and no father in his life. While raised by loving (and opinionated) grandparents, young Jerrett takes years to fully piece together his family history. Through his love of art and self reflection, he comes to terms with who his parents are … and who he is. Hey Kiddo was a National Book Award finalist, and is well worth the praise. The companion to Smile, Sisters focuses on Raina’s relationship with her little sister during their childhoods. Raina and Amara don’t always get along, but when a third child comes into the picture and their parents’ relationship starts to change, the girls become closer and learn to support each other through the good and bad. Jordan Banks is having a tough time in the seventh grade. Not only is he the new kid, but he’s one of the few kids of color in this very prestigious, very white private school. He doesn’t know where he fits in at school, but he’s also struggling with his old friendships in his neighborhood. Lots of readers will connect with Jordan’s situation and enjoy his journey to finding his place by being himself. Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types! The Lumberjane Scouts (especially the girls in the Roanoke Cabin) are excited for a summer of adventure. Little do they know the mysteries and dangers lurking in the nearby woods. Join Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley as they investigate weird happenings and earn merit badges along the way. A former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, Gene Luen Yang is known for thoughtful writing and beautiful visuals, and this Eisner-winning graphic novel is a perfect example of both. American Born Chinese is comprised of three different stories examining Chinese tradition and the diasporic identity of many Chinese Americans. While the stories seem completely separate at first, readers will slowly discover the connected message between the three tales.

These charming books tell various tales of Mr. Wolf’s fourth grade class. The kids go through different problems and have lots of adventures, all while Mr. Wolf tries to help them as much as he can. Grade school readers will definitely relate to these slice-of-life stories, and teachers will absolutely relate to Mr. Wolf’s challenges. Impy is 11 years-old and finally going to public school after years of homeschooling. But she’s no average grade schooler — her family is part of the local Renaissance Faire. The kids at school are more judgemental than she expected, and soon Impy starts feeling embarrassed about her life as a squire-in-training. After some mistakes and tough lessons, Impy learns to embrace who she wants to be and stand up for others like a true knight would. Doreen Green has both the powers of squirrel and girl. She’s stopped Galactus from eating the earth and beat up Dr. Doom (twice!). If Doreen was in the MCU, Infinity War would have been a lot shorter. And in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Doreen faces her biggest challenge yet — getting her bachelors degree in Computer Science! While our hero is a college student, younger readers will love her optimism, the focus on empathy and cleverness over violence whenever possible, and the various cameos from other Marvel heroes. Ann M. Martin’s prolific Scholastic series has been popular with young readers for decades, and the recent graphic novel adaptations are helping bring these stories to a new generation. See Kristy, Mary-Ann, Claudia, and Stacy grow together as friends while navigating school, crushes, frustrating siblings, and their growing babysitting business. They’re up to seven comic adaptations and are about to spin off into the Little Sisters books. Buy it on Comixology | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | Your local comic shop The Babysitters Club (series)

Sleeping Alone

year-old Astrid is so excited to go to roller derby camp, but her best friend Nicole is going to a dance camp instead. As she feels her friendship with Nicole weakening, Astrid has to branch out and build new relationships at camp … while being the best roller girl she can be. Like in All’s Faire in Middle School, Victoria Jameson explores the complicated emotions that come with being a preteen, while also teaching readers about a fun hobby they might not know about. Teenage Nadia is the new Wasp, and she’s not alone in the fight against bad guys! With the support of Janet Van Dyne, the original Wasp, Nadia recruits genius girl scientists to form a team. With the Agents of G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs) at her side, there’s nothing Nadia can’t fix … right? With this diverse cast of characters, readers get to see how there is no one way to be a hero.

Hilda loves to have adventures in the wild woods near her home, especially when she meets fantastic creatures like trolls and giants! When she moves with her mom to the quiet town of Trolberg, Hilda makes new friends and manages to find the magical within the mundane setting. If your kids loved the Hilda Netflix series, they’re going to adore the original comic series. Damien Wayne, the current Robin, is very serious about being a superhero — he could use a little fun. Li’l Gotham takes place throughout the year as Damien’s friends and Batfamily show him the joy of different holidays and seasons. Kids get to see different superheroes (and villains) interacting while learning about different holiday traditions. Chad Sell, Jay Fuller, David DeMeo, Katie Schenkel, Kris Moore, Molly Muldoon, Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, Cloud Jacobs, and Barbara Perez Marquez

How Hard Can It Be

Young Cleopatra (yes, that Cleopatra) finds a strange tablet that zaps her from Egypt all the way to outer space in the far, far future. It turns out she’s destined to save the entire galaxy! Throughout the series, Cleopatra must fight against evildoers on planets far beyond Earth … while also attending Yasiro Academy to hone her hero skills (and algebra). Friendship and adventure await the one and future Pharaoh! When their mother gets lured into a mysterious basement door at their old family home, Em and Navin follow her and discover a whole new dark universe of monsters, robots, and talking animals. With a mystical amulet, Em and her brother find allies and become heroes in their own right while working to save their mom and protect their friends. With eight books and counting, this series is great for readers looking to dive into an adventure epic. There are many different Supergirl origin stories, and this one happens to be about a preteen crashing to Earth and gaining the attention of her cousin, Superman! With the alias Linda Lee, Supergirl can go to school and be just like every other Earthling. But maybe making (and keeping) friends is ever harder than fighting supervillains.

CeCe Bell’s critically acclaimed graphic novel shares her own experiences of losing her hearing at the age of four. Eventually, CeCe was given a Phonetic Ear, an awkward but powerful hearing aid. When the strange-looking hearing aid alienates her from her classmates, CeCe creates her alter ego — El Deafo, “Listener for All.” Through her imagination, El Deafo embraces herself and finds a true friend along the way.Meet Wax, a young mixmaster living in 1980s Brooklyn. He’s very good at what he does, but when he scratches the perfect beat, it gets the attention of robots from the planet Discopia! Wax, his family, best friend, and crush all get abducted, and they must learn the “intergalactic musical martial art of Sci-Fu” if they want to save their skins and the Earth. Old school hip hop meets old school science fiction in this fun comic. A neighborhood of kids turn cardboard into castles and costumes, working together throughout the summer to create their own cardboard kingdom. The award-winning graphic novel was a collaboration between 11 different writers woven together through Chad Sell’s beautiful visuals. While each chapter focuses on one or two of the kids, they all work towards the messages of creativity, empathy, and loving who you are. Disclosure: I’m one of the collaborators on this book. What if your kids could send questions to their favorite superheroes? In Dear Justice League, DC superheroes answer fan mail from kids. Readers will learn about Wonder Woman’s 11th birthday, if Aquaman actually smells like fish, and if Superman ever makes mistakes. This funny book lets kids see these heroes are only human … even the Kryptonians. Cat’s little sister Maya has cystic fibrosis, and their family is moving to the cool Northern California coast town Bahía de la Luna to help her feel better from day to day. But the sisters learn that the town is full of ghosts. Maya might be excited to meet these spirits, but Cat doesn’t want anything to do with them. More than that, she’s afraid Maya will join them. Ghosts delves into the tough subject of chronic illness and death in a way that is both appropriate for kids and doesn’t talk down to them.