Graphic novels for kids and tweens

There are some great reads out there with just enough action, heart and sensitivity to keep kids enthralled.  I searched various blogs and religiously checked the new books cart at my branch in order to find some of these. The books down the list are a little older but are still great reads.



Gene Luen Yang is the man behind some great graphic novels such as American Born Chinese, Shadows and Saints and The Shadow Hero. The book Secret Coders functions in two ways. First it is a classic story of middle school angst (fitting in, bullying etc.) but it is also a mystery story and the young protagonists have to use coding skills to figure it out.







Ben Hatke (Zita the SpaceGirl series) has come up with another book that sees people of different backgrounds working together for a good cause. Little Robot  sees a little girl encounter a strange, small robot who communicates with weird sounds. The two soon find themselves on the run from a huge, scary robot intent on recapturing the little robot.









The New York City subway is one of the largest in the world and can be crazy to navigate at times. Imagine if you have never done it before and you were on a class trip and got lost.  That is the premise of the book Lost in NYC: A Graphic Adventure by Nadja Spiegelman. Two classmates are separated from the rest of their class and must make their way back to the group or else they could find themselves in big trouble.






Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth by Judd Winick is another new book that caught my eye. I love the fact that the two earthlings are both minorities, that is very refreshing to see in a graphic novel.  A kid called D.J. finds a strange boy one day and then discovers that the boy is from another planet. Not only that but he has some strange powers. Life is not going to be boring any more.







Road trips are always cool especially when the road trippers are at opposite ends of the spectrum personality wise. When they are different species the trip can get really interesting and that is the basic premise of Bird & Squirrel: On the run by James Burke. Squirrel always wears his helmet and diligently stores food for the winter Bird on the other hand is a free spirit who soars around the forest without a care in the world. When Cat gets on their trail the two animals will have to cooperate or else...









His Amulet series is a masterpiece and Japanese writer Kaza Kubuishi's name has been placed on a variety of works. This compilation of short stories is called Undersea Explorers and all seven stories have something to do with the ocean in some form or the other. Many of the stories use various mythologies from around the world as a starting point and some of them have great lessons about friendship, conservation and teamwork.







As long as there are kids there will be bullies and conflicts with those of their ilk. Frank Cammuso explores this topic in a light-hearted way in his Knights of the Lunch Table series. A group of friends are knights, not in a sword and shield way but more in a band together, make good choices, save the day kind of way. There are some clever references to mythology (the main character's name is Artie King) and the teacher that helps them out is called Mr. Merlyn. These kids aren't the brawniest so they will have to use their smarts to save the day. I like this series a lot.





These are just a sampling but you can check here and here for more picks and reviews. Feel free to leave your recommendations in the comments section. Til next time!