Tandem Insights

Graphic Novels for Elementary School

Graphic novels and comic books…  You want them in your elementary library, but where to start? After all, some of the possible selections out there are definitely more appropriate for older kids. So we’ve compiled a list of graphic novels—and some graphic novel-esque picture books—for your elementary school readers, and maybe you’ll even snag a few of those non-readers too.

Amelia Rules!, Vol. 1: The Whole World's Crazy by Jimmy Gownley features a nine-year-old girl who has just moved from New York City to a small town, and all the troubles that go with being the new kid and trying to make friends. Amelia’s ever evolving relationships with her new friends, (G.A.S.P. or Gathering of Awesome Superpals)--Reggie, a super-hero wannabe; Rhonda, who has a crush on him; and the mysterious Pajamaman—provide the storyline for the next two volumes: Amelia Rules!, Vol. 2: What Makes You Happy and Amelia Rules!, Vol. 3: Superheroes. The comic book Amelia and her friends, with their mixture humor, insecurity, and charming obnoxiousness, seem real.

I mentioned Bone #6: Old Man's Cave as a new release in August.  This is a fabulous series for kids from mid-elementary school on up.

Joann Sfar’s Little Vampire Does Kung Fu! is a picture book with panels and dialogue balloons, but the humor makes it an amusing read for all ages. Bully Jeffrey is picking on Little Vampire’s human friend Michael. This cannot continue, so Little Vampire and Michael go in search of the kung fu master so Michael can fight back, but along the way he learns that fighting isn’t always the answer.  Gross monsters, some with boogers (talk about kid appeal!) and some with kind hearts, pop up to help or hinder them on their quest. 

Check out these fun graphic novels for your elementary school kids

Book of the Week: Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer

Owly is the charming star of these nearly wordless graphic novels for all ages. Being an owl, he finds it’s hard to make friends.  All the other birds, animals, and insects in the forest where he lives run away in fear when he approaches. They don’t wait around long enough to find out that all Owly wants to do is find a friend. Owly makes his first and best friend, Wormy, when he rescues the squiggly little worm from a thunderstorm and nurses him back to health. Even Wormy is afraid of Owly at first. This makes Owly’s big round eyes droop with sadness. But slowly, Wormy comes around, and then the two of them try to befriend some hummingbirds, which turns out to be a little trickier…

Andy Runton’s drawings are deceptively simple, just black and white, but they express a multitude of emotions. You can easily “read” Owly’s sadness, Wormy’s fear, and then Owly’s glee when he finally makes a friend.

And, because one volume of Owly will be nowhere near enough of this cute critter, Runton has kindly followed up with three more volumes that are just as enchanting as the first: Owly, Volume 2: Just a Little Blue; Owly, Volume 3: Flying Lessons; and Owly, Volume 4: A Time to Be Brave. These are the graphic novels to hand to someone who claims not to like graphic novels; the not-yet-persuaded will be won over. I may be exaggerating slightly, but it’s worked with everyone I’ve handed them to so far. (So consider this a handing to…and don’t let me down!)

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New and Exciting in August

All week I’ve been featuring romantic, fantasy, vampire-centric YA chick fic. While I do enjoy that genre, I don’t confine my reading exclusively to it. So here are a couple of my favorite non-romance/fantasies that came out in the month of August.

Another Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Bad is Mark Gonyea’s follow-up to A Book about Design: Complicated Doesn't Make It Good (which didn’t come out in August, but is still an exciting book, if not new). These all-ages books explain good design, be it complicated or simple. Using bright colors and basic shapes, Gonyea covers composition, line, color, and contrast and how to get across what’s really important.

Bone #6: Old Man's Cave continues the reprinting of Jeff Smith’s Bone series in gorgeous, rich, full color, and the intense red eyes of the rat creatures continue to freak me out. Color is also used to great effect when several of the villagers attempt to throttle Phoney Bone for swindling them (guiltly) and destroying their town (not guilty). Full of humor and suspense, Book Six features the beginning of a showdown between the Hooded One and the people of the valley. Rock Jaw from Book Five is back, much to Thorn and Fone Bone's dismay. The Bone series is a perfect way to start a graphic novel collection, as it can appeal to anyone from mid-elementary age on up.

For some fun, browsing-friendly nonfiction, try Richard Platt’s They Wore What?!: The Weird History of Fashion and Beauty and They Played What?!: The Weird History of Sports and Recreation. The weird and wacky are, let’s face it, highly entertaining. And these books should provide lots of amusement for elementary and middle school age kids. Among the other crazy facts contained in the bright, photo-filled pages are a ball game in which the losing team was murdered and corsets so tight they cracked ribs!

Here's a list of exciting August releases, and, yes, it does include a romance or fantasy or two.

If You Like Twilight...

So your YA girls can’t get enough of Bella Swan and her star-crossed romance with the incredibly gorgeous vampire Edward? Maybe some of them even prefer Bella’s werewolf friend Jacob who also happens to be madly in love with her. They’ve already devoured Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. Breaking Dawn, the continuation of this love story, won’t be out for a whole very, very long year. What books are out there to satisfy the romantic cravings of those YA girls? We’ve created a list of some titles we think might just take the edge off the long wait.

Wicked Lovely features fairies instead of vampires, and instead of Aislinn wanting to become a fairie, she desperately wants to stay human. But there’s still a love triangle with lots of lovely tension. The Summer King needs Aislinn to become his Summer Queen. Aislinn has always been taught to avoid fairies. Besides, she has a human boyfriend whom she loves to distraction. Unfortunately for her, the wicked Winter Queen has other ideas, and Aislinn is swept up in a faerie war. Her limited options are death, reign as Summer Queen, or, failing that, become the Winter Girl, as all failed potential Summer Queens are cursed to do. This one felt a lot like Twilight to me, with the world of the faeries colliding with that of the humans with Aislinn caught between the two.

The fantastic and romantic are in evidence from the beginning in Keturah and Lord Death. Keturah, a storyteller, lost in the woods and close to death, meets a surprisingly dashing Lord Death. She spins him a story about a girl searching for true love. However, the story has no ending, so Lord Death allows her one more day to find her true love. But as Keturah examines her life and her village, she begins to wonder who her true love really is – the local lord’s son or Lord Death himself. Keturah, like Bella, is an outsider among a group of close-knit locals; she's always felt herself to be apart, different, which can be a very appealing aspect to a teen trying to navigate the treacherous currents of adolescence.

Here it is: vampires and werewolves together in the same book. In Tantalize, Quincie, human, loves with a hybrid-werewolf, Kieran, and works in a vampire-themed restaurant. This time it's the werewolf who does not want to return the hero's affections, for fear of hurting her. When the chef at the restaurant is murdered, werewolf-style, suspicion falls on Kieran. But what’s up with the new chef and his bizarre menus? Not to mention Quincie’s increasing dependence on a blood-red beverage…

For more great suggestions for your Stephenie Meyer fans: If You Like Twilight...

Book of the Week: Eclipse

Stephenie Meyer had better be writing very, very fast. The legions of teenage fans who got hooked with Twilight and devoured its sequel New Moon will make quick work of the 600-plus page Eclipse, the third volume in the saga of star-crossed love. Fall 2008, the scheduled release date of the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, will seem eons away for members of "Team Edward” and “Team Jacob,” the camps into which readers divide themselves.

In Eclipse, Bella is back, still madly in love with vampire Edward, still torn about her heartfelt friendship with werewolf Jacob. Unfortunately for her, Victoria, an evil vampire, is also back, still seeking revenge on Bella. The series of Seattle murders that scare all the members of small town, Forks, are at the heart of Victoria’s plans; she’s creating an army of new vampires to wipe out both Bella and the Cullens. The new vampires’ single-minded bloodlust troubles Bella who desperately wants to become a vampire so she can spend eternity with Edward. She is also haunted by the thought of losing Jacob, whose vampire-hunting werewolf pack will play a significant role in the confrontation between the two vampire groups.

Meyer has invented some fascinating vampire history, especially that of several members of the Cullen clan. She has also captured that “This thing happening to me right now is the most important thing ever to happen in the history of the world!!!” quality of teen feelings and decisions. Readers will swoon over the continued intensity of the teen angst and love that captured them in the first two novels and will avidly, impatiently, breathlessly await the next volume.

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