Best Children's Comics & Graphic Novels

As Greg says in his diary, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear Diary’ that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things. Since its launch in May 2004 on Funbrain.com, the Web version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been viewed by 20 million unique online readers. His attempts to prove his worthiness in the popularity race (he estimates he's currently ranked 52nd or 53rd) are constantly foiled by well-meaning parents, a younger and older brother, and nerdy friends. The first of three installments, it is an excellent choice for reluctant readers, but more experienced readers will also find much to enjoy and relate to in one seventh grader's view of the everyday trials and tribulations of middle school.— Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

As Greg says in his diary, “Just don’t expect me to be all ‘Dear Diary’ this and ‘Dear Diary’ that.” Luckily for us, what Greg Heffley says he won’t do and what he actually does are two very different things. Since its launch in May 2004 on Funbrain.com, the Web version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid has been viewed by 20 million unique online readers. Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Jeff Kinney Question: Given all the jobs that you have--game designer, fatherhood, Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie work, etc.,--do you have a certain time that you set aside to write? Kinney: I never any real desire to appear in the Wimpy Kid films, but one day my wife encouraged me to be an extra in one of the crowd scenes. I eventually reached a voicemail of a reporter who said they worked for Time , and at that point I thought it was just a well-planned practical joke. Q: Would you ever consider making Wimpy Kid into a newspaper comic strip or creating another one? Kinney's popular Web comic, which began in 2004, makes its way to print as a laugh-out-loud "novel in cartoons," adapted from the series. Middle school student Greg Heffley takes readers through an academic year's worth of drama. Greg's mother forces him to keep a diary ("I know what it says on the cover, but when Mom went out to buy this thing I specifically told her to get one that didn't say 'diary' on it"), and in it he loosely recounts each day's events, interspersed with his comic illustrations. Greg's journal entry reads, "I do feel a little bad, because it looked like it was gonna take a long time to clean up. Kinney ably skewers familiar aspects of junior high life, from dealing with the mysteries of what makes someone popular to the trauma of a "wrestling unit" in gym class.

Filled with loads of interactive pages and plenty of space to write your own life's story, this book is all you need to create your masterpiece. Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and five-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book.

Dog Man, the newest hero from the creator of Captain Underpants, is still learning a few tricks of the trade. Dav Pilkey has written and illustrated numerous popular, award-winning books for children, including the Captain Underpants and Dumb Bunnies series; Dog Breath , winner of the California Young Reader Medal; and The Paperboy , a Caldecott Honor Book.

What follows is a long and frustrating journey with on-again, off-again braces, surgery, embarrassing headgear, and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. The dental case that Telgemeier documents in this graphic memoir was extreme: a random accident led to front tooth loss when she was 12, and over the next several years, she suffered through surgery, implants, headgear, false teeth, and a rearrangement of her remaining incisors.

Five best friends spending the summer at Lumberjane scout camp...defeating yetis, three-eyed wolves, and giant falcons...what’s not to love?! Small details make these episodes stand out—the hipster Yetis guarding a mysterious lighthouse, Molly and Mal's tender glances at each other, and Ripley's penchant for animals and all things cute. References to female heroines (invocations of Bessie Coleman and Joan Jett as well as Rosie the camp director's striking resemblance to Rosie the Riveter) and phrases such as "Friends to the Max!"

The alliteration, rhyming, and vibrant illustrations make the book exciting for children, while the issues it brings up resonate with their parents' values of community, equality, and justice. -- Julia Alvarez , author of A Wedding in Haiti: the Story of a Friendship and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents , and founding member of Border of Lights, an ongoing movement to promote peace and collaboration between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, borderoflights.org. “Reading it is almost like reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, but for two-year olds—full of pictures and rhymes and a little cat to find on every page that will delight the curious toddler and parents alike.” —Occupy Wall Street. —Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, author of The Shock Doctrine / filmmaker. —Rona Renner, RN, parent educator, and host of Childhood Matters radio show "A is for Activist speaks to the possibilities of change, of proactive parenting, of creating community, and of celebrating our collective histories.

Dog Man, the newest hero from the creator of Captain Underpants, is still learning a few tricks of the trade. Dav Pilkey has written and illustrated numerous popular, award-winning books for children, including the Captain Underpants and Dumb Bunnies series; Dog Breath , winner of the California Young Reader Medal; and The Paperboy , a Caldecott Honor Book.

Determined to rescue her, Emily and Navin are led into a world of robots, talking animals, flying ships, new friends . Kazu Kibuishi is the #1 New York Times bestselling and Eisner-nominated creator of the Amulet series, and of a collection of his popular webcomic, Copper .

From the mind of one of the most popular YouTubers of all time, DanTDM, comes a graphic novel adventure that reimagines the Minecraft-style worlds and characters he’s created like you’ve never seen them before. After a day of experiments, Trayaurus and DanTDM are about to call it a night when a strange-looking crystal plummets to earth, breaking into five pieces that scatter far and wide. Dan the Diamond Minecart, AKA DanTDM, is one of the most popular YouTubers in the world, with over 12 million subscribers who tune into his Minecraft and gaming videos.

Marvel Super Heroes are quite busy saving the day from battling crooks and robbers to evil alien invaders, mutants, and super villains!

Step back in time with the Shadowhunters with this collectible hardcover boxed set of the New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy. She is the coauthor of The Bane Chronicles with Sarah Rees Brennan and Maureen Johnson and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy with Sarah Rees Brennan, Maureen Johnson, and Robin Wasserman, as well as The Shadowhunter’s Codex, which she cowrote with her husband, Joshua Lewis.

That’s the question Greg Heffley is asking as his town voluntarily unplugs and goes electronics-free. Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and five-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book.

The classic bestselling book for every boy from eight to eighty, covering essential boyhood skills such as building tree houses*, learning how to fish, finding true north, and even answering the age-old question of what the big deal with girls is. Equal parts droll and gorgeous nostalgia book and heartfelt plea for a renewed sense of adventure in the lives of boys and men, Conn and Hal Iggulden's The Dangerous Book for Boys became a mammoth bestseller in the United Kingdom in 2006. Adapted, in moderation, for American customs in this edition (cricket is gone, rugby remains; conkers are out, Navajo Code Talkers in), The Dangerous Book is a guide book for dads as well as their sons, as a reminder of lore and technique that have not yet been completely lost to the digital age. Recall the adventures of Scott of the Antarctic and the Battle of the Somme, relearn how to palm a coin, tan a skin, and, most charmingly, wrap a package in brown paper and string. The book's ambitions are both modest and winningly optimistic: you get the sense that by learning how to place a splint or write in invisible ink, a boy might be prepared for anything, even girls (which warrant a small but wise chapter of their own). Conn taught for many years before becoming one of the most admired and popular young historical novelists with his Emperor series, based on the life of Julius Caesar, and his newly embarked series on Genghis Khan, while Hal is a theater director. Amazon.com: It's difficult to describe what a phenomenon The Dangerous Book for Boys was in the UK last year. They need to fall off things occasionally, or--and this is the important bit--they'll take worse risks on their own. Amazon.com: You made some changes for the U.S. edition, and I for one am sorry that you have removed the section on conkers, if only because it's such a lovely and mysterious word. In the entire history of the world, no one has ever been hurt by a conker, but it's still been banned by some British schools, just in case . I notice in both editions you have an excellent and useful section on table football, as played with coins. As for paper football, ever since I thought of putting the book together, people keep saying things like "You have rockets in there, yes? Have you seen boys getting up from their Xboxes to go outside and perform first aid or tan animal skins or build go-carts? Iggulden: I've had a lot of emails and letters from boys who loved the book--as well as fathers. I've had responses from kids as young as ten and an old man of 87, who pointed out a problem with the shadow stick that we've since changed. If it's hard, you don't make it easy, you grab it by the throat and hang on for as long as it takes. Good, heroic stories don't appear much in modern school curriculums--and then we wonder why boys don't seem interested.

And most recently, The New York Times called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows the “fastest selling book in history.” This is the ultimate Harry Potter collection for Harry Potter fans of all ages! Newbery Medal winner Nancy Willard has written numerous beloved books for children and adults, including poetry, picture books, and novels.

From brave and bold to creative and clever, Emily Winfield Martin's rhythmic rhyme expresses all the loving things that parents think of when they look at their children. VERDICT A go-to gift for new parents, and a potential bedtime favorite for many children.—Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC.

Whatever you do, don’t ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn’t want to talk about it. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules chronicles Greg’s attempts to navigate the hazards of middle school, impress the girls, steer clear of the school talent show, and most important, keep his secret safe. Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and five-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book.

Fans of Fablehaven and City of Ember will devour Michelle Paver’s bestselling fantasy series about one boy’s epic fight against evil and the wolf who guides him. “Torak’s coming-of-age tale will keep the pages turning.” (Publishers Weekly).