Best Children's Fantasy Comics & Graphic Novels
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!"
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"She belly laughs and asks for explanations on parts she doesn't understand."
"Loved Lumberjanes Volume 1 start to finish."
"You will love it but it ends really quickly though but it ends at such a cliff hanger it makes you want to buy all the other ones."
"Fun, exciting, funny and diverse comic for tweens and teens!"
"So far this entire series has been highly enjoyed by my 10yr old."
"My 8 year old daughter thought this was fantastic!"
"The dynamics of the characters is amazing and they are all very multifaceted as well which is nice ."
This New York Times bestseller and Eisner award-nominated series is written by awesome all-star Noelle Stevenson ( Nimona ) and brilliant newcomer Grace Ellis, and illustrated by the tremendously talented Brooke Allen ( A Home for Mr. Easter ). The variety of the panels reinforces the energetic pace of each tale, and the psychedelic color palette against forest greens in outdoor daylight scenes and grays and dark blues of nighttime scenes will delight reluctant readers and make graphic novel fans out of neophytes. The feminist leanings of the dialogue, the field guide snippets that open each chapter, and back matter filled with variant covers are the icing on the cake.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I love the dialogue between the girls and the camp leader."
"My 12-year-old daughter loves these!"
"lumberjanes are the stuff, homettes."
"I am a comic person and I've read many series that I've loved, but this one STRIKES MY CORE and MAKES ME EXCITED ABOUT LIFE."
"I'm so annoyed at myself for waiting so long to read this it was absolutely amazing!"
"Honestly, even as a lifelong feminist who really pays attention to media's portrayal of girls and women, it sometimes takes series like Lumerjanes for it to really hit me how rarely media focuses on girls, their friendships or relationships, or their diversity, and when it does focus on girls, demands them to always look pretty and perfect (according to *their* standards of beauty, of course). Even when you think you're enjoying all the "Strong Female Characters" on TV or movies, the fact that the vast majority are still skinny, white, conventionally attractive, cishet women with perfect hair and makeup all the time, well...it takes a toll."
"My daughter is a huge fan of the Lumberjanes whose mystical girl scout camp strikes a cord with her own imagination and girl scout adventures."
"It's a great series."
The triple Caldecott winner David Wiesner brings his rich visual imagination and trademark artistry to the graphic novel format in a unique coming-of-age tale that begins underwater. David Wiesner is internationally renowned for his visual storytelling and has won the Caldecott Medal three times—for Tuesday , The Three Pigs , and Flotsam —the second person in history to do so.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The art in this book is beautiful but somewhat minimalist, meeting the text halfway in conveying the details of the story."
"When I saw that Fish Girl was a collaboration between David Wiesner and Donna Jo Napoli I knew I had to have it! She’s the star attraction but she’s only supposed to let visitors catch a glimpse now and then. The girls meet rarely and in secret but it’s lovely to see their budding friendship grow. I’ve seen others note that even though this is geared toward middle grade readers, it does show themes of abduction and abuse."
"It doesn't have the gorgeous-gorgeous magical images of Flotsam but at first glance is closer to comic book / graphic novel style (you can use Amazon's "look inside" feature to get a sense of them)."
"Fish Girl is a poignant and compelling tale that deftly combines beautiful art with a classic story that will engage all readers young and old alike."
"In an independently run aquarium by the sea, a man claiming to be Neptune runs daily shows and has his Fish Girl tantalize visitors with just enough of a glimpse to keep them coming back. For years, the Fish Girl has believed that the man really is Neptune, god of the sea. No sexual content (the girl always has some strategic hair placement, other creatures around her, etc.)."
Best Gay & Lesbian Graphic Novels
A New York Times bestseller. The original graphic novel adapted into the film Blue Is the Warmest Color , winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival; released in the US this fall by IFC Films/Sundance Selects. She studied comic art at the Institute Saint-Luc in Brussels and lithography and engraving at the Royal Academy of Arts in Brussels, where she still lives.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I didn't like the art style at first, but the graphic novel has better pacing and the plot swallows you whole, so you wouldn't care about the drawings by the time you're fully engaged with the scenes. Character wise, I love Lea Seydoux as an actress but I actually preferred the character of Emma within the graphic novel: chill, gentle and thoughtful."
"First of all my problem with the movie wasn't the quality of the movie itself I think it was a fairly good one in fact but it was also a lot like Kissing Jessica Stien in which girl meets girl, decides to be gay then later realizes she isn't then falls in love with the guy."
"I love stories that have an established arc of time; I think the passage of time is the greatest tragedy of all, and one we all experience. The movie seemed to postulate another kind of tragedy: the erosion and expiration of love, that theme is also explored here, but in a slighter and more oblique way."
"There are moments of joy, anger and sadness that captivate the reader and make us yearn for more."
"The sex scenes portrayed are brief and innocent, the art is quaint and charming, the flashbacks make your heart cringe and mind reel. To me, the direction the film took concerning the aspect of her 'cheating' was more apparently conveyed; and while there are plenty who bitch about the film being 'pornographic', all I can say is that they are puritanical hypocrites (I thought the sex scenes were actually realistic and adequately portrayed two people finally being able to be physically united after such a period of longing) who really just shouldn't deal with sexual material to begin with; let's face it, not all of it is "pretty" people. The expressions Maroh gives to her characters, brief dialouge, and placed settings/time all contribute nicely to the overall affect of the story."
"Loved the movie and the book but felt this was one of the rare times where the movie is better than the book/graphic novel. The book is a good hour read whereas the movie is 3, but the movie (despite the sex scenes) really shows the love Adele (Clem) feels for Emma that I feel the book lacks."
Best Children's Humorous Comics & Graphic Novels
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.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I don't like the purposeful spelling and grammar mistakes in this series, but we have talked about it and my son understands that it is used as a humorous device, and it is not correct."
"My seven year old absolutely loved this book."
"This book has a very good price.It also has a simple message to kids 5, 6 or 7.de Chinese quote: でどおどふぃれよたねせぐいぇせ. okay thats the end of the quote.t h espacee n d."
"Preordered this for my son's birthday."
"My kids love these and Captain Underpants books."
"My 7 year old son LOVES these books."
"My son absolutely loves Dav Pilkey books."
"If you read the first book and liked it, you'll like this one."
Best Children's Action & Adventure Comics & Graphic Novels
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.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My seven year old absolutely loved this book."
"I bought this and another for his birthday and plan to buy all that the author releases on Dog Man."
"As soon as I took the book out of its packaging, my seven year old son grabbed the book out of my hands and ran to sit on the couch to read it."
"He's read each book in this set at least twice now since Christmas and takes them on any car trip."
"fun book."
"Yes it was a great book the book was in great condition."
Best Children's Biography Comics
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.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"What I liked about this book is that is a comic,well not necessarily a comic, but more like a graphic novel."
"I am in middle school and this book made me feel special that I was strong."
"Great story!"
"The only problem was that if i was going to read this book out loud at bedtime both children wanted to see the pictures instead of laying down to listen."
"I stumbled on this book and Raina Telgemeier's other book as well. Kudos to Raina Telgemeier for writing such an excellent book."
"I am a nearly tween girl... and this book gave me lots of advice on how to deal with all kinds of normal things girls and boys go through."
"I'm eleven years old and I am not a huge fan of graphic novels, but this book was amazing!"
"I am getting braces in a bit, and I do have friend problems, no crushes yet, oh, and why I am getting braces, is because I have spread out teeth."
Best Children's History Comics
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.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The "S" page has a great little poem celebrating solar power, but follows it up with "silly selfish scoundrels sucking on dinosaur sludge? ", a line I could easily imagine leading to a rather upsetting conversation for a sensitive preschooler, since right now the vast majority of families simply don't have access to fully sustainable power sources. The "D" page references, and is solely illustrated by, the donkey/elephant symbols of American party politics, which besides being internationally limiting is way over the heads of the target audience. And while I wouldn't take off stars just for this, I do think there was a missed opportunity here for some parent education...I'd have loved to see a page in the back listing brief descriptions of the people mentioned in the text."
"This is cute but it's definitely not for a young child (toddler age), which I found a bit odd considering its design."
"My son enjoyed reading this together, plus it got him asking some great questions about stuff!"
"For the parents trying to raise children with a conscience this book is a fabulous addition to a child's library."
"Wonderful book."
"My son loves this book."
"Spine and edges ripped and damaged."
Best Children's Media Tie-In Comics
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.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Thom is a HUGE fan (as in even dressing like him for Halloween huge) and we were genuinely bummed that DanTDM wasn't making any stops in the states for book signings."
"I guess I missed that this is a hardcover, so I was quite pleased when I got it and found it was a hardcover with a dust jacket and full color inside."
"I hope more books come out soon so my son can continue reading something he enjoys."
"My children love Dan TDM, and they love this book just as much."
"My 10 year old son is in the process of reading this book and he loves it."
"I watch DanTDM's videos every single day!"
"Bought this for my son."
"my son loves this youtube and was excited to get this book."
Best Children's Superhero Comics
Marvel Super Heroes are quite busy saving the day from battling crooks and robbers to evil alien invaders, mutants, and super villains!
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Just a warning on this book if it's a gift- my book came with a giant barcode sticker on the cover that was impossible to take off-cleanly."
"My 7 year old daughter loves these."
"My 5 year old superhero loving son cannot get enough of this book."
"Great book at way better a price then at the book store."
"Great book for my 4 year old preschool class."
"After getting the delivery problem figured out and finally receiving the replacement, my boys love the story's!"
"A great collection of short, cute stories for the holidays."
"Love... a great addition to our basket of Xmas favorites!"
Best Children's Manga
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 .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Which is huge, with other books he isnt able to tell me a thing without me asking specific questions."
"Both my children love this series and it got the youngest to enjoy reading for the first time!"
"Before delivery, I borrowed first two volumes from my local library, and got hooked on story line and wonderful graphics, (I'm 68 years old)."
"My daughter had already read the first book at school so she wasn't too upset about this, but I was not very happy."
"My grandchildren love them!"
"I suggested she go back to book one to answer questions she had."
"My students love these books and Amazon best everyone's price."
"My 8 year old daughter loved these books and read the entire series in one weeks time."