Agrimbau, Diego Anne Frank Illustrated by Fabián Mezquita. Gr. 4–6 80 pp. Capstone Agrimbau, Diego Leonardo da Vinci Illustrated by Diego Aballay. Gr. 4–6 80 pp. Capstone Graphic Library: Graphic Lives series. These graphic novels detail the lives of the titular historical figures, with emphasis on events that garnered each the most notoriety. The comic-book […]
Review of Max & the Midknights
Max & the Midknights by Lincoln Peirce; illus. by the author Intermediate Crown 280 pp. g 1/19 978-1-101-93108-0 $13.99 Library ed. 978-1-101-93109-7 $16.99 e-book ed. 978-1-101-93110-3 $8.99 It’s the Middle Ages, and redheaded Max is Uncle Budrick’s troubadour apprentice. Max longs to become a knight, but there’s just one problem: Max is a girl, a […]
Review of Older than Dirt: A Wild but True History of Earth
Older than Dirt: A Wild but True History of Earth by Don Brown and Mike Perfit; illus. by Don Brown Intermediate, Middle School Houghton 104 pp. g 9/17 978-0-544-80503-3 $18.99 An extended conversation between a science-savvy groundhog and a new-to-Earth’s-history worm features a comprehensive overview of the geological past of our planet. The graphic format, […]
Graphic-novel biographies and memoirs
Chandler, Matt Outrunning the Nazis: The Brave Escape of Resistance Fighter Sven Somme Illustrated by Daniele Nicotra. Gr. 4–6, middle school 32 pp. Capstone/Graphic Library Yomtov, Nel Death Camp Uprising: The Escape from Sobibor Concentration Camp Illustrated by Wilson Tortosa. Gr. 4–6, middle school 32 pp. Capstone/Graphic Library Great Escapes of World War II series. […]
Crossing Literacy Thresholds: When Kids Are “Stuck” Reading the Same Things
I take a democratic spirit with regard to my children’s reading. In my view, if I take them to the library every weekend and they’re reading something — anything! — then we’re good, right? Maybe not. Lately, my nine year-old has been apathetic about our library trips, preferring to wait in the car. When in […]
Review of Comics Confidential: Thirteen Graphic Novelists Talk Story, Craft, and Life Outside the Box
Comics Confidential: Thirteen Graphic Novelists Talk Story, Craft, and Life Outside the Box compiled and edited by Leonard S. Marcus Middle School, High School Candlewick 176 pp. 9/16 978-0-7636-5938-7 $24.99 A foreword by David Small and Marcus’s brief outline of the history of comics introduce the book. Marcus (The Wand in the Word: Conversations with […]
Snow White
When I first heard Matt Phelan was working on a graphic novel that would transpose Snow White from her traditional fairy-tale locale to Depression-era New York City, I was more than a little excited. Phelan’s previous graphic novels (Storm in the Barn; Bluffton) are favorites of mine and have been a hit with my comics-obsessed students. […]