Recommended Graphic Novels

In this School Library Journal feature, Brigid Alverson and eight contributors list their top ten graphic novels for 2015:

• Awkward by Svetlana Chmakova (Hachette/Yen), grade 5 up – A middle-school drama about bullying and competition.

• Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy by Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters, illustrated by Brooke Allen (BOOM! Studios), grade 5 up – Five girls spend the summer at a scout camp with all kinds of strange creatures.

• Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm, illustrated by Matthew Holm (Scholastic/Graphix), grades 3-7 – A 10-year-old girl has to spend the summer with her grandfather in his Florida retirement community, and they gradually get into the family’s difficulties.

• Lunch Witch by Deb Lucke (Papercutz), grades 3-7 – A retired witch takes a job as a lunch lady at a school and things get complicated.

• We Dig Worms! by Kevin McCloskey (TOON Books), grades K-2 – Worms and their role in the environment.

• Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola, illustrated by Emily Carroll (Candlewick), grade 5 and up – Masha answers an ad to become a witch’s assistant and remembers tales from her grandmother to pass a series of tests.

• Unbeatable Squirrel Girls, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North, illustrated by Erica Henderson (Marvel), grade 7 up – Doreen is a mutant with squirrel powers, and the book follows her adventures as she starts in college.

• Ultraman by Eiichi Shimizu, illustrated by Tomohiro Shimoguchi (Viz Media), grade 7 up – Teenager Shinjiro learns that his father was more than just a scientist and that he has inherited super powers, which come in handy when aliens invade.

• Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (HarperCollins/HarperTeen), grade 7 and up – A shape-shifting young woman teams up with a not-so-terrible villain in a world of knights, dragons, and computers.

• Human Body Theater: A Nonfiction Revue by Maris Wicks (First Second), grades 4-8 – A whimsical but factually accurate description of how each body system works. 

“Top 10 Graphic Novels” by Brigid Alverson, Robin Brenner, Lori Henderson, Esther Keller, Michael May, Caleb Mozzocco, Mike Pawuk, Scott Robins, and Eva Volin in School Library Journal, December 2015 (Vol. 61, #12, p. 44-45), http://bit.ly/1lIUXU8 

From the Marshall Memo #616