Children’s Graphic Novels
Have you caught the graphic novel bug yet? It’s one of the fastest growing genres in children’s fiction and it’s no surprise why. Graphic novels for kids have brought books to whole new audience of children. Children who may otherwise not engage with books.
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Graphic Novel Releases 2024
This blog post will share with you some of the wonderful graphic novels for kids we’ve been exploring in 2024. The majority will be new titles with the odd occasional one we may have been late to the party with and only just discovered.
Golden Age of Graphic Novels for Kids
We truly are in a golden age for graphic novels for kids. There’s lots of wonderful choice with books suitable for everyone. My daughter Floss loves drawing and so for her graphic novels are her ideal book as she gets to explore the incredible illustrations. There’s often draw-along sections at the back of some books too. We love the The Phoenix Comic and they have a fab skills hub that can be accessed for free here.
Graphic Novels for All
Graphic novels can also give children who find reading more challenging a real sense of accomplishment. Often these books can have lots of pages. The number of pages could be something unrealistic for some children to manage in a traditional chapter book yet in these children feel a sense of achievement and become more confident readers.
Cautions
One thing to be mindful of is that some graphic novels can be written in capital letters and others can have a mixture of capitals and lowercase in the same word. This can make it tricky for children who are still learning to decode the alphabet to read books with this mix. Another thing to be mindful of is how the text and images are laid out on each spread.
Some books have very separate text which makes for an easier read. Other books have a more blended style which can make it harder for visually impaired readers and those who need more clear text. I’ll add example spreads so you can see what each book is like.
Graphic Novels We’ve Read in 2024
Agent Harrier: This Book Will Self Destruct by Ben Sanders
Unicorn Boy by Dave Roman
Top Pick – Unicorn Boy is a recent purchase for us and totally brilliant. Brian is an ordinary, shy boy until one day he begins to grow a unicorn horn. Brian doesn’t want the attention that comes with it – especially not the evil forces it attracts. However, when his best friend Avery is kidnapped he must call upon some unexpected help (a muffin and a black cat) to help him get back his bestie.
The illustrations are superb. The book is packed full of ways to be a good friend and how people who love you accept you for who you are no matter what. I particularly like that it totally obliterates gender stereotyping too. It’s a must read.
The text is usually lowercase with speech bubbles that make it easy to distinguish from the pictures. On the odd page where the text is with the images like the rainbow spread above then there is a good level of contrast.
The vocabulary in Unicorn Boy is a little meatier which Floss loved with most of the new language either explained or the meaning can be interpreted from the rest of the sentence or the images.
Dog Man The Scarlet Shedder by Dav Pilkey
We purchased this one on pre-order as Floss is totally obsessed with Dog Man! Dog Man The Scarlet Shedder is the twelfth book in this well loved series.
Dog Man is one of those books that does contain a mixture of upper and lower case letters. The language is simple and captions are short and sweet so as long as your child can decode the alphabet in upper and lowercase this would be good for early readers. For those who use school book band levels Dog Man are purple or around that level. Dog Man are suitable for a young audience.
There’s a great little feature in the book to make pages jump out at you in an interactive way where Dav Pilkey explains how to flip the page very quickly to get an interactive picture.
Cactus Kid The Battle for Star Rock Mountain by Emmanuel Guerrero
Cactus Kid is for a slightly older audience – Amazon states around 10+ but I’d probably say around 7/8+. It’s got a much darker, moodier theme (that I love) than other graphic novels mentioned so far but nothing too scary in content.
Cactus Kid is brilliant read with a death defying Moto-Brawl race like something out of Star Wars. Cactus Kid wants to become the most powerful wizard and this book is only the beginning of the adventure.
Our protagonist is a lone ranger on the hunt for star rock to make him a more powerful wizard and he doesn’t need any help from anyone certainly not rival gangs The Clams and The Shells.
The illustrations are great and there’s certainly a feel of a more retro comic with a modern twist in Emmanuel’s style. I can’t wait for the next book!
Text is uppercase but usually well defined in distinct speech bubbles. Cactus Kids was kindly sent for review by Flying Eye Books.
Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton
Not a new release. Originally published back in 2020 we finally got a second hand copy of this series. This is book number four in the Narwhal and Jelly series – Narwhal’s Otter Friend.
One thing I would mention is that Floss is very capable of reading all of these graphic novels. It’s important when children begin selecting books for themselves that we don’t make a judgement on the books that they choose.
Children are beginning to learn what they like and what type of reader they are. Just because books like Narwhal and Jelly are suitable for a younger audience and a reading level below a book such as Cactus Kid or Unicorn Boy doesn’t mean she’s not going to enjoy it and get lots of reading pleasure from it. Anyway…back to the book!
This series are ideal for early readers. There is a great balance of simple text to images on each spread but all writing is all in capitals so children will need to be confident in reading capitals before embarking on this series.
This book in the series sees Narwhal make a new friend Otter who’s full of tall stories. This is very frustrating for Jelly who’s left feeling – well a little jelly! Don’t worry though – it all turns out ok in the end! They’re a really sweet, fun entry point into the world of graphic novels for children.
Poetry Comics by Grant Snider
Poetry Comic by Grant Snider is pure genius. It brings together both graphic novel comic style with poetry. Find lots of inside images and my review here.
Peanut, Butter and Crackers: River Rescue by Paige Braddock
Peanut, Butter and Crackers: River Rescue by Paige Braddock has been a super sweeet treat of a read. We’ve only just discovered these books. There’s three so far in the series and we’re very much hoping for more. They’re super cute and perfect for early independent readers who like a gentle tale full of warmth.
You’ll have to see if a particular spread in the book makes you think of the film The Titanic! Had me chuckling.
Quick Review:
🐕🐈Cute animal characters 💗Friendship 🤣Humour ⛺Camping 🌊River adventure peril
Looshkin Honk If You See It! by Jamie Smart
Looshkin Honk If You See It! by the comic legend Jamie Smart released on the 4th of April 2024. We ordered it on pre-order and Floss devoured it in one sitting when it arrived. Yet another romp of Looshkin capers!
Bad United Just For Kicks by Louise Forshaw
Bad United Just For Kicks by Louise Forshaw is a new release on the 9th May 2024 that we were sent by Little Tiger Press. It’s a black and white graphic novel. This would be ideal for children intimidated by high levels of text and has a strong message about being true to yourself and finding your people.
Quick Review:
🤷Feelings of not fitting in 🧑🤝🧑Finding YOUR right team 🤝Working together ⭐ Using your unique skills ⚽Football ✏️🎨Graphic novel 🏁Black and white ✍️🎨High image to text ratio – great for sense of achievement 🦄Mythical and real animal characters
Agents of S.U.I.T.: From Badger to Worse by John Patrick Green
Monti and Leo: A Newcomer in Pocketville by Sylvie Kantorovitz
Happy Hills Attack of the Giant Danger Kittens by Sophy Henn
I haven’t shown Floss this one yet. I always like to have a couple of books stashed away to bring out as a little treat if when needed. Delighted to see Sophy Henn (who we love) bring us a graphic novel. What a title – Happy Hills Attack of the Giant Danger Kittens!
Upcoming 2024 Graphic Novel Releases for Kids
Batcat Sink or Swim!
Batcat Sink or Swim! is the second book in this fun-filled series by Meggie Ramm. I’ve got an eARC of it from NetGalley which I’ll aim to read but Floss really isn’t keen on reading eBooks yet. It publishes on the 23rd of May 2024 so you’ve got plenty of time to read book 1 – Batcat. Love the colour palette in these books.
Bumble and Snug and the Jealous Giants by Mark Bradley
One of our most anticipated releases for 2024. Bumble & Snug are just the most delightful of friends who have wonderful adventures. This time it’s Bumble and Snug and the Jealous Giants. Releases on the 4th July and can be pre-ordered.
Check back for more updates in the world of kids graphic novels. If you’d like any recommendations on further graphic novels or ideas of what to choose depending upon the interests of your child feel free to drop me a comment and I’ll do my best.