There are so many awesome graphic novels for kids these days, but where to start? Graphic novels for children are becoming increasingly popular, with kid lit publishers releasing child graphic novels all the time now. Graphic novels for tweens and middle schoolers are great stories to explore friendship, popularity, puberty, and emerging identities. In my list of the 15 best graphic novels for young readers, kids can jump in with these fun and creative stories.
All Summer Long by Hope Larson
Hope Larson builds on her award-winning middle grade graphic novel adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time in All Summer Long (2018). In this story, 13-year-old Bina has the whole summer in front of her, with her best friend Austin off to soccer camp for some of the time. Austin’s been acting strange lately, anyway, and when he comes back, things still feel off. This poignant graphic novel for tweens and middle schoolers is an honest and relatable look at how friendships change over time, told with Larson’s trademark punchy visual style.
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
This compelling graphic novel won the Printz Award, a prestigious prize for YA. However, I also consider American Born Chinese (2006) to be appropriate for middle grade readers. In three narratives that intertwine, Gene Luen Yang looks at what it means to be a person of color in America. Weaving together three storylines that each address the history of Chinese Americans in American history and culture past and present, American Born Chinese showcases the power of visual narratives and text working as one.
Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
The author of Anya’s Ghost (which I reviewed here on the blog) delivers another great graphic novel for kids in Be Prepared (2018). This humorous story is based on Vera Brosgol’s childhood. In Be Prepared, young Vera is a suburban kid and definitely an indoors kind of person. Her parents, though, won’t allow her to just read the day away all summer long and instead send her to a camp for other Russian Americans. This funny graphic novel for kids is perfect for anyone who’s ever struggled to fit in, outdoors or inside.
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
The Cardboard Kingdom (2018) is a whimsical collaboration by several authors who each wrote one of the characters in this story. In this joyous, funny, and clever book, a neighborhood of kids design cardboard costumes and together form a cardboard kingdom with one big group mission. It’s impossible not to feel artistically inspired after reading The Cardboard Kingdom, which showcases the creative ways each of these children lean on their diverse skills and abilities.
El Deafo by Cece Bell
A Newbery Medal Nominee, Cece Bell’s graphic memoir El Deafo (2014) is an excellent narrative of disability. After Bell loses her hearing in childhood due to illness, she learns to adapt and thrive at school and home. Despite her challenges, Bell develops a resilience helped by her sense of humor. Bell imagines she has an alter ego, El Deafo, a superhero who draws power from her giant hearing aid, the Phonic Ear, highlighting that being differently abled means you have unique gifts of your own.
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
In this fun graphic novel for kids by Raina Telgemeier, Callie is a set designer on her middle school’s production of Moon over Mississippi. Callie’s friendships with other members of the tech crew, as well drama with actors and other kids involved in the show, form the beating heart of this amusing and heartfelt novel about theatre. Drama (2012) is a diverse and queer positive graphic novel and a good introduction into Telgemeier’s work for young readers.
Fairy Tale Comics: Classic Tales Told by Extraordinary Cartoonists – edited by Chris Duffy
One great way to introduce comics and graphic novels to children is through collections of shorter stories. In Fairy Tale Comics (2013), today’s leading cartoonists who have written for young audiences, including Raina Telgemeier, Jillian Tamaki, and Emily Carroll, reimagine classic fairy tales. When I’m recommending books for readers who are new to fantasy, I often suggest fairy tale retellings as an entryway, seeing as there’s a storyline you’re already familiar with, and the same holds true for recommending Fairy Tale Comics to middle grade readers looking to branch out into visual narratives like comics and graphic novels.
Fake Blood by Whitney Gardner
Looking to laugh? Try Whitney Gardner’s Fake Blood (2018), a hilarious, paranormal-themed graphic novel for tweens. In this funny story, AJ feels like puberty has hit everyone else, leaving him behind as the last kid to grow up. How is he supposed to woo his crush, Nia Winters, when he looks like a kid and she’s into dreamy, hunky vampires? When AJ and Nia are assigned the same group project about Transylvania, AJ tries to impress Nia as a vampire only to learn she’s a vampire slayer. This graphic novel for middle schoolers is a funny and heartfelt look at a time of first crushes and those first changes that take tweens into their teens.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Various Artists)
I’m a huge Neil Gaiman fan, and his middle grade novel The Graveyard Book (2008) is a real fun, neo-gothic read. And in The Graveyard Book‘s two-volume graphic novel adaptation, readers get treated to Gaiman’s story interpreted in stunning artwork. What’s unique about this project is multiple artists contribute to it, with a new one interpreting different sections of the book in their style, so you get to see how the same characters and settings through several different lenses. (PS: If you liked this Gaiman adaptation, check out the graphic novel version of Coraline on Goodreads and Amazon.)
- Add The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel, Volume 1 on Goodreads // Purchase The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel, Volume 1 on Amazon
Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Graphic novels and visual narratives are a way to help kids describe hard feelings and emotions that are intangible and invisible. Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s National Book Award finalist graphic memoir for children, Hey, Kiddo (2018), shows the strength of the medium to visualize the indescribable in this story about a boy who’s raised by his grandparents after his heroin addict mother is incarcerated. Through this gritty memoir, we cheer for young Jarrett as he develops more confidence as an artist, searches for peace in his unconventional family situation, and ultimately finds his father, an emotional journey that is visualized in stunning art.
Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Giovanni Rigano
Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer (Ireland’s Children’s Laureate from 2014-2016) teams up with artist Giovanni Rigano in this harrowing middle grade graphic novel about Ebo, a boy who leaves Libya in search of his brother, Kwame. The boys’ older sister Hannah left for Europe promising to send money, but since they haven’t heard from Hannah, Kwame has gone in search of her. With Colfer’s storytelling skills and Rigano’s powerful illustrations, Illegal (2018) makes the current global immigration and refugee experience accessible for kids in this middle grade graphic novel.
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Modern Retelling of Little Women by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo
Introduce your kids to Louisa May Alcott’s beloved Little Women (1868) with Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy (2019), an inspiring and uplifting retelling of the children’s classic updated to modern times. In this version, sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy make up a blended interracial family, with their father serving overseas just like Mr. March did in the Civil War in Alcott’s original. Each sister has her own hopes and dreams, anxieties and worries, and talents and interests, but together they lean on each other during the moments when they need it most.
New Kid by Jerry Craft
In Jerry Craft’s acclaimed graphic novel New Kid (2019), our artsy hero Jordan Banks starts the year at an elite school known for its academic rigor. It’s not the art school aspiring cartoonist Jordan wants to attend, but he makes it work and makes friends with other kids at school. As one of the few students of color, Jordan struggles to fit in and finds camaraderie and commiseration with other diverse minority students.
Pashmina by Nidhi Chanani
This graphic novel sweeps readers away not just with great art but with the engrossing, poignant story of Priyanka “Pri” Das. No matter what, Pri’s mom won’t talk about her motherland, India, which just makes Pri even more curious about her heritage there. When a pashmina scarf transports her to a land that seems like it’s India, Pri will need to learn how to reconcile the fantasy she’s envisioned and seen in Bollywood movies with the reality of a country her mother knows well, and left.
Sheets by Brenna Thummler
Brenna Thummler’s Sheets (2018) is a cute and whimsical story about 13-year-old Marjorie Glatt, a girl who feels like a ghost, and Wendell, the boy ghost she befriends. Marjorie’s family owns a laundry business, Glatt’s Laundry, where she works after her mother’s death. Wendell brings the place to life at night as a sheet-wearing ghost. Together, their bond helps Marjorie deal with her grief and Wendell understand his afterlife. This sweet and cozy friendship story is perfect for middle schoolers.
