2008 Family Book Night Titles: Beyond Batman, Graphic Novels for Kids and Teens

The Librarians’ Recommendations:

Boys of Steel by Marc Tyler Nobleman and Ross Macdonald (Jesse’s Pick)
Relates the story of Cleveland teenagers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation of Superman. (CIP)

Coraline: The Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman and P. Craig Russell (Jen’s Pick)
Looking for excitement, Coraline ventures through a mysterious door into a world that is similar, yet disturbingly different from her own, where she must challenge a gruesome entity in order to save herself, her parents, and the souls of three others. (CIP)

Chalk and Cheese by Tim Warnes (Stacy’s Pick)
A country mouse goes to visit his best friend, a dog who lives in New York City, and even though the two of them are very different, they have a great time. (CIP)

Into the Volcano by Don Wood (Jen’s Pick)
While their parents are away doing research, brothers Duffy and Sumo Pugg go with their cousin, Mister Come-and-Go, to Kokalaha Island, where they meet Aunt Lulu and become trapped in an erupting volcano. (CIP)

Jellaby by Kean Soo. (Stacy’s Pick)
A little girl whose father disappeared mysteriously finds a gentle purple monster outside her house and sets off with her friend Jason to try to reunite it with its parents. (CIP)

Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, illustrated by Sonia Leong (Karyn’s Pick)
A graphic novel adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet, two young people whose love for one another is doomed by the long-standing feud between their families. (CIP)

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale, illustrated by Nathan Hale (Jen’s Pick) Rapunzel, having grown up in a lovely castle with the woman she thought was her mother, is placed in a very tall hollow tree as punishment after her curiousity prompts her to climb the castle wall and look at the ruin of the world beyond her home, but she is able to escape and with the help of Jack, embarks on a plan to free the land from the grip of the witch. (CIP)

Re-Gifters by Mike Carey, art by Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel (Karyn’s Pick)
Korean-American Jen Dik Seong, known as Dixie to her friends, puts most of her money and energy into the martial art of hapkido, but she nearly loses her competitive edge when she falls for fellow hapkido enthusiast Adam–a boy who soon makes it obvious he is not worthy of her affection. (CIP)

Rocketo Volume 1: The Journey to the Hidden Sea by Frank Espinosa (Jesse’s Pick)
Two thousand years after the shattering of planet Earth, mapper Rocketo Garrison explores the New World and its Hidden Seas. Presented in graphic novel format. (CIP)

Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman (Karyn’s Pick)
A collection of eight comics that introduce the series’ lead character, the Sandman, Lord of Dreams. (CIP)

Scary Godmother by Jill Thompson (Stacy’s Pick)
An orange-haired friendly witch, Scary Godmother befriends a little girl named Hannah-Marie, who was scared by her older cousin Jimmy, who locked her into the haunted house where Scary and her “broommates” were in. (Wikipedia)

The Strongest Man in the World: Louis Cyr by Nicolas Debon (Jesse’s Pick)
Presents a brief biography of strongman Louis Cyr, written in graphic format, and describes his childhood and the events that led him to become one of the strongest persons in all of Canada. (CIP)

The Panelists’ Books:

The Good Neighbors: Kin by Holly Black (graphic novel)
Sixteen-year-old Rue Silver, whose mother disappeared weeks ago, believes she is going crazy until she learns that the strange things she has been seeing are real, and that she is one of the faerie creatures, or Good Neighbors, that mortals cannot see. (CIP)

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci (graphic novel)
After a bombing in the city, Jane’s parents move to a suburb where she befriends three outcasts–all named Jane–and starts a group called People Loving Art in Neighborhoods, which tries to enrich their community with art but instead is viewed as a threat. (CIP)

Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci (graphic novel)
Sequel to: Plain Janes. A group of friends who are all named Jane get together and try to make their small town beautiful by engaging in subversive art, and the main Jane wrestles with her affection for two different boys on Valentine’s Day while she runs out of money for continuing her artwork. (CIP)

Benny and Penny in Just Pretend by Geoffrey Haynes (graphic novel) Annoyed with his little sister who always wants to play pretend with him, Benny intentionally loses her, but soon feels bad after she is gone. (CIP)

The Adventures of Rabbi Harvey by Steve Sheinkin
Presents a collection of ten short stories in graphic comic format that features the Jewish wisdom and wit of Rabbi Harvey in the western town of Elk Spring, Colorado. (CIP)

Rabbi Harvey Rides Again by Steve Sheinkin. (graphic novel)
A collection of ten Jewish folktales in graphic novel format featuring the adventures of Rabbi Harvey, sheriff of Elk Spring, Colorado. (CIP)

For more graphic novel recommendations for middle school and high school students, check out the Young Adult Library Association’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens list.