Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
New This Year!
Luz Sees the Light by Claudia Dávila (author & illustrator)
Change is in the air. Power outages are increasing, and gas prices are soaring. At first, 12year-old Luz balks, hardly thrilled by the prospect of actually having to walk to the mall. But
Luz doesn't mope for long. After all, her name — pronounced "loose" — means "light."
Soon, this intelligent and spirited chica begins to understand that she must change with
the times. As food prices rise, Luz decides to help create a more self-sustainable
community by transforming a run-down city lot into a garden where she and her neighbors
can grow their own fruits and vegetables. But when she solicits help from her friends —
boy-crazy Anika and computer-whiz Robby — they think she's a little loco. Luz pedals her
idea on the street, but the community is equally dismissive. Can Luz pull off her plan and
help change her world alone?
Discover Claudia Dávila’s other book Luz Makes a Splash
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Fairy Tale Comics: Classic Tales Told by Extraordinary Cartoonists by
various authors; edited by Chris Duffy
From favorites like "Puss in Boots" and "Goldilocks" to obscure gems like "The
Boy Who Drew Cats," Fairy Tale Comics has something to offer every reader.
Seventeen fairy tales are wonderfully adapted and illustrated in comics format
by seventeen different cartoonists, including Raina Telgemeier, Brett Helquist,
Cherise Harper, and more.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Pigling: a Cinderella Story [A Korean Tale] story by Dan Jolley ; pencils and inks by
Anne Timmons ; coloring by Hi-Fi Design ; lettering by Marshall Dillon and Terri Delgado
From a life filled with heartache and hardship, comes an unmatched beauty destined for a
fairy-tale ending: Pear Blossom, a young Korean girl, leads a happy life with her parents—
until her mother dies and her father remarries. Her new wicked stepmother and stepsister
make Pear Blossom the victim of their cruelty. They give her the nickname Pigling, or little
pig, and do everything they can to torture her. But soon, magical creatures come to Pear
Blossom’s aid—and one day, the girl meets a handsome magistrate. Will Pear Blossom’s
luck change for the better? Or is she destined to suffer at her stepfamily’s hands forever
Discover the series Graphic Myths and Legends, including: Amaterasu: Return of the
Sun [A Japanese Myth] and Marwe: Into the Land of the Dead [an East African
Legend]
(Title image & summary retrieved April 17, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
New This Year!
Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale (author), Dean Hale (author), Nathan Hale
(illustrator)
Once upon a time, in a land you only think you know, lived a little girl and her
mother...or the woman she thought was her mother. Every day, when the little girl
played in her pretty garden, she grew more curious about what lay on the other side of
the enormous garden wall. As she grew older, things seemed weirder and weirder, until
the day she finally climbed to the top of the wall and was horrified by what she saw
beyond.
Discover the sequel Calamity Jack
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from the author’s website)
Sherlock Holmes and a Scandal in Bohemia adapted by Murray Shaw and M.J. Cosson;
illustrated by Sophie Rohrbach
"Has Sherlock Holmes met his match?
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are asked to help the King of Bohemia find a very
important photograph. It won''t be easy. The King's former love, Irene Adler, has hidden the
photograph. Holmes must don a clever disguise, stage a brawl, and even fake a house fire
to find the mysterious image! But has Holmes underestimated Irene Adler?"
Discover the series: #2: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure at the Abbey Grange, #3:
Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Blue Gem, #4: Sherlock Holmes and the
Adventure of the Dancing Men, #5: Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the
Speckled Band
(Title image & summary retrieved April 17, 2014 from Goodreads.com)
Primates: the Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute
Galdikas by Jim Ottaviani (author), Maris Wicks (illustrator)
The true story of three scientists who risked their lives for research that forever
changed the way we think of primates...including ourselves.
Jane Goodall discovered chimpanzees using tools -- a trait once thought to be unique
to humans -- and is now one of the world's foremost animal rights advocates.
Dian Fossey fiercely protected the mountain gorillas she studied, bringing the plight of
these gentle great apes to the public view.
Birute Galdikas moved to the Indonesian jungle to observe the elusive animal native
people called "wild person in the woods." She stayed to rehabilitate orphaned
orangutans and revolutionize rainforest conservancy.
Recruited by the great anthropologist Louis Leakey, these remarkable women are
responsible for some of the biggest advances in both primatology and our
understanding of what it means to be human.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from the author’s website)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
Binky: License to Scratch by Ashley Spires
Binky the space cat and his team of space pets are left at the vet's office while their
humans are away. Binky plans an escape, only to stumble on a secret experiment
that could give vicious aliens the upper hand! It's up to Binky and his friends to
save the humans ... and themselves!
Discover the series: Binky the Space Cat, Binky to the Rescue, Binky Under
Pressure, and Binky Takes Charge
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Who Stole the Mona Lisa? By Geronimo Stilton
When Geronimo Stilton finds out that the Pirate Cats are going back in time to Venice in
the year 1517, he knows they must be after one thing: The Mona Lisa! Geronimo and
friends must travel to Renaissance Italy to stop the Pirate Cats from stealing the Mona
Lisa and taking credit for what is arguably the world's most famous painting. But the Pirate
Cats have an ace up their sleeve: someone in Geronimo's crew is an imposter!
Discover the Geronimo Stilton graphic novel series: #2: The Secret of the Sphinx, #3:
The Coliseum Con, #4: Following the Trail of Marco Polo, #5: The Great Ice Age
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TitlePeek)
Legends of Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (author & illustrator)
Zita is determined to find her way home to earth, following the events of the first book. But
things are never simple, and certainly never easy, in space.
Zita's exploits from her first adventure have made her an intergalactic megastar! But
she's about to find out that fame doesn't come without a price. And who can you trust
when your true self is being eclipsed by your public persona, and you've got a robot
doppelganger wreaking havoc . . . while wearing your face?
Still, if anyone can find their way through this intractible mess of mistaken identity and
alien invaders, it's the indomitable Zita, in Legends of Zita the Spacegirl.
Discover the prequel Zita the Spacegirl and the upcoming sequel The Return of Zita the
Spacegirl
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Pippi Moves In by Astrid Lindgren (author), Ingrid Vang Nyman (illustrator)
Pippi Moves In marks the first time that the legendary Pippi Longstocking comics by
famed children’s author and creator Astrid Lindgren and Danish illustrator Ingrid Vang
Nyman will be published outside of Scandinavia in thirty years, as well as their first ever
publication in English.
The outspoken strong-girl with the carrot-colored pigtails and the mismatched socks has
enthralled generations of children the world over with her fabulous exploits at Villa
Villekulla, where she lives with her horse and monkey.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
A Trip to the Bottom of the World by Frank Viva
There’s so much to see at the bottom of the world! Join a young explorer
and his best friend, Mouse, on a sea journey to Antarctica, where they
make new friends with penguins and a whale — and have all kinds of fun.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TitlePeek)
Sense and Sensibility adapted from the novel by Jane Austen ; writer, Nancy Butler ;
artist, Sonny Liew ; colorist, Sotocolor's L. Molinar ; letterer, VC's Joe Sabino
Alongside incredible artist Sonny Liew (My Faith in Frankie, Wonderland), Butler brings to
life the world of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two daughters without parents or means,
forced to experience hardship, romance, and heartbreak, all in the hopes of achieving
love and lasting happiness.
Discover other graphic novel adaptations of Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice and
Emma
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from TitlePeek)
Annie Sullivan and the Trials of Helen Keller by Joseph Lambert (author & illustrator)
Helen Keller lost her ability to see and hear before she turned two years old. But in her
lifetime, she learned to ride horseback and dance the foxtrot. She graduated from
Radcliffe. She became a world famous speaker and author. She befriended Mark
Twain, Charlie Chaplin, and Alexander Graham Bell. And above all, she revolutionized
public perception and treatment of the blind and the deaf.
The catalyst for this remarkable life’s journey was Annie Sullivan, a young woman who
was herself visually impaired. Hired on as a tutor when Helen was six years old, Annie
broke down the barriers between Helen and the wider world, becoming a fiercely
devoted friend and lifelong companion in the process.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TitlePeek)
To Dance: a Ballerina’s Graphic Novel by Siena Cherson Siegel (author), Mark
Siegel (illustrator)
Dancers are young when they first dream of dance. Siena was six -- and her dreams
kept skipping and leaping, circling and spinning, from airy runs along a beach near
her home in Puerto Rico, to dance class in Boston, to her debut performance on
stage with the New York City Ballet. To Dance tells and shows the fullness of her
dreams and her rhapsodic life they led to. Part family history, part backstage drama,
here is an original, firsthand book about a young dancer's beginnings -- and beyond.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TitlePeek)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
The Secret World of Arrietty Vol. 1 & Vol. 2 by Hiromasa Yonebayashi
In a secret world hidden beneath the floorboards, little people called Borrowers live
quietly among us. But when tenacious and tiny Arrietty is discovered by Shawn, a human
boy, their secret and forbidden friendship blossoms into an extraordinary adventure.
Featuring the voices of the Disney Channel's Bridgit Mendler, David Henrie, and comedic
all-stars Will Arnett, Amy Poehler, and Carol Burnett, and based on the award-winning
novel The Borrowers.
Discover the book The Borrowers (Mary Norton)
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from A Might Girl website)
Oz: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (author); writer, Eric Shanower ;
artist, Skottie Young ; colorist, Jean-Francois Beaulieu ; letterer, Jeff Eckleberry
When Kansas farm girl Dorothy flies away to the magical Land of Oz, she fatally flattens a
Wicked Witch and is hailed by the Munchkin people as a great sorceress. But all she
really wants to know is: how does she get home?
Discover the series: #2: Oz: The Marvelous Land of Oz, #3: Oz: Ozma of Oz, #4: Oz:
Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, #5: Oz: Road to Oz, #6: Oz: The Emerald City of Oz
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from Marvel.com)
Zebrafish by Sharon Emerson (author); Renee Kurilla (illustrator)
The story revolves around a girl, Vita, who wants to put together a band and put on a
concert to raise money for a worthy cause. Eventually, she pinpoints Leukemia as the
cause worth rocking for because one of her friends has secretly been battling it, and Vita
enlists some new friends to join her. The goal? Raise enough money from a concert to
purchase a machine for the hospital that will help speed along cancer research.
Discover the sequel Zebrafish SPF 40
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from The Graphic Classroom)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school’s
production of Moon Over Mississippi, she’s a terrible singer. Instead she’s the set
designer for the stage crew, and this year she’s determined to create a set worthy of
Broadway on a middle-school budget. But how can she, when she doesn’t know much
about carpentry, ticket sales are down, and the crew members are having trouble
working together? Not to mention the onstage AND offstage drama that occurs once the
actors are chosen, and when two cute brothers enter the picture, things get even
crazier!
Discover Raina Telgemeier’s other books, including: Smile and The Baby-sitters Club
Graphic Novels
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the author’s website)
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author); adapted by Ian
Edginton; I. N. J. Culbard (illustrator)
Doctor Watson relates how he met Holmes in the course of an impossible
crime investigation which baffled the police. In the second half of the graphic
novel, readers follow the detective as he tries to solve a murder in a Mormon
community.
(Title image & summary retrieved from the publisher’s website)
Explorer: the Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi (author, editor)
Seven clever stories answer one simple question: what's in the box?
Funny, fantastic, spooky, and suspenseful, each of these unique and
beautifully illustrated short graphic works revolves around a central
theme: a mysterious box and the marvels-or mayhem-inside.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
The City of Ember: the graphic novel by Jeanne Duprau (author); adapted by Dallas
Middaugh; art by Niklas Asker ; color by Niklas Asker and Bo Ashi; lettering by Chris
Dickey.
The city of Ember was built as a last refuge for the human race. Two hundred years
later, the great lamps that light the city are beginning to flicker. When Lina finds part of
an ancient message, she's sure it holds a secret that will save the city. She and her
friend Doon must decipher the message before the lights go out on Ember forever!
Discover the series The Books of Ember
(Title image retrieved from TitlePeek, summary retrieved from TitlePeek, April 16, 2014)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (author); adapted & illustrated by Hope Larson
The world already knows Meg and Charles Wallace Murry, Calvin O'Keefe, and the three
Mrs.--Who, Whatsit, and Which--the memorable and wonderful characters who fight off a
dark force and save our universe in the Newbery award-winning classic A Wrinkle in Time.
But in 50 years of publication, the book has never been illustrated. Now, Hope Larson takes
the classic story to a new level with her vividly imagined interpretations of tessering and
favorite characters like the Happy Medium and Aunt Beast.
Discover the book A Wrinkle in Time
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (author); Charles Dixon (adapted by); David Wenzel
(illustrator)
Fully painted in colour, this graphic novel contains a carefully abridged version of Tolkien's
original story about the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who is whisked off by the wizard Gandalf on
an adventure to recover stolen treasure. First published over 70 years ago, J.R.R.
Tolkien's The Hobbit has become one of the best-loved books of all time. Now Tolkien's
fantasy classic has been adapted into a fully painted graphic novel. The Hobbit is the story
of Bilbo Baggins, a quiet and contented hobbit whose life is turned upside down when he
joins the wizard Gandalf and thirteen dwarves on their quest to reclaim their stolen
treasure. It is a journey fraught with danger - and in the end it is Bilbo alone who must face
the guardian of this treasure, the most-dreaded dragon, Smaug.
Discover the book The Hobbit
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TitlePeek)
The Odyssey: a graphic novel (based on Homer’s epic poem) by Gareth Hinds
(adaptor, illustrator)
Fresh from his triumphs in the Trojan War, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, wants nothing more
than to return home to his family. Instead, he offends the sea god, Poseidon, who dooms
him to years of shipwreck and wandering. Battling man-eating monsters, violent storms,
and the supernatural seductions of sirens and sorceresses, Odysseus will need all his
strength and cunning--and a little help from Mount Olympus--to make his way home and
seize his kingdom from the schemers who seek to wed his queen and usurp his throne.
Award-winning graphic artist Gareth Hinds masterfully reinterprets a story of heroism,
adventure, and high action that has been told and retold for more than 2,500 years-though never quite like this.
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from TItlePeek)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
Aphrodite: Goddess of Love by George O’Connor (artist & illustrator)
In volume six of Olympians, graphic novel author/artist George O'Connor turns the spotlight
on Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Look for the same thoroughly researched and wonderfully
accessible comics storytelling as O'Connor tackles the story of the Aphrodite from her
dramatic birth (emerging from sea-foam) to her role in the Trojan War.
Discover the Olympian series: Zeus: King of the Gods (#1), Hera: The Goddess and her
Glory (#3), Hades: Lord of the Dead (#4), Poseidon: Earth Shaker (#5)
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TItlePeek)
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (author); adapted by Robert Venditti; art by Attila Futaki;
color by José Villarrubia; layouts by Orpheus Collar ; lettering by Chris Dickey.
Mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking out of the pages
of twelve-year-old Percy Jackson's textbooks and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few
of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Now,
he and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace
to a warring Mount Olympus.
Discover the graphic novel series: The Sea of Monsters (#2) and The Titan’s Curse (#3)
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from TItlePeek)
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan (author); adapted by Orpheus Collar; lettered by Jared
Fletcher.
Since their mother’s death, Sadie and Carter have become near-strangers. While Sadie has
lived with her grandparents in London, Carter has traveled the world with their father, the
famed Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane.
One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings to the British Museum, where he hopes to set things
right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion
and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that all the gods
of Egypt are waking, and that Set now has his sights on them. To stop him, the duo embarks
on a dangerous journey across the globe, one that brings Carter and Sadie ever closer to the
truth about their family and its connection to a secret order that has existed since the time of
the pharaohs.
Discover the book The Red Pyramid
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the publisher’s website)
Three Thieves: Tower of Treasure by Scott Chantler (author & illustrator)
As an acrobat in a traveling circus, 14-year-old orphan Dessa Redd flies through the air with
ease. Still, she is weighed down by troubling memories. But when her ragtag circus troupe
pulls into the city of Kingsbridge, Dessa feels a tickle of hope. Maybe here in the royal city
she will finally find her twin brother -- or the mysterious man who snatched him away when
they were just children. Meanwhile, Topper, the circus juggler, recruits Dessa and the circus
strongman, Fisk, for the job of robbing the royal treasury. Hungry and desperate, both agree,
setting off a series of adventures that will take the three thieves from one end of the world to
the other in search of Dessa's long-lost brother.
Discover the Three Thieves series: #2: The Sign of the Black Rock, #3: The Captive
Prince, #4: The King’s Dragon
(Title image & summary retrieved April 16, 2014 from TitlePeek)
Recommended Graphic Novels
2014
The Last Council (Amulet Book #4) by Kazu Kibuishii (author & illustrator)
Emily and her friends think they'll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn't
right. Streets that were once busy are deserted, and the townspeople who are left live
in crippling fear.
Emily is escorted to the Academy where she's expected to compete for a spot on the
Guardian Council, the most powerful Stonekeepers. But as the number of competitors
gets smaller and smaller, a terrible secret is slowly uncovered — a secret that, if left
buried, means certain destruction of everything Emily fights for.
Discover the Amulet series: The Stonekeeper (#1), The Stonekeeper’s Curse (#2),
The Cloud Searchers (#3), Prince of Elves (#5). Coming soon: #6: Escape from
Lucien
(Title image & summary retrieved from the publisher’s website)
The Lost Warrior (Warriors #1) by Erin Hunter (author), Dan Jolley (author), James L.
Barry (illustrator)
When the Twolegs destroy the warrior Clans' forest home, Graystripe—second in
command of ThunderClan—is captured trying to help his comrades escape! Trapped in
the pampered life of a kittypet, Graystripe has all the food and shelter he needs from his
affectionate Twoleg family, but this is not the way he wants to live. The forest is calling
him, and he never stops longing to go home. When he makes friends with a feisty kittypet
named Millie, she encourages him to go in search of his lost friends. But will Graystripe
ever find his way back to the Clan?
Discover the graphic novel series: Manga Warriors: Graystripe’s Trilogy #1—3,
Manga Warriors: Tigerstar and Sasha #1—3.
Discover the book series: Warriors #1—6, Warriors: The New Prophecy #1—6,
Warriors: Power of Three # 1—6
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the book’s website)
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
A boy named Ben longs for the father he has never known. A girl named Rose dreams
of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a
puzzling clue in his mother's room, and Rose reads an enticing headline in the
newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are
missing.
Discover Brian Selznick’s other books, including: The Invention of Hugo Cabret
(Title image & summary retrieved April 15, 2014 from the author’s website)