Graphic novels have become increasingly popular among young readers for good reason. These visually engaging books capture students’ attention, increase reading comprehension and can be a more approachable read for striving readers, English language learners or those with learning difficulties. Advanced readers also benefit from reading graphic novels, as they learn how to interpret various images and words to construct a complex story.
The expertly selected graphic novels below showcase how this medium is not only entertaining and exciting for young readers but also delivers important themes, topics and ideas in an engaging way that aids comprehension and retention skills.
1. CatStronauts
by Drew Brockington
Interest level: 1-4
When the world is in danger, only the best space cats on earth can save us all. Meet fearless commander, Major Meowser, brave-but-hungry pilot, Waffles, genius technician and inventor, Blanket, and quick-thinking science officer, Pom Pom, on their most dangerous and important missions in the galaxy. This series breathes life into a world populated entirely by cats, brimming with jokes, charm, science and enough big boxes and tuna sandwiches for everyone!
2. Mighty Jack
by Ben Hatke
Interest level: 3-7
It would have been a normal, boring summer had Jack not sold his mother’s car for a box of mysterious seeds. Mighty Jack takes Jack and the Beanstalk’s folk-tale charm and adds a dash of modern fantasy. Follow Jack, his sister Maddy and the spunky neighbor Lilly, as they wrangle with the magical garden behind Jack’s house and travel to the dangerous world beyond the vines and stalks.
3. The Dragon Slayer: Folktales from Latin America
by Jaime Hernandez
Interest level: 3-8
How would a kitchen maid fare against a seven-headed dragon? What happens when a woman marries a mouse? And what can a young man learn from a thousand leaf cutter ants? Learn the answer to all these questions and more as these timeless tales are transformed into bold, stunning and utterly contemporary comics. This book brings the sights and stories of Latin America to a new generation of graphic novel fans around the world.
4. The Bad Guys
by Aaron Blabey
Interest level: 2-5
They sound like bad guys; they look like bad guys and they even smell like bad guys. But Mr. Wolf, Mr. Piranha, Mr. Snake, and Mr. Shark are about to change all of that, whether you like it or not! This hilarious series delivers all the naughty and silly laughs readers could want.
5. Karen’s Witch
by Ann M. Martin
Interest level: 2-5
A fresh and fun graphic novel series spin-off of The Baby-sitters Club, featuring Kristy’s little stepsister. Karen Brewer lives next door to Mrs. Porter, who wears long black robes and has wild gray hair. Karen isn’t supposed to spy on her neighbor, but she’s determined to prove that Mrs. Porter is a witch. Mrs. Porter is getting ready to have a special meeting at her house, and Karen is sure the meeting is for witches. Are they going to cast a spell on Karen? Or will she be brave enough to send them away once and for all?
6. Dog Man
by Dav Pilkey
Interest level: 2-6
Dog Man is the crime-biting canine who is part dog, part man and all hero. Perfect for reluctant and voracious readers alike, this series follows the adventures of Dog Man as he claws after crooks and rolls over robbers! He has a nose for justice, but will his canine ways get him in trouble? Dav Pilkey’s wildly popular Dog Man series appeals to readers of all ages and explores universally positive themes, including empathy, kindness, persistence and the importance of being true to oneself.
7. Super Potato
by Artur Laperla
Interest level: 2-5
Spanish cartoonist Artur Laperla presents the adventures of a costumed crime-fighter who turns into a potato and becomes a bigger hero than ever. He faces off against sinister scientists, slugs from space, giant chickens and more in a series of graphic novels perfect for reluctant readers.
8. Lowriders in Space
by Cathy Camper
Interest level: 3-7
Lupe Impala, El Chavo Flapjack and Elirio Malaria love working with cars. You name it, they can fix it. But the team’s favorite cars of all are lowriders. The stars align when a contest for the best car around offers a prize of a trunkful of cash, just what the team needs to open their own shop! Features striking, unparalleled art from debut illustrator Raúl the Third, and the story is sketched with Spanish, inked with science facts and colored with true friendship. With a glossary at the back to provide definitions for Spanish and science terms, this delightful book will educate and entertain in equal measure.
9. Cici a Fairy’s Tale: Believe Your Eyes
by Cori Doerrfeld
Interest level: 2-5
A lot is changing for Cici. Her parents are separating, her wacky abuela is moving in, and on her tenth birthday, she wakes up with fairy wings! Cici’s new magical powers let her see people as they truly are. But what she learns about her friends and family isn’t always easy to accept. She has only one day to decide whether to keep her wings. When Cici wishes life could just be normal again, will she choose to believe in the power of fairies?
10. Real Friends
by Shannon Hale
Interest level: 3-6
Shannon and Adrienne have been best friends ever since they were little. But one day, Adrienne starts hanging out with Jen, the most popular girl in class and the leader of a circle of friends called The Group. Everyone in The Group wants to be Jen’s #1, and some girls would do anything to stay on top, even if it means bullying others. Newbery Honor author Shannon Hale and New York Times bestselling illustrator LeUyen Pham join forces in this graphic memoir about how hard it is to find your real friends, and why it’s worth the journey.
11. Raina Telgemeier Graphic Memoirs
by Raina Telgemeier
Interest level: 3-7
Raina Telgemeier uses her signature humor and charm in both present-day narrative and perfectly placed flashbacks to tell the story of her relationship with her family and relatable tales from her childhood. Each novel features themes of family, friendship and the highs and lows of growing up.
12. El Deafo
by Cece Bell
Interest level: 5-8
Going to school and making new friends can be tough. But going to school and making new friends while wearing a bulky hearing aid strapped to your chest? That requires superpowers! In this funny, poignant graphic novel memoir, author/illustrator Cece Bell chronicles her hearing loss at a young age and her subsequent experiences with the Phonic Ear, a very powerful – and very awkward – hearing aid.
13. Pashmina
by Nidhi Chanani
Interest level: 4-7
Priyanka Das has unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? Who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But to Pri’s mom, the topic of India is permanently closed. That is, until Pri finds a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film. But is this the real India? To learn the truth, Pri must travel farther than she’s ever dared and find the family she never knew.
14. When Stars Are Scattered
by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
Interest level: 4-7
Omar Mohamed was only four years old when he fled to a Kenyan refugee camp from war-torn Somalia with only his little brother in tow. Accompanied by Victoria Jamieson’s brilliant graphic artwork, When Stars Are Scattered is a remarkable true account of Omar’s childhood growing up in the camp, raising his little brother and dreaming of a better life for them both. A heartbreaking, hopeful, eye-opening must-read for all ages.
15. The Cardboard Kingdom
by Chad Sell
Interest level: 4-7
Welcome to a neighborhood of kids who transform ordinary boxes into colorful costumes and their ordinary block into a cardboard kingdom. This is the summer when 16 kids meet knights and rogues, robots and monsters – and their own inner demons – on one last quest before school starts again. In the Cardboard Kingdom, you can be anything you want to be. Imagine that! Cardboard Kingdom is a collaboration project of Chad Sell and 10 authors, including Vid Alliger, Manuel Betancourt, Michael Cole, David DeMeo, Jay Fuller, Cloud Jacobs, Barbara Perez Marquez, Kris Moore, Molly Muldoon and Katie Schenkel.
16. New Kid
by Jerry Craft
Interest level: 4-7
New Kid is a timely, honest graphic novel about starting over at a new school where diversity is low and the struggle to fit in is real. Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds and not really fitting into either one.
17. Black Heroes of the Wild West
by James Otis Smith
Interest level: 3-8
This graphic novel celebrates the extraordinary true tales of three Black heroes who took control of their destinies and stood up for their communities in the Old West. Born into slavery in Tennessee, Mary Fields became famous as “Stagecoach Mary,” a cigar-chomping, card playing coach driver who never missed a delivery. Bass Reeves, the first Black Deputy U.S. Marshal west of the Mississippi, was one of the wiliest lawmen in the territories, bringing thousands of outlaws to justice with his smarts. Bob Lemmons lived to be 99 years old and was so good with horses that the wild mustangs on the plains of Texas took him for one of their own.
18. Stargazing
by Jen Wang
Interest level: 4-7
Moon is everything Christine isn’t. She’s confident, impulsive, artistic and although they both grew up in the same Chinese American suburb, Moon is somehow unlike anyone Christine has ever known. But after Moon moves in next door, these unlikely friends are soon best friends. Moon even tells Christine her deepest secret: that she has visions, sometimes, of celestial beings who speak to her from the stars. Moon’s visions have an all-too-earthly root, however, and soon Christine’s best friend is in the hospital fighting for her life. A heartwarming middle-grade graphic novel that paints a deeply personal yet wholly relatable friendship story that’s at turns joyful, heart-wrenching and full of hope.
19. The Crossover (Graphic Novel)
by Kwame Alexander
Interest level: 5-7
Kwame Alexander’s New York Times bestseller and Newbery Medal–winning The Crossover is now a graphic novel! Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood – he’s got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it’s all on the line. See the Bell family in a whole new light through Dawud Anyabwile’s dynamic illustrations as the brothers’ winning season unfolds, and the world as they know it begins to change.
20. Click
by Kayla Miller
Interest level: 3-7
Olive “clicks” with everyone in the fifth grade – until one day she doesn’t. When a school variety show leaves Olive stranded without an act to join, she begins to panic, wondering why all her friends have already formed their own groups without her. With the performance drawing closer by the minute, will Olive be able to find her own place in the show before the curtain comes up? A heartfelt and insightful story about navigating friendships, leaning on family and learning to take the stage in the most important role of all.
What are some of your student’s favorite graphic novels? Share in the comments below!
Nice books! ☺️