I know, I KNOW. It’s only the middle of August. It doesn’t feel like it’s time to go back to school.
And for lots of districts, it’s not.
But for huge swatches of the South and the Midwest, it’s happening this week or next week. It’s so early, it’s so hot. The kids are so cranky (I would be, too, if I had to go back to school so soon!)
What’s the solution?
COMICS.
Here are some great, recent comics/graphic novels to give to your kids. Throw these up on a display, handsell them, or stealthily slide them across your circ counter. Your tweens will thank you.
Gotham Academy Volume 1 by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl. Do your kids love Batman? This comic is set in a prestigious prep school right in the heart of Gotham. With great supporting characters, secrets, and possibly a ghost, this hits all the superhero buttons. The mysterious Wayne family might even make an appearance…
Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll just came out last week. It’s a bit spooky but not outright scary. Masha needs some adventure so when Baba Yaga advertises for an assistant, she decides to try it out. But she has to be clever and wily enough to earn her place.
Oddly Normal by Otis Frampton – Image Comics just reprinted this with a new cover. It’s INCREDIBLY fun. Oddly is a half-witch and having a mother from Fignation isn’t always a walk in the park. It’s even less fun when her parents disappear and she has to go live in Fignation. She’s the only being in the whole world that’s even remotely human. Hijinks ensue.
BONUS:
I am Princess X by Cherie Priest is actually a novel, but there’s a story-within-a-story here that’s told in comics, and it’s a very cool example of mixed-format storytelling. May’s best friend Libby passed away a few years ago in a really tragic accident, and she’s been lonely ever since. But all of a sudden, she sees Princess X popping up all over Seattle: Princess X was a childhood creation that only Libby and May knew about. As May dives into the world of Princess X and webcomics, she begins to wonder–could Libby be alive?
Enjoy the last part of your summer!
-Ally Watkins, ALSC guest blogger. Ally is a Library Consultant at the Mississippi Library Commission.