Biblio Reviews

I had been worried about Jerry Craft's New Kid (2019), a graphic novel chronicling seventh grader Jordan Banks's first year in a predominately white private school.  Brilliant in every way, I had felt like the book wasn't getting the attention it deserved. And so, it was with joy that I heard it won the 2020 Coretta Scott King Award and Newbery Medal. Both awards are well-deserved, for New Kid is beautifully crafted (pun intended) and addresses serious topics with humanity and humor. Exploring the concept of identity--the factors that influence, change, and/or define it--my seventh graders were primed to fall in love with New Kid , too, once I recommended it for independent reading. By the time they finished the first chapter, my students were sold on the novel. This is because Jordan's personality and family were quickly and clearly established and presented in ways that my kids could relate. Jordan Banks is your regular, seventh grade boy trying to find his p...

One of the best things to have happened with books in the last decade has been the increase in published graphic novels and their status as "real books." Once limited to the comic book genre, the publication and critical acclaim of Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese (2006) cracked the door. The popularity of Raina Telgemeier's graphic novels signaled a new wave, particularly for the middle grades. I started to really invest in these books when I tried to stock my classroom library for my middle school students. Varied in their interests, reading levels, and reading desires, I wanted to find something to appeal to every single one of them. Graphic novels were my carrot, particularly for the boys who really struggled to engage with independent reading. Of the new crop of graphic novels for younger readers, here are some of the characteristics I've noticed: They feature characters who are in middle school. They're often part of a series. They central...

Adapted by Ian Edginton from Robert Muchamore’s popular teen-spy series,  The Recruit: The Graphic Novel  (2013) stars James Choke, a preteen on a path to delinquency who is placed in foster care after his obese mother suddenly dies. The opportunity to transform his life comes about when he is recruited to train and become a member of CHERUB, a covert intelligence organization for children. The Recruit  is the first graphic novel I read that was not based on a story already known by me. Marvel's graphic adaptation of  Pride and Prejudice  is the only other graphic novel I had previously read. Familiar with the story, my focus in reading the graphic version was on whether a comprehensive version of the novel was represented. I was less interested (or familiar) with whether the artwork or layout were of good quality and did justice to the characters and story. I imagine that's what comic book/graphic novel aficionados focus on. I went to an NCTE conference a c...