Summer is almost over. Soon it will be time for all good
little children to return to their textbooks and assigned reading. But before
you give up on all things light and warm, pick up some of these graphic novels
for extended summer reading pleasure.
The Flying Beaver
Brothers and the Evil Penguin Plan
by Maxwell Eaton III
Alfred A. Knopf, 2012
ages 6 - 10
Meet Ace and Bub, beavers who are brothers who sometimes
fly. Ace loves extreme sports and is always looking for a new adventure; Bub
loves napping and, well, napping. But when Arctic penguins in their giant
underwater refrigerator plot to freeze Beaver Island for “resort and
polar-style living,” the brothers must save the island and win the surfing
competition.
The two-color graphics are easy to follow and much of the
droll humor is found in the contradiction between the text and illustrations. If
your child likes it, you’ll want to grab the beaver brothers second adventure, The Flying Beaver Brothers and the Fishy
Business (Knopf 2012), in which the brothers must expose the Fish Stix Environmental
Manufacturing plant for what it really is – a giant pencil sharpener. Will Ace
and Bub and their penguin cohorts Bob and Bob be able to make enough pancakes
to save the forest from destruction?
Giants Beware
by Rafael Rosado and Jorge Aguirre
First Second, 2012
ages 7 - 12
An outspoken, red-haired daredevil called Claudette tricks
her meek younger brother and her fussy best friend into joining her on a quest
to slay a giant. Together, the three youngsters must overcome man-eating trees,
the Apple Hag and the Mad River King to arrive at Giant’s Peak where they will
meet the towering Minu. In the end, the timid little bother proves his mettle,
the aspiring princess finds that diplomacy is her new calling, and the intrepid
Claudette learns that friends are better than fame.
With large, colorful panels and snappy dialogue, this
rip-roaring adventure is easy to read and lots of fun. There are many secondary
characters whose mysterious backgrounds are barely touched on in the story, so
here’s hoping that further adventures are in the works.
Vordak the
Incomprehensible: How to Grow Up and Rule the World
by Vordak T. Incomprehensible; notes transcribed by Scott
Seegert
Egmont, 2010
ages 8 and up
Packed with snarky humor, this book contains Vordak’s
sixteen Commandments of Incomprehensibility that will help you, a random
doofus, to RULE THE WORLD! With
vocabulatory superiority, the grandstanding evil supergenius fills his how-to
book with all sorts of useful information about everything from choosing your gut-wrenchingly
evil name and costume to upgrading your evil lair. Vordak’s guide is filled
with delicious babble, fun font changes, wacky drawings and thinly veiled
umbrage. MUAHAHAHAHA!!!
Can’t get enough? Why then, pick up Vordak’s second book, Vordak the Incomprehensible: Rule the
School (Egmont, 2011) in which our bombastic super villain mistakenly
shrinks himself and must pretend to be a student at Farding Middle School (say
that out loud), home of the Farding Ferret. Great fun!
by Faith Erin Hicks
First Second, 2012
ages 12 and up
Being homeschooled and raised with three older brothers has
its ups and downs, but Maggie’s life gets a lot more complicated when she
begins her first year of high school. She has to navigate the school corridors
and puzzle through the complex relationships of the people who roam there, plus
there’s the small matter of being haunted by a ghost who won’t leave her alone.
A great coming-of-age story from a truly talented artist and
writer, this graphic novel is a gem. Hicks’ pen and ink drawings capture the
tangled emotions of her characters through their facial expressions and body
language. Much of the story is told in their silences.
The ghost part of the plot may seem a little weird, but it
offers an unusual way for Maggie to learn that she can’t fix everything in her
life - some shadows may hang over her and that’s okay. The ghost manages to
give the story a bit of an edge without distracting from the believable plot
and sympathetic characters Hicks has created.
Osborne’s books are great as a read-aloud and are enticing
for young readers to tackle on their own. Each story contains the key
ingredients of danger, suspense, humor and a little sibling rivalry. They also
introduce readers to different cultures and times in history.
Alongside these outstanding works of fiction, the people at
Magic Tree House have created Fact Trackers – nonfiction companions to the
Magic Tree House books that give readers more information about the historical
events and places visited by Jack and Annie. Are your children interested in
the Olympics? Show them Magic Tree House
Fact Tracker #10: Ancient Greece and the Olympics.
And waiting now on bookstore shelves is the newest book, Magic Tree House #48: A Perfect Time For Pandas.
It is sure to please Tree House fans.
The Clark children eagerly
began reading independently with the Magic Tree House series. Get more reading
ideas at clarkbookmark.blogspot.com/
