Published by Graphic Universe
Summary: When Cici turned 10, she found out from her abuela that she is really a fairy, just like her grandmother. Cici has recently weathered her parents’ divorce, enjoyed finding a new best friend (Kendra), and is in the process of learning how to use her magic powers. She, Kendra, and her little sister Sophie go on a camping trip with Cici’s dad, and, right from the start, everything goes wrong–there’s no record of their reservation, the marshmallows are missing, and the first day is rainy. Cici keeps seeing a little creature in the woods who tries to befriend her. She rejects his offers of friendship, focusing instead on all that is going wrong, until she has a meltdown. Her friend and family help her to see all the good things that have happened on the trip, and she finally makes friends with the creature. When she returns, her abuela tells her it was a wood sprite, and that she is a very lucky fairy to have seen one. 48 pages; grades 1-3.
Pros: A fun graphic novel for the younger set, with a nice blend of realism and fantasy, and featuring a Latina protagonist.
Cons: The $20+ price tag certainly gives me pause about purchasing this series for my library.
Summary: Jack’s summer is not looking too great: he’s expected to take care of his autistic sister Maddie while his single mom struggles to make ends meet with two jobs. At a flea market, an unsavory vendor (with the help of Maddie, speaking for the first time) trades Jack a box of seeds for the keys to his mother’s car. Needless to say, this doesn’t go over too well with Mom. The next day, Maddie is outside at the crack of dawn, digging up the backyard to plant the seeds. Before long, the two kids have created a garden of plants that come to life in more ways than one, and that attracts both the neighbor girl, Lilly, and a talking dragon. After a gigantic snail almost crushes Maddie, Jack has had enough, and tries to burn the entire garden. But complete destruction seems impossible, and by the end of this book, Maddie’s been carried off by a garden monster, and Lilly and Jack are arming themselves to go after her. Readers will have to wait for the next installment to see if they will be successful. 208 pages; grades 4-7.
Summary: Cat’s not happy about her family’s move from sunny Southern California to Bahia de la Luna in northern California, where the sun only shines 62 days a year. Her dad has a new job, but the real reason is the climate is better for her younger sister, Maya, who has cystic fibrosis. In their first days there, the sisters meet a neighbor boy, Carlos, who offers to take them on a ghost tour of their new town. Turns out there really are ghosts all over town, and when the three kids run into a pack of them, Maya embraces them with her usual exuberance. But dancing with ghosts proves to be unhealthy, Maya ends up in the hospital, and Cat blames Carlos. As summer moves into fall, Cat makes new friends at school, continuing to snub Carlos, while Maya slowly makes a partial recovery from her ghostly encounter. But the ghostliest time of year—Halloween and the Day of the Dead—are just around the corner, and Maya has to decide how she will deal with the spirits that are all around her. An author’s note talks more about the inspirations for this book and provides a glimpse into her sketchbook. 256 pages; grades 3-7.
A Kids Book A Day 