Published by First Second

Summary:  When the knight sees ogres waking up, she rushes to the castle to warn the king.  He seems pretty unconcerned, but eventually he puts down his comic book and leads her out back where the garden gnomes are tending the vegetables.  Eventually, the knight ends up with the task of peeling and chopping an enormous pile of potatoes and carrots, which the gnomes turn into a gigantic pot of stew.  Just in time, because the ogres are now fully awake and storming the castle.  It proves to be just what the monsters need (“low blood sugar is no joke,” comments one), and the kingdom is saved…for now.  Endpapers show how to draw the knight, Edward the horse, the gnomes, and the ogres.  40 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  A fun graphic novel for the younger set, from the three cartoonists who brought you Adventures in Cartooning.  Looks like there will be more to come.

Cons:  At the conclusion, the knight declares, “All in all, things worked out pretty good, I suppose.”  Grammar.

Published by Crown Books 

Summary:  Siblings Lucy and Andy, as well as their friends and family, are Neanderthals, which means…what?  Two modern scientists appear at the end of each chapter to fill the reader in on how Neanderthals hunted, created tools, communicated, made clothes, and more.  There are pertinent comments throughout the story which is a humorous slice-of-life look at several days with the Neanderthals.  The family prepares  for a big mammoth hunt, goes on the hunt, then turns the dead mammoth into meat and clothes.  At the end, the Neanderthals meet up with some humans, who seem to be fabulous new neighbors until Andy overhears them plotting to take over the Neanderthals’ cave.  This sets up for book 2 which is previewed on the final few pages.  There’s a section at the end with still more Neanderthal information, and a note from the author in which he claims to have read almost 100 books to prepare for the creation of this graphic novel.  224 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  Far more educational than what I was expecting from the author of Jedi Academy, but don’t worry, there is plenty of fun mixed in as well.  This one is guaranteed to fly off the library shelves, and readers will be laughing too much to realize they’re learning, too.

Cons:  I prefer some color in my graphic novels.

Published by Graphix 

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.

Pros:  Raina Telgemeier has created another graphic masterpiece.  Ghosts would make a great book group selection, with questions of life and death to discuss and consider.  Old fans will not be disappointed, and new ones will undoubtedly be created.

Cons:  This is a bit darker than Telgemeier’s previous books.