Graphic novels and education: Middle school
This guide is for those who are interested in the use of graphic novels in education and for those who want to know some of the graphic novels in Cubberley Library.
Middle school
The moth keeper by K. O'Neill
Publication Date: 2023Lexile measure GN710L, Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths that allow the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year. Her village needs the flower to continue thriving and Anya is excited to prove her worth and show her thanks to her friends with her actions, but what happens when being a Moth Keeper isn't exactly what Anya thought it would be? Night after night, it is lonely in the desert, with only one lantern for light. Still, Anya is eager to prove her worth, to show her thanks to her friends and her village. But is it worth the cost? And yet something isn't right. When Anya glimpses the one thing that could destroy what she's meant to protect, her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences.Nothing special by Katie Cook
Publication Date: 2024In the grand scheme of the worlds at large, Callie thinks she's nothing special. Sure, she's friends with the ghost of a radish and her dad owns a magical antique shop-but she's spent her life in the human world. Her dad won't let her join him on his collection trips in the magical realm "for her own protection," so she's only caught glimpses of that world through the gates of the town where her father's store is. On her seventeenth birthday, Callie goes home with her friend Declan to find her home in disarray and her dad missing. Signs of a struggle point to the portal to the magical realm and when there are signs, you follow them.Wave by Diana Farid; Kris Goto (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2022Ages 10-14; Gr.5-9
Thirteen-year-old Ava loves to surf and to sing. Singing and reading Rumi poems settle her mild OCD, and catching waves with her best friend, Phoenix, lets her fit in-her olive skin looks tan, not foreign. But then Ava has to spend the summer before ninth grade volunteering at the hospital, to follow in her single mother's footsteps to become a doctor. And when Phoenix's past lymphoma surges back, not even surfing, singing, or poetry can keep them afloat, threatening Ava's hold on the one place and the one person that make her feel like she belongs.
2019-2021
The legend of Auntie Po by Shing Yin Khor
Publication Date: 2021Ages 10 and up; Gr.5-9.
Aware of the racial tumult in the years after the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act, Mei tries to remain blissfully focused on her job, her close friendship with the camp foreman's daughter, and telling stories about Paul Bunyan--reinvented as Po Pan Yin (Auntie Po), an elderly Chinese matriarch.Banned book club by Hyun-Sook Kim; Ryan Estrada; Hyung-Ju Ko (Ill.)
Publication Date: 2020Ages 13 and up; Gr.7 and up.
When Kim Hyun Sook started college in 1983 she was ready for her world to open up. After acing her exams and sort-of convincing her traditional mother that it was a good idea for a woman to go to college, she looked forward to soaking up the ideas of Western Literature far from the drudgery she was promised at her family's restaurant. But literature class would prove to be just the start of a massive turning point, still focused on reading but with life-or-death stakes she never could have imagined. This was during South Korea's Fifth Republic, a military regime that entrenched its power through censorship, torture, and the murder of protestors. In this charged political climate, with Molotov cocktails flying and fellow students disappearing for hours and returning with bruises, Hyun Sook sought refuge in the comfort of books.The magic fish by Trung Le Nguyen
Publication Date: 2020Ages 12 and up; Gr.7 and up
It's hard enough trying to communicate with your parents as a kid, but for Tié̂n, he doesn't even have the right words because his parents are struggling with their English. Is there a Vietnamese word for what he's going through? Is there a way to tell them he's gay?Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell; Faith Erin Hicks (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .R685 P86 2019Ages 12 and up; Gr.7 and up.
Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends. Every autumn, all through high school, they've worked together at the world's best pumpkin patch.Queen of the Sea by Dylan Meconis
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .M398 Q44 2019Ages 10-14; Gr.5-9.
Cult graphic novelist Dylan Meconis offers a rich reimagining of history in this beautifully detailed hybrid novel loosely based on the exile of Queen Elizabeth I by her sister, Queen Mary.
2018
The Agony House by Cherie Priest; Tara O'Connor (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3616 .R537 A63 2018Lexile measure HL740L; Ages 14 and up; Gr.7-10; Locus Award finalist, 2019.
Denise Farber has just moved back to New Orleans with her mom and step-dad. They left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and have finally returned, wagering the last of their family's money on fixing up an old, rundown house and converting it to a bed and breakfast.All Summer Long by Hope Larson
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .L368 A65 2018Lexile measure GN250L; Ages 10-12; Gr.5-8.
Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he's off to soccer camp for a month, and he's been acting kind of weird lately anyway.Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .B7569 B42 2018Lexile measure GN360L; Ages 10-14; Gr.5-8
In Be Prepared, all Vera wants to do is fit in--but that's not easy for a Russian girl in the suburbs. Her friends live in fancy houses and their parents can afford to send them to the best summer camps. Vera's single mother can't afford that sort of luxury, but there's one summer camp in her price range--Russian summer camp.Crush by Svetlana Chmakova
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6733 .C56 C78 2018Lexile measure HL150L; ages 9-12; Gr.5-8.
Jorge seems to have it all together. He's big enough that nobody really messes with him, but he's also a genuinely sweet guy with a solid, reliable group of friends. The only time he ever really feels off his game is when he crosses paths with a certain girl... But when the group dynamic among the boys starts to shift, will Jorge be able to balance what his friends expect of him versus what he actually wants?Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .K736 H49 2018Lexile measure 510; Gr.7 and up; National Book Award for Young People's Literature, finalist, 2018.
In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along.Illegal by Eoin Colfer; Andrew Donkin; Giovanni Rigano (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » JV6344 .C65 2018Lexile measure GN490L; Ages 8-12; Gr.6-8.
Ebo is alone. His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life--the same journey their sister set out on months ago. But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana.The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .W284 P75 2018Lexile measure GN360L; Ages 12 and up; Gr.6 and up.
Paris, at the dawn of the modern age: Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride--or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia--the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!Sheets by Brenna Thummler
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .T483 S54 2018Ages 12 and up; Gr.6 and up.
Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen-year-old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she's worked for. Wendell is a ghost.
2015-2017
As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .G55 A7 2017Gr.6 and up; Stonewall Honor Books in Children's and Young Adult Literature, 2018.
Charlie Lamonte is thirteen years old, queer, black, and questioning what was once a firm belief in God. So naturally, she's spending a week of her summer vacation stuck at an all-white Christian youth backpacking camp.Brave by Svetlana Chmakova
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6733 .C56 B73 2017Lexile measure GN360L; Ages 9-13; Gr.5 and up.
In his daydreams, Jensen is the biggest hero that ever was, saving the world and his friends on a daily basis. But his middle school reality is VERY different--math is hard, getting along with friends is hard...Even finding a partner for the class project is a huge problem when you always get picked last.Fish Girl by Donna Jo Napoli; David Wiesner (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .N37 F57 2017Lexile measure 460; Ages 10-12; gr.5-7.
The triple Caldecott winner David Wiesner brings his rich visual imagination and trademark artistry to the graphic novel format in a unique coming-of-age tale that begins underwater. A young mermaid, called Fish Girl, in a boardwalk aquarium has a chance encounter with an ordinary girl.Rickety Stitch and the gelatinous Goo by James Parks; Ben Costa
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .C672 R53 2017Lexile measure GN360L; Ages 12 and up; Gr.6 and up.
Meet Rickety Stitch ... a walking, talking, singing skeleton minstrel. He's the one skeleton in the dungeon who seems to have retained his soul, and he has no idea why. His only clue to his former identity is a song he hears snippets of in his dreams, an epic bard's tale about the Road to Epoli and the land of Eem. His sidekick and sole friend is Goo, a squishy blob of jelly that Rickety alone can understand. Together they set out in search of Rickety's past, with abundant humor and adventure galore.Spinning by Tillie Walden (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » GV850 .W25 A3 2017Gr.6 and up.
Tillie Walden's Eisner Award winning graphic memoir Spinning captures what it's like to come of age, come out, and come to terms with leaving behind everything you used to know.Goldie Vance by Hope Larson; Brittney Williams (Ill.)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6728 .G65 L377 2016Ages 11-14; gr.6-9.
Sixteen-year-old Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place. Her mom, who divorced her dad years ago, works as a live mermaid at a club downtown. Goldie has an insatiable curiosity, which explains her dream to one day become the hotel's in-house detective. When Charles, the current detective, encounters a case he can't crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery.I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest; Kali Ciesemier (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3616 .R537 I2 2015Lexile measure 790; Ages 11-14; Gr.6-9.
Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine was called Princess X. Then Libby is killed in a car crash May is sixteen when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window. Princess X?The Marvels by Brian Selznick
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PS3619 .E469 M37 2015Lexile measure 770; Ages 10-17; Gr.5-8; Guided reading U
In this magnificent reimagining of the form Selznick originated, two stand-alone stories--the first in nearly 400 pages of continuous pictures, the second in prose--create a beguiling narrative puzzle. The journey begins at sea in 1766, with a boy named Billy Marvel. After surviving a shipwreck, he finds work in a London theatre. There, his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until 1900, when young Leontes Marvel is banished from the stage.
2011-2014
Ms. Marvel - No Normal by Marvel Comics Staff (Text by); Adrian Alphona (Artist); G. Willow Wilson; Jacob Wyatt (Artist)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6728 .M766 W55 2014Lexile measure GN450L; Ages 11-17.
"Kamala Khan is an ordinary girl from Jersey City - until she's suddenly empowered with extraordinary gifts. But who truly is the new Ms. Marvel? Teenager? Muslim? Inhuman? Find out as she takes the Marvel Universe by storm!"Shackleton: Antarctic odyssey by Nick Bertozzi (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .B4765 S48 2014Lexile measure GN620L; Ages 10 and up; gr.7-12.
Ernest Shackleton was one of the last great Antarctic explorers, and he led one of the most ambitious Antarctic expeditions ever undertaken. This is his story, and the story of the dozens of men who threw in their lot with him - many of whom nearly died in the unimaginably harsh conditions of the journey.Boxers and Saints Boxed Set by Gene Luen Yang (Ill.); Lark Pien
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .Y36 B68 2013Ages 11-14.
In two volumes, Boxers & Saints tells two parallel stories. The first is of Little Bao, a Chinese peasant boy whose village is abused and plundered by Westerners claiming the role of missionaries. Little Bao, inspired by visions of the Chinese gods, joins a violent uprising against the Western interlopers. But in the second volume, Yang lays out the opposite side of the conflict. A girl whose village has no place for her is taken in by Christian missionaries and finds, for the first time, a home with them. As the Boxer Rebellion gains momentum, Vibiana must decide whether to abandon her Christian friends or to commit herself fully to Christianity.Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6733 .C514 D453 2013Lexile measure GN440; Ages 12 and up; Gr.6 and up.
Lovable ne'er-do-well Delilah Dirk is an adventurer for the 19th century. She has traveled to Japan, Indonesia, France, and even the New World. Using the skills she's picked up on the way, Delilah's adventures continue as she plots to rob a rich and corrupt Sultan in Constantinople.Jane, the Fox and Me by Isabelle Arsenault (Ill.); Fanny Britt; Susan Ourious (Translator); Christelle Morelli (Translator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6747 .B75 J3613 2013 FLexile measure GN800L; gr. 5-8.
Hélène has been inexplicably ostracized by the girls who were once her friends. Her school life is full of whispers and lies - Hélène weighs 216; she smells like BO. Her loving mother is too tired to be any help. Fortunately, Hélène has one consolation, Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre.Drama by Raina Telgemeier
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .T294 D73 2012Ages 10-14; Gr.5-7.
Callie loves theater. And while she would totally try out for her middle school's production of Moon over Mississippi, she can't really sing. Instead she's the set designer for the drama department's stage crew, and this year she's determined to create a set worthy of Broadway on a middle-school budget.Tina's Mouth by Keshni Kashyap; Mari Araki (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .K278 T56 2011Ages 12 and up.
Tina M., sophomore, is a wry observer of the cliques and mores of Yarborough Academy, and of the foibles of her Southern California intellectual Indian family. She's on a first-name basis with Jean-Paul Sartre, the result of an English honors class assignment to keep an "existential diary."
Before 2010
American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (Illustrator)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .Y36 A54 2008Lexile measure 530; Book level 3.3; Ages 12-18; Gr.6-10.
Jin Wang starts at a new school where he's the only Chinese-American student. When a boy from Taiwan joins his class, Jin doesn't want to be associated with an FOB like him. Jin just wants to be an all-American boy, because he's in love with an all-American girl.The Arrival by Shaun Tan
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .T358 A77 2006 FAges 8 and up.
In a heartbreaking parting, a man gives his wife and daughter a last kiss and boards a steamship. He's embarking on the most difficult journey he's leaving home to build a better future for his family.Kampung Boy by Lat
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PZ7 .L3298 K36 2006Book level 5.1; Ages 12-18; gr.5-8.
Kampung Boy is a favorite of millions of readers in Southeast Asia. Lat recounts the life of Mat, a Muslim boy growing up in rural Malaysia in the 1950s: his adventures and mischief-making, fishing trips, religious study, and work on his family's rubber plantation.Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz; Kanako (Ill.); Kanako Damerum (Ill.); Yuzuru (Ill.; Antony Johnston (Adapted by)
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6738 .A37 J66 2006Ages 12-15.
This very first Alex Rider adventure, featuring manga-like illustrations, follows a fourteen-year-old boy, who, after the death of the uncle who had been his guardian, is coerced into continuing his uncle's dangerous work for Britain's intelligence agency, MI6.The Sandwalk Adventures: an adventure in evolution told in five chapters by Jay Hosler
Call Number: Education Library (Cubberley) » Curriculum Collection » PN6727 .H594 S25 2003Gr.7-12
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