Graphic novels | Page 6 of 8

Spy Camp The Graphic Novel, resistance is futile, read and enjoy

Recently I was surprised to find out that Enola Holmes was a series of books before it was a Netflix movie and before it was a graphic novel. To some folks, I realize that fact sets my surprise barometer rather low, akin to the water is wet crowd. For upper elementary, through middle school readers the Spy School series of books by Stuart Gibbs is a bulletproof vehicle for fun, fast-paced reading that helps those ages fall in love with literature. When Spy School The Graphic Novel came out I was less than impressed. As the series of mglit books goes, so goes the graphic novels and Spy Camp The Graphic Novel is upon us. And perhaps it took the Enola Holmes graphic novel to brush off our burs, but Spy Camp The Graphic Novel is an entertaining and fun book.

Spy Camp The Graphic Novel finds its graphic groove as a series and jumps into the same entertainment vibe as the books.

That’s great that you loved the novels, this graphic novel is great now too

I Am Coco, a graphic novel that makes the improbable, probable

Make me interested in a quasi-graphic novel about a fashion designer. I Am Coco, The Life of Coco Chanel by Isabel Pin politely, says “Hold my glass of wine.” I Am Coco is an excellent of example of how the medium of a graphic novel is able to tell a story to an otherwise unapproachable audience. It’s not that I’m a fashion snob. It’s just that the only thing I knew about Coco Chanel is that it’s a perfume presented via esoteric voiceovers and dreamy visuals where it’s always windy and people are having grand adventures in foreign vistas with exotic animals by their feet. In reality, the story of Coco Chanel is much more about an entrepreneur who was creating her own path during a time when many of the world’s greats were making their mark.

I Am Coco, The Life of Coco Chanel is a graphic novel that looks at the icon’s life in a way that makes non-fashion folks interested.

Hold my glass of wine

Best Shot in the West, a stunning graphic novel for high school and up

The cover to Best Shot in the West looks like a promotional poster for a rodeo or a cowboy recruitment drive. Come join us, see the west, rope horses, and let the only boundaries for what you can become only be limited by your abilities, getting trampled by steer or disease. That was the modus operandi in the late 1800s for those who wanted independence, adventure, or financial freedom back and the superstars who opted for the first two had great nicknames. Nat Love had a great name from the get-go, but his cowboy nomenclature was equally as great, Deadwood Dick.

Best Shot in the West is one of the most beautiful graphic novels that you’ll see, with a (mostly) non-fiction action story that can’t be beat.

The legend of Nat Love in graphic novel art form

Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels, Book Two, beautiful art with a smart story

There is a reason why successful intellectual properties cross over to different mediums and it all comes down to the fact that we’re busy. I was too busy to read the book, but I saw the movie or television show and really liked that. As a matter of fact, I liked it so much that I read the next chapter in the book when it came out. Enola Holmes is an example of this occurrence. Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels, Book Two is out and it compiles three graphic novels of Ms. Holmes’s happenings.

Enola Holmes: The Graphic Novels Book Two, collects graphic novels 4, 5 and 6 in this beautifully illustrated and smart series that follows the books.

Come because of the Netflix movie, stay for the art and then read the books

Quest Kids and the Dragon Pants of Gold, kids love this cloth

Xerox and Coca-Cola are brand names that have become synonymous with their product. Cola, soda, or ‘make a copy’ are their siblings that are hiding in plain sight. Likewise, books that are closely associated with their contemporaries are often grouped together, for example, it’s like Harry Potter, Wimpy Kid, or Dog Man. For young readers of a certain age or period of their life, Wimpy Kid, and the world that surrounds him, represent their go-to entertainment. However, Wimpy Kid, when used in those instances is an adjective and not a noun. Quest Kids and the Dragon Pants of Gold is a great example of that being used as an adjective. It follows the cartoon and text format to an extent; but has aspects that allow the book to be embraced by readers who are younger, as well as, reeling in those reluctant readers.

Quest Kids and the Dragon Pants of Gold is mglit that’s cut from the wimpy cloth, but it’s bigger, more entertaining and fun for grades 5 and up.

It is Ok to be compared to something else and still be awesome

We The People!, a graphic novel smart enough to be simple

Prior to reading We The People! I had no idea about the woman who was the first Second Lady and the second First Lady. Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, the first Vice President and second President of the United States. Abigail Adams is also the narrator in Big Ideas That Changed The World, We The People! The Big Ideas That Changed The World graphic novel series is from Don Brown and absolutely nails the intersection of education and entertainment down to the floor. We The People! gives people a deep, yet entirely accessible, dive into American democracy and how it came to be.

We The People! is a non-fiction graphic novel from the Big Idea series that makes the complex topic of democracy interesting and approachable.

Fun and education need not be separate

The Underground Abductor Bigger & Badder Edition is also better

How do you make the already good, even better? That beautiful bacon, spinach, and garlic pizza is great when it’s small, but when you make it a medium or large and it reaches a new level. Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, The Underground Abductor-An Abolitionist Tale was good, but the Bigger & Badder Edition is just that. All of the books in the Hazardous Tales graphic novel series that we’ve read have been entertaining and educational to some degree. Ironically, it was their initial size always left us wanting more. Imagine seeing a painted or drawn work of art that is great, but one whose small stature handicapped its enjoyment.

The Underground Abductor, Bigger & Badder Edition is the bigger version of the engaging and excellent non-fiction graphic novel by Nathan Hale.

It’s ok to not know everything, as long as you’re open to learning more…

More Reinhart magic in Marvel Super Heroes The Ultimate Pop-Up Book

Where did you go to school? How is it that you’re able to envision things in such a manner that they fold out into such a grandiose, artistic fashion? If I were able to chat with Matthew Reinhart those are only a couple of the questions that I’d ask him. Reinhart’s pop-up books defy logic. It’s obvious that they pop-up, and one might expect a book along those lines to come off of the page. What Reinhart creates is mind-blowing art that comes off of the pages 12’ high and has multiple elements. Marvel Super Heroes The Ultimate Pop-Up Book takes on the MCU and entertains, as well as educates in ways that’ll make this a coffee table book for the pop culture savvy.

Clever Marvel Super Heroes The Ultimate Pop-Up Book is by Matthew Reinhart, paper engineer extraordinaire and gives the MCU comics a 3D rendering. Publishing has a trio of My First Spanish board books that are smart enough for sixth or seventh grade, and young enough for crawlers.

a LABRYNTH OF A GOOD TIME FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO