I have been relentlessly pawing through the racks of graphic novels at every library and book store I visit. I have found many good titles and I hope to bring them over to Norris this fall. Best news? Turns out my soon to be 5th grader LOVES the graphic novels, so I can get a second opinion on them before I make that final book order.
Macey's fav so far is Smile by Raina Telgemeier. It follows the harrowing and true life of a MS girl who knocks out her two front teeth running home from Girl Scouts one evening. I loved it too, it will really click with any MS reader who has or will have braces, glasses, or anything they feel uncomfortable about. Awesome book.
I am all caught up with the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. This is another graphic novel and these will be out on the shelves when schools starts and I am guessing they will always be checked out. Book four comes out in September.
Here is the review from Publisher's Weekly:
Almost too clever and poignant, Amulet is, on the surface, about navigating the murky waters of adolescence and, beneath that, an exploration of abandonment and survival. Emily and Navin are lost children, literally lost in a dark, new world and struggling to save their mother, who has been kidnapped by a drooling, tentacled beast. With stellar artwork, imaginative character design, moody color and consistent pacing, this first volume's weakness lies in its largely disjointed storytelling. There is the strong, young, heroine; cute, furry, sidekicks; scary monsters—all extraordinary components, but pieced together in a patchwork manner. There is little hope in his dark world as Kibuishi removes Emily and Navin's frame of safety. Their hopes rest in a magic amulet that seems to be working in the interest of the children—until it suddenly isn't. The most frightening element of Amulet is the sense of insecurity we feel for Emily, fighting her way through uncharted terrain with no guide and no support system. This first volume of Amulet isn't a disappointment, but it does feel like a warmup to the main event. If anything, it's a clear indication that Kibuishi has just begun skimming the surface of his own talent.
Ms. Wilhelm suggested an author to me at the end of school and I loved her adult fiction. Maryjanice Davidson writes great, funny "Chick Lit", the kind you read at the beach like candy. I discovered that she has written a few Young Adult books and I like the first one quite a bit. Dying for Ice Cream is about Austin Opitz and the girl he never meant to fall for, Yvonne Robinson. She is rich and spoiled, a lethal combination. But when he saw her sobbing in the hospital cafeteria with a plate of ice cream melting in front of her, he couldn't walk away. So begins a strange friendship between two opposites: Diabetic Yvonne, bitter about the mandatory change in her lifestyle; and jokester Austin Opitz, who hides his own recent tragedy by playing class clown. This is a story about teenagers getting a taste of life's ups and downs, and how they cope, despite tremendous odds.
