TLA Releases ‘Little Maverick’ Graphic Novel List
The Texas Library Association’s Children’s Round Table has released its Little Maverick Graphic Novel List, list of 52 graphic novels that are recommended reading for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. It’s a splendid list, and it is even more useful because it breaks the books out into age categories. The list is below, and we’re adding links to reviews, catalog pages, and other info in case you want to know more.
* Titles received a unanimous vote from the selection committee
+ Title is part of a series
GRADES K-5
Beauty and the Dreaded Sea Beast by Louise Simonson, illustrated by Otis Frampton (Stone Arch Books, an imprint of Capstone, 2019)
*+Bird and Squirrel: All Tangled Up by James Burks (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
*+Caveboy Dave 2: Not So Faboo by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Phil McAndrew (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018)
*Dear Justice League by Michael Northrop, illustrated by Gustavo Duarte (DC Comics, 2019)
*+Dog Man. Brawl of the Wild by Dav Pilkey (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
*+Hicotea: A Nightlights Story by Lorena Alvarez (Nobrow, 2019)
*+Mr. Wolf’s Class #2: Mystery Club by Aron Nels Steinke (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
+Unicorn of Many Hats: Another Phoebe and her Unicorn Adventure by Dana Simpson (Andrews McMeel Publishing, an imprint of Andrews McMeel Universal, 2018)
GRADES K-2
Captain Barbosa and the Pirate Hat Chase by Jorge Gonzalez (Graphic Universe, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, 2019)
+Chavo the Invisible (Game for Adventure) by Lee Nordling, illustrated by Flavio B. Silva (Graphic Universe, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, 2018)
+Chick and Brain: Smell My Foot! by Cece Bell (Candlewick Press, 2019)
Disney Princess: Jasmine’s New Pet by Nidhi Chanani (Dark Horse Books, an imprint of Dark Horse Comics, 2018)
*Drawn Together by Minh Le, illustrated by Dan Santat (Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group, 2018)
+Fox + Chick: The Quiet Boat Ride and Other Stories by Sergio Ruzzier. (Chronicle Books, 2019)
*Hangry by Drew Brockington (Hachette Book Group, 2019)
*+Hello, Crabby! by Jonathan Fenske (Acorn, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
*+Narwhal’s Otter Friend by Ben Clanton (Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, 2019)
+Noodleheads: Fortress of Doom by Tedd Arnold, Martha Hamilton, and Mitch Weiss, illustrated by Tedd Arnold (Holiday House, 2019)
*Smiley’s Dream Book by Jeff Smith (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2018)
Superman of Smallville by Art Baltazar and Franco, illustrated by Art Baltazar (DC Zoom, an imprint of DC Comics, 2019)
*Tiger vs. Nightmare by Emily Tetri (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2018)
*+Unicorn and Yeti: Sparkly New Friends by Heather Ayris Burnell, illustrated by Hazel Quintanilla (Acorn, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
GRADES 3-5
Aquicorn Cove by Katie O’Neill (Oni Press, 2018)
*+Camp by Kayla Miller (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019)
*+Click by Kayla Miller (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019)
+The Creepy Case Files of Margo Maloo: The Monster Mall by Drew Weing (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2018)
*+Edison Beaker-Creature Seeker: The Night Door by Frank Cammuso (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018)
*+Estranged by Ethan M. Aldridge (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2018)
Glitch by Sarah Graley (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
*Guts by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2019)
*+Hex Vet: Witches in Training by Sam Davies (Kaboom!, an imprint of Boom Entertainment, Inc., 2018)
*+The Hidden Witch by Molly Ostertag (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2018)
+Hilo #5: Then Everything Went Wrong by Judd Winick (Random House Children’s Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2019)
*I Am Hermes!: Mischief-Making Messenger of the Gods by Mordicai Gerstein (Holiday House, 2019)
*+Lowriders Blast from the Past by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Raul III (Chronicle Books, 2018)
*+Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2018)
Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy: A Graphic Novel by Rey Terciero (Little, Brown and Company, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, 2019)
+Middle School Misadventures by Jason Platt (Little, Brown and Company, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, 2019)
+Mighty Jack and Zita the Space Girl by Ben Hatke (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2019)
Monster Mayhem by Christopher Eliopoulos (Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2018)
*New Kid by Jerry Craft (Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2019)
*Nico Bravo and the Hound of Hades by Mike Cavallaro (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2019)
*Ninjas: Japan’s Stealthy Secret Agents by Matt Chandler, illustrated by Silvio DB (Graphic Library, an imprint of Capstone Press, 2019)
+Ocean Renegades! (Earth Before Us, Book 2) by Abby Howard (Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, 2018)
*The Okay Witch by Emma Steinkellner (Aladdin, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, 2019)
*Pilu of the Woods by Mai K. Nguyen (Oni Press, 2019)
*+Rocket to the Moon (Big Ideas that Changed the World) by Don Brown (Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, 2019)
*+Sanity & Tallulah by Molly Brooks (Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group, 2018)
Science Comics: Cats: Nature and Nurture by Andy Hirsch (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2019)
*Science Comics: Solar System-Our Place in Space by Rosemary Mosco, illustrated by Jon Chad (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2018)
*Sea Sirens: a Trot & Cap’n Bill Adventure by Amy Chu and Janet K. Lee (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2019)
Sheets by Brenna Thummler (Cub House, an imprint of Lion Forge, 2018)
Short & Skinny by Mark Tatulli (Little, Brown and Company, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, 2018)
*Stargazing by Jen Wang (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2019)
Strange Boarders by Brandon Terrell, illustrated by Berenice Muniz (Stone Arch Books, an imprint of Capstone, 2019)
*This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews (First Second, an imprint of Macmillan, 2019)
Tom’s Midnight Garden: A Graphic Adaptation of the Philippa Pearce Classic by Edith (Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2018)
*U.S. Ghost Army: The Master Illusionists of World War II by Nel Yomtov, illustrated by Alessandro Valdrighi (Graphic Library, an imprint of Capstone, 2019)
The White Snake by Ben Nadler (TOON Graphics, an imprint of TOON Books, 2019)
Filed under: All Ages
About Brigid Alverson
Brigid Alverson, the editor of the Good Comics for Kids blog, has been reading comics since she was 4. She has an MFA in printmaking and has worked as a book editor, a newspaper reporter, and assistant to the mayor of a small city. In addition to editing GC4K, she is a regular columnist for SLJ, a contributing editor at ICv2, an editor at Smash Pages, and a writer for Publishers Weekly. Brigid is married to a physicist and has two daughters. She was a judge for the 2012 Eisner Awards.
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