graphic novels for kids Archives

5 Sci-Fi Kids Series I Recently Discovered

Posted on August 19, 2017August 19, 2017 by Lilyn G

While these haven’t been all published this year, I just recently found them and thought I’d give them a shout out. I know I can’t be the only one who is always searching almost fruitlessly for good sci-fi kids series. And since we’ve been focusing on horror lately, I thought this would be a good change of pace.

5 Sci-Fi Kids Series I Recently Discovered

The Imagination Box

Series: The Imagination Box

Author: Martyn Ford

Pub. Date: May 7th, 2015

There is a box. Anything you imagine will appear inside. You have one go, one chance to create anything you want. What would you pick?” That’s exactly the question ten-year-old Timothy Hart gets to answer after discovering The Imagination Box. The greatest toy on earth. The top-secret contraption transforms his life but when the box’s inventor, Professor Eisenstone, goes missing, Tim knows he has to investigate. With the help of a talking finger monkey called Phil, he sets out to find the professor. In order to rescue his friend, he must face his darkest fears and discover the true potential of his own mind.

Alien in My Pocket: Blast Off!

Series: Alien in My Pocket

Author: Nate Ball

Pub. Date: January 1st, 2014

The adventure begins in this exciting new chapter book series!

When a four-inch-tall alien crash-lands through Zack McGee’s bedroom window, Zack is sure he’s about to become the first victim in a new War of the Worlds. But when the alien turns out to have weapons that are more ticklish than terrifying, Zack realizes that rather than protect the world from the alien, it’s up to him to protect the alien in his pocket from the world.

CatStronauts: Mission Moon

Series: CatStronauts

Author: Drew Brockington

Pub. Date: April 18th, 2017

CatStronauts, you are needed!

When the world is thrust into darkness due to a global energy shortage, the Worlds Best Scientist comes up with a bold plan to set up a solar power plant on the moon. But someone has to go up there to set it up, and that adventure falls to the CatStronauts, the best space cats on the planet! Meet the fearless commander Major Meowser, brave-but-hungry pilot Waffles, genius technician and inventor Blanket, and quick thinking science officer Pom Pom on their most important mission yet!

HiLo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

Series: HiLo

Author: Jude Winick

Pub. Date: January 1st, 2015

Introducing HILO—the funny, New York Times Bestselling, full-color new middle-grade graphic novel series that Bonecreator Jeff Smith calls “delightful.”

D.J. and his friend Gina are totally normal kids. But that was before a mysterious boy came crashing down from the sky! Hilo doesn’t know where he came from, or what he’s doing on Earth. (Or why going to school in only your underwear is a bad idea!) . . . But what if Hilo wasn’t the only thing to fall to our planet? Can the trio unlock the secrets of his past? Can Hilo survive a day at school? And are D.J. and Gina ready to save the world?

HILO is Calvin and Hobbes meets Big Nate and is just right for fans of Bone and comic books as well as laugh-out-loud school adventures like Jedi Academy and Wimpy Kid!

Peter Powers and His Not-So-Super Powers

Series: Peter Powers

Author: Kent Clark

Pub. Date: October 11th, 2016

If you like the Avengers, Justice League, or The Incredibles, then you’ll love this family of superheroes! This new chapter book series is perfect for reluctant readers.

Everyone in Peter Powers’ family has super awesome superpowers. His dad controls fire with his mind, and his mom can fly. His big brother makes copies of himself, and his little sister is super-strong. And his baby brother even turns invisible! But all Peter can do is–this is really embarrassing–make ice cubes with his fingertips.

When Captain Tornado comes to town and begins robbing banks, will Peter Powers and his totally lame abilities step up to save the day–or will he get cold feet? Join Peter Powers and his fantastic family for their first action-packed and fun-filled adventure to find out!

Have you read any of these sci-fi kids series? I think HiLo is going to be the first one I pick up because it looks right up my 8 YO’s alley.

Is there any of them we should stay away from?

Talk to us! (And please remember to like or share!)

Dog Night at the Story Zoo Review (Kids Graphic Novel)

Posted on July 1, 2017June 30, 2017 by Lilyn G

Dog Night at the Story Zoo

It’s Open Mic Night at the Story Zoo and the dogs are up to tell their tales in this hilarious graphic novel for young readers.
At the Story Zoo, you get to tell any story you want in front of the live audience, as long as it’s about you. And tonight is dog night. So sit back, relax, and let these dogs tell their tales. We’ve got some hilarious but quite touching stories from dogs of all kinds, including a bulldog who doesn’t want to be judged by his looks; a bloodhound who loses her power of scent and turns to a dog called Surelick Holmes for help; an energetic poodle who saves the day with her yapping; and a stray who takes fetching to a whole new level.

These stories will make you laugh, make you cry and maybe even make you howl at the moon. Whether you’re looking for smart, funny, sweet, sharp, silly or just plain fuzzy, The Story Zoo is going to be your new favorite haunt. – Goodreads

Dog Night at the Story Zoo Review

Dog Night at the Story Zoo was a family-read affair. All of us plopped down on the couch, the kiddo in the middle, and took turns reading out loud. We were all happy with what we had read. The three main stories told were very different from each other, and they were interspersed with asides from the audience. There were a few jokes included that will go over younger reader’s heads but are perfect to keep parents interested.

The mini-reviewer said that Dog Night at the Story Zoo was one of her favorite books that she had read in a while. She recommended everybody check it out. She loved the illustrations (more so than she liked some of the stories themselves). Her favorite story was The Storm Before the Calm, which was all about a yappy little poodle explaining why she was nervous all the time. It was the tail (heh-heh) of her finding humans that accepted her for the way she was. The story of the bloodhound who lost her sense of smell in the final story was a runner-up. She wanted me to make it quite clear that it was kind of a sad story, though.

Dog Night at the Story Zoo was generally a fun, easy to read affair. I personally wasn’t a big fan of the illustrations, this is one case where the kid’s opinion is definitely more important. However, regardless of the fact that it was a fairly good read, none of us have the urge to look up more from this author in the future. If your kids enjoy simple graphic novels and are not quite ready for the superhero stuff, Dog Night at the Story Zoo might be a great choice.

5 Graphic Novel Versions of Classic Science Fiction and Horror Tales for Kids

Posted on February 25, 2017February 25, 2017 by Lilyn G

It can be hard to get kids to sit down and read classic novels. The wording can be a bit dense, and the descriptions aren’t the most exciting. And often times they don’t even realize that movies they’ve seen and liked were adaptations of classic works.

Luckily, for those of us with little comic book readers on our hands, there are graphic novel adaptations of some our favorite classic novels available. And they’re for kids, too. Maybe we can hook them with these 5 graphic novel versions of classic science fiction and horror tales, and introduce them to the full versions of the stories they like the best? (btw, click on the covers to visit their Goodreads pages)

5 Graphic Novel Versions of Classic Science Fiction and Horror Tales for Kids

Journey to the Center of the Earth is obviously a super simple version of the story (I kind of feel it’s missing a bit too much, actually..) But..it is definitely kid-approved. My little monkey caught site of what I was reading, and suddenly we were delving into it together.

She told me: “The only thing that would make it better is if it was longer and they went on another adventure!”

Pages: 32

ISBN13: 9781616412524

The War of the Worlds is 48 pages long and is a bit more vivid and ‘busy’ than Journey to the Center of the Earth is. It’s been around for a while (how am I just now discovering these?). Its interest level is perfect for 9-12-year-olds.

Pages: 48

ASIN: B008OURVVE

I loved the illustrations in this version of The Invisible Man. Definitely my favorite out of the ones on the list. It got the basic story across well, and I could see how it might actually nicely creep kids out a little bit.

Pages: 34

ISBN13: 9781616412517

Okay, so the graphic novel version of A Wrinkle in Time is considerably longer than the other ones that I’ve mentioned so far. However, I think it’d be totally worth it. The kiddos might not be able to read this one all in one sitting, but you could easily make it a bedtime deal with them.

Pages: 392

ISBN13: 9780374386153

This graphic novel version of Dracula is novella length and has received lots of positive reviews -including many from teachers for its faithful adaptation of the source work. It’s also got some of the most original illustrations out of this batch.

Pages: 192

ISBN13: 9781402731525

Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead Review

Posted on October 15, 2016April 28, 2017 by Lilyn G

Something stranger than usual haunts Full Moon Hollow, Paranormal Capital of the World. Adults either can’t see it, can’t remember it, or go crazy from it. So when a zombie outbreak threatens the town, only a group of misfit scouts can save it! Collects the fan-favorite miniseries. Be prepared. Be very prepared. – Goodreads

Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead Review

Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead chronicles the first adventure of the group from beginning to end. The dead rise and our little group of misfits band together to try to figure out what is going on. It is definitely aimed at younger readers, and has a somewhat Scooby-Gang feel to it, but lacks the signature edge of silliness.

I liked the diversity in the characters appearances. It’s not exactly a wide range, but it is there. I liked that the first time we meet the girls, they’re rescuing the boys, and proceeding to kick zombie butt. With that being said, the roles the characters fall into are a bit cardboard at times. The group’s natural leader is, of course, the all-American looking blonde kid. The African American male is shuffled neatly into one of the two stereotypes you’re used to seeing. At least they avoid giving into the full-on nerd appearance that the character was originally developed with. The little rich kid has a nobody really spends time with me problem, etc. Still, I’d be willing to watch the characters develop over upcoming story arcs.

I’m fairly new to graphic novels. I have trouble concentrating on them, and get easily confused by the panel order at times. I had no problems reading Ghoul Scouts. The illustrations are nice, the colors are a bit bland, but that’s suited to the story’s theme, and the panels are generally large. The dialogue is at a minimum for the most part, but what’s there is nice. There was a few lines that made me snicker. The authors did take advantage of an opportunity to make it clear that the kids all have some sort of family problems going on. It felt a little too like a lets-hug-it-out moment, but considering the age group it’s aimed at, it’s still a good thing.

At the end of each issue within the book, there’s a few pages where they talk about character creation, panel creation, putting the books together and such. It’s interesting to see all the steps. I think it could definitely help nurture budding artist’s interest in comics/graphic novels. Overall, I think the next few arcs, where they move away from the overdone zombies, could be quite good. I look forward to seeing what happens next in Full Moon Hollow.

Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead is available on Amazon.

Tag: graphic novels for kids

5 Sci-Fi Kids Series I Recently Discovered

5 Sci-Fi Kids Series I Recently Discovered

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Dog Night at the Story Zoo Review (Kids Graphic Novel)

Dog Night at the Story Zoo

Dog Night at the Story Zoo Review

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5 Graphic Novel Versions of Classic Science Fiction and Horror Tales for Kids

5 Graphic Novel Versions of Classic Science Fiction and Horror Tales for Kids

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Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead Review

Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead Review

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5 Sci-Fi Kids Series I Recently Discovered

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Dog Night at the Story Zoo

Dog Night at the Story Zoo Review

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5 Graphic Novel Versions of Classic Science Fiction and Horror Tales for Kids

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Ghoul Scouts: Night of the Unliving Undead Review

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