Captain Underpants and Ricky Ricotta

Yes, I thought the same thing when I first saw these books several years back. But I've since changed my opinion. Dav Pilkey is a highly esteemed author and his work is usually a little over the top for those of us who grew up on Beverly Cleary, but these books really get kids addicted to reading. I've seen it many times. They read the whole series (these are two different series) and ask for more and I've seen many readers take an interest in Pilkey himself. They are developing their own tastes and favorite authors and these tastes and authors will mature as the child grows.

Moby Dick

This graphic novel retells Herman Melville's epic story of the search for the white whale (and is nowhere near as long as the original). The graphic retellings of the classics are interesting because they often include informative historical text boxes to help readers understand the setting and other details from the story.

Babymouse

You may have heard some of the kids talking about Babymouse. Who and what is Babymouse you might ask. Well, she is the very dramatic and adventuresome main character in this graphic novel series by sister and brother Jennifer and Matthew Holm. There are nine in the series and all the illustrations with the exception of the last one are done in pink and black.

I have to brag that Hawthorne was the first school in the district to have #9 (Monster Mash), which was just released this fall. I was at the Mildred Laughlin Festival of Books at the Stillwater Public Library in October and during a break I was browsing the "for sale" shelf in the lobby. I was flabbergasted when I spied Babymouse #9, as the kids have been asking for it since last year. It must have been a sample the library had received and I gladly left one dollar in the box for it. Now we have two copies, although there is a rather long waiting list, and the kids are anxiously looking forward to more Babymouse!

Otto's Orange Day

A funny, lower-level, story about Otto and his love for the color orange.

Biographies

The graphic biography of Amelia Earhart by Robert Burleigh and Bill Wylie is nice. We also have one about the Wright brothers by the same authors.

I was shocked at how involved I found the graphic biography of Marie Curie.

Teacher Resources

SuperHero ABC, by Bob McLeod. A really fun book for teaching alliteration.

Teachers, I also have a great graphic book for teaching onomatopoeia but I had trouble getting the image to post. It is called Kapow! by George O'Connor.

Into the Volcano

A great adventure story by Don Wood, illustrator of The Napping House and other books, in his first and applauded attempt in the graphic format. We have two copies.