Format: Graphic Novel

The Fishy Treasure Caper

The Fishy Treasure CaperThe Fishy Treasure Caper (Graphic Novel) by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on October 1st 2019
ISBN: 1328495795
Pages: 144
Goodreads
three-stars

The second graphic novel based on the Netflix show which is based on an old computer game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” The game was created to teach geography skills as Carmen hopped from country to country stealing items. The player was asked geography-related questions to determine where she was. In the Netflix series, Carmen has left a life of crime with VILE (Villains’ International League of Evil) and is determined to thwart them before they can commit crimes. In this book, Carmen is off to Ecuador and the book jumps right into the action as Carmen appears in full scuba gear searching for a sunken ship containing treasure. The treasure in this book is an old doubloon which, it turns out doesn’t have a lot of monetary value, but has cultural significance to the Ecuadorians.  Carmen has plenty of gadgets and a crew to help her navigate her mission and she has VILE operatives to fight. As the VILE villains try to acquire the doubloon, assuming that if Carmen wants it, it must be worth a lot, the reader is introduced to the importance that the fishing industry plays in Ecuador.  Action, decent pacing, and interesting geographical facts combine to make a readable book. This series will be popular in collections where readers are familiar with the show or where readers like adventure stories mixed with a little geography.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

three-stars

Moles

MolesMoles by Rachel Poliquin, Nicholas John Frith
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on June 18th 2019
ISBN: 0544951077
Pages: 96
Goodreads
five-stars

The second in the Superpower Field Guides, Poliquin and Firth once again highlight the adaptations of an animal that are akin to super powers (the first was Beavers). This time the focus is on the mighty mole. Rosalie spends her entire life underground and has developed skills to help her build tunnels, move dirt, find worms, and survive in a world devoid of sunshine or fresh air. Poliquin has a fantastic voice, writing with genuine affection for her subject and joy for her audience (I can imagine her chucking a kid on his arm as the kid reads amazing facts aloud and saying, “I know, right!?!”). She uses scientific terms and a lot of stretch vocabulary; a glossary is included in the back of the book. Firth’s illustrations were created using a mixture of black ink, pencil, and wax crayon in a technique known as “preseparation” – the artwork was then colored digitally and the palette of brown, lime green, and coral captures the soil- and worm-filled world of the common mole.  These books are fantastic for  nonfiction or animal lovers in grades 2-5 and would fly off the shelves in a classroom or public library.  They would benefit from an INDEX!  The supersonic Ostrich is next in the series and then the shape-shifting Eel.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

five-stars

Grimoire Noir

Grimoire NoirGrimoire Noir by Vera Greentea, Yana Bogatch
Published by First Second on July 23rd 2019
ISBN: 1626725985
Pages: 288
Genres: Fantasy
Format: Graphic Novel
Goodreads
four-stars

“Grimoire Noir” is a young adult graphic novel. The story follows Bucky, a teen whose little sister has gone missing. In the town of Blackwell, all girls are witches, but all boys are non-magical. It’s a bit of an “urban fantasy,” set in the present day, but with lots of dark magic. The dark supernatural mystery keeps you interested, and the world-building done by Greentea makes you want to know more about the history of this town and why only girls are magical.

The art is beautiful and definitely noir-style. There are a few dark scenes that put this in the teen/young adult category. Not necessarily a must-buy for your library unless your YA  graphic novels are popular.

Reviewed by Kate Radke, Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook.

four-stars

Hawking

HawkingHawking by Jim Ottaviani, Leland Myrick
Published by First Second on July 2nd 2019
ISBN: 1626720258
Pages: 304
Goodreads

Jim Ottaviani has teamed up with Leland Myrick to put together this biographical graphic novel of one of the greatest minds ever to exist in the scientific community. Written in a first person narrative, the graphic novel discusses Hawkings’ earlier years and the struggles that he faced in choosing his profession and the  degenerative muscular disease that rapidly took over his body. There is a lot of scientific discovery written into the text, which unfortunately does make the reading a tad bit boring for those who aren’t into the physics field. Despite the scientific jargon and information, anyone interested in Stephen Hawkings life might find this a doable read.

The illustration are detailed and quite colorful and easy to follow along. Recommended for grades 10 and up, but would also considered to be an adult read.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

 

Old Souls

Old SoulsOld Souls by Brian McDonald, Les McClaine
Published by First Second on June 25th 2019
ISBN: 1626727325
Pages: 256
Goodreads
five-stars

Chris buys lunch everyday for a homeless man and is uncertain to why he feels obligated to do so. Eventually he understands the connection between he and the homeless man and it is unnerving. With his discovery, Chris enters into a world that leads him to his previous lives that maybe he should not have revisited. There is a previous life that needs closure in order for him to live in the present, can he do it or will his present life crash? This paranormal tale makes the reader think about how reincarnation may play within one’s life

Illustration are mainly black and white with minimal coloring. Easy to follow and a little  unsettling to read. Recommended for grades 9 and up.

Reviewed by Kristin Taylor, Biddeford High School, Biddeford.

five-stars

Pumpkinheads

PumpkinheadsPumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks
Published by First Second on August 27th 2019
ISBN: 1626721629
Pages: 224
Goodreads
five-stars

Pumpkinheads might be a romance, but there is quite a bit more to this graphic novel. It is about 2 friends, Josie and Deja, and their friendship. They decide, or more like Deja decides for the two of them, that they are going to try silly and fun things on their last night at their summer job before they head off to college. Yea, it’s high schoolers, but there is nothing in here that a 5th grader couldn’t read. And the sweet romance piece at the end is just right for 5th graders starting to want a book with a bit of romance in it but not too much for others. Love that the characters are not exactly what you’d expect. Great addition to all graphic novel collections.

Cream. Reviewed by Mary Lehmer, Freeport Community Library, Freeport, ME

five-stars

The Giver

The GiverThe Giver: Graphic Novel by Lois Lowry, P. Craig Russell
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on February 5th 2019
ISBN: 0544157885
Pages: 185
Goodreads
five-stars

This graphic novel adaptation of Lowry’s award-winning The Giver tackles themes of uniformity, sameness, change, and identity in a powerful and visually gripping way.  The back matter includes interviews with Lowry and Russell in which they explain their thinking about this retelling.  Russell shares the process he used to create this version, which might create fascinating lesson plans for cross-curricular work in graphic novel design.

Recommended for grades 7 and up due to some mature scenes and troubling content.

Reviewed by Noelle Gallant, Saco Middle School

five-stars

It’s Me

It’s MeIt's Me. (Catwad, #1) by Jim Benton
Series: Catwad #1
Published by Graphix on March 26th 2019
ISBN: 1338326023
Pages: 128
Goodreads
three-stars

Sketch comedy with cats at its finest. Benton’s latest character is a grumpy, blue cat named Catwad whose best friend is a dim-witted cat named Blurmp. The two are an unlikely duo (think Odd Couple but in brighter-than-life cartoon-cat form) and when Blurmp gets an idea, hilarity follows as Catwad (over)reacts. In short vignettes of vivid color and prolific exclamation points, Catwad tries in vain to feel a tiny bit of the ignorant bliss experienced by Blurmp. There are many jokes that fall under the category of bathroom or gross-out humor, but since Captain Underpants has paved the way, kids will love this. The word dumb is also thrown around a bit. Some of the humor will go over the heads of younger readers and some of the humor might be too juvenile for older readers, but for the elementary-aged sweet spot, this book in the hands of a more reluctant reader may have you scrambling for Book 2 (coming soon!). Readers of Bird & Squirrel and Dog Man as well as fans of Grumpy Cat will eat up this graphic novel.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

three-stars

Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice

Polar Bears: Survival on the IceScience Comics: Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice by Jason Viola
Published by First Second on January 1st 2019
ISBN: 1626728232
Pages: 128
Goodreads
five-stars

Another excellent entry in the Science Comics series. This graphic novel, aimed at an upper elementary or middle grade reader but of interest to almost any age, focuses on polar bears and challenges the reader to explore the world of these bears that we think we know so much about (they are white, they live in the Arctic, they eat seals, they are losing their habitat). Reading this book was so informative; it was a deep dive into the lives of this animal. The reader will learn just how important ice is to polar bears; how they live and hunt and why; about mating and dining and stalking. Like all of the other books in the Science Comic series, Viola uses humor to discuss some of the more delicate areas like the subadult years of a polar bear and mating. And he is careful about how much gore to show when discussing hunting and eating.  Readers of the series will not be disappointed. Perhaps it will even inspire one or more of them to work on ways to protect this magnificent animal.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

five-stars

The Sticky Rice Caper

The Sticky Rice CaperThe Sticky Rice Caper (Graphic Novel) by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Published by HMH Books for Young Readers on May 7th 2019
ISBN: 1328495787
Pages: 144
Goodreads
three-stars

This graphic novel is based on the Netflix show which is based on an old computer game “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” The game was created to teach geography skills as Carmen hopped from country to country stealing items. The player was asked geography-related questions to determine where she was. In the Netflix series, Carmen has left a life of crime with VILE (Villains’ International League of Evil) and is determined to thwart them before they can commit crimes. She still travels all over the world and the show, and this graphic novel, focus on one or two countries peppering facts about them into the dialogue and action. In this case, one of VILE’s agents is in Indonesia so Carmen leaves France and heads to Jakarta to figure out their dastardly plan and stop them. Filled with danger, banter, and gadgets, the GN captures the action of the show and is a nice companion for kids who might want to slow it down and rehash the story (it follows the plot line of episode 3 exactly). Carmen and her team succeed, of course, and inform the reader that they are off to Ecuador for another adventure. The endpapers include additional information about France and Indonesia and a hint for The Fishy Treasure Caper. This is not a must-buy, but it will be popular in collections where readers are familiar with the show and may give kids without the means to watch Netflix an “in” to the conversations about the show. And any book that highlights geography and informs the reader about another part of the world is a good thing.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Merrill Memorial Library, Yarmouth

three-stars