Kidsmomo

Sweet, pastel-shaded shorts. Bold, colorful, action-packed adventures. Dark, spooky tales. Even adaptations of favorite books. These may sound like film genres, but movies aren’t the only way to visually escape into a story… Feast your eyes on graphic novels!

We’ve picked a few (in no particular order) — plus some “hybrid books,” which are told in alternating illustrations and text:

Graphic Novels:

1. Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon and Dean Hale (Karen’s pick)
2. Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (Nancy’s pick)
3. The Baby-Sitter’s Club series (graphic novel version), written by Ann M. Martin and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
4. Artemis Fowl series (graphic novel version), written by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, art by Giovanni Rigano, color by Paolo Lamann
5. Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi
6. Magic Pickle series by Scott Morse
7. Coraline (graphic novel version of Neil Gaiman’s original) adapted by Craig Russell
8. Into The Volcano by Don Wood
9. Amelia Rules! series by Jimmy Gownley
10. Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
11. Mail Order Ninja by Joshua Elder
12. Owly series by Andy Runton

Hybrid Books:

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
2. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
3. Dear Dumb Diary series by Jim Benton
4. Adventures in Cartooning by James Sturm
5. Amelia’s Notebook series and Max Disaster series, both by Marissa Moss

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your favorite graphic novel or hybrid book!

UPDATE 3/16/10: We revealed the answer to our Graphic Novel Mystery Book Theater in the “Pretty as a Picture” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in to meet our special guest, a real-life cartoonist!