Read Woke Comics and Graphic Novels for Middle Grade Readers

Stargazing

Jen Wang

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Wang
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Growing up in the same Chinese-American suburb, perfectionist Christine and artistic, confident, impulsive Moon become unlikely best friends, whose friendship is tested by jealousy, social expectations, and illness.

Jen Wang's latest is stunning, be sure to read the author's note!
- Casey

Be prepared

Vera Brosgol

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Brosgol
Read Woke, Graphic Novels

A misfit girl and her brother attend summer camp, where they struggle with primitive plumbing, snobby tentmates, and boys-versus-girls competitions.

Cassandra, animal psychic

Isabelle Bottier

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Bottier Cassandra
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

While struggling to cope with major changes in her life, fourteen-year-old Cassandra decides to help others by using her ability to see what animals are thinking, beginning with finding a lost cat.

This series is great! If you're looking for something fun to brighten your rainy week, give Cassandra's unique voice a try.
- Casey

Akissi : tales of mischief

Marguerite Abouet

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Abouet
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Collects the adventures of Akissi, a young West African girl who is always getting into trouble.

American born Chinese

Gene Luen Yang

GRAPHIC NOVEL Yang
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Alternates three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in the popular culture. Presented in comic book format.

American Born Chinese is unmissable reading.
- Casey

Princeless.

jCOMIC Princeless
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Join Princess Adrienne, one princess that's tired of waiting to be rescued. Follow along with her plucky sidekick Bedelia and her guardian dragon Sparky, as they begin a one of a kind quest to rescue her sisters!

New kid

Jerry Craft

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Craft
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Seventh grader Jordan Banks loves nothing more than drawing cartoons about his life. But instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enroll him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan is one of the few kids of color in his entire grade. As he makes the daily trip from his Washington Heights apartment to the upscale Riverdale Academy Day School, Jordan soon finds himself torn between two worlds--and not really fitting into either one. Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighborhood friends and staying true to himself?

Aquicorn cove

Katie (Cartoonist) O'Neill

jGRAPHIC NOVEL O'Neill
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, LGBTQ+

Unable to rely on the adults in her storm-ravaged seaside town, a young girl must protect a colony of magical seahorse-like creatures she discovers in the coral reef... A heartfelt story about learning to be a guardian to yourself and those you love. When Lana and her father return to their seaside hometown to help clear the debris of a big storm, Lana remembers how much she's missed the ocean--and the strong, reassuring presence of her aunt. As Lana explores the familiar beach, she discovers something incredible: a colony of Aquicorns, small magical seahorse-like creatures that live in the coral reef. Lana rescues an injured Aquicorn and cares for it with the help of her aunt, who may know more about these strange creatures than she's willing to admit. But when a second storm threatens to reach the town, choices made many years ago about how to coexist with the sea start to rise to the surface. Lana realizes she will need to find the strength to stand on her own, even when it means standing up to the people who she has always relied on to protect her.

Katie O'Neill's graphic novels are always beautiful and touching. I love the magical realism in this one and her Tea Dragon series.
- Casey

Pilu of the woods

Mai K. Nguyen

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Nguyen
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

"Willow loves the woods near her house. They're calm and quiet, so different from her own turbulent emotions, which she keeps locked away. When her emotions get the better of her one day, she decides to run away into the woods. There, she meets Pilu, a lost tree spirit who can't find her way back home--which turns out to be the magnolia grove Willow's mom used to take her to. Willow offers to help Pilu, and the two quickly become friends. But the journey is long, and Pilu isn't sure she's ready to return home yet--which infuriates Willow, who's determined to make up for her own mistakes by getting Pilu back safely. As a storm rages and Willow's emotions bubble to the surface, they suddenly take on a physical form, putting both girls in danger ... and forcing Willow to confront her inner feelings once and for all."--Provided by publisher.

Lowriders

Cathy Camper

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Camper Lowriders
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Lupe, Flapjack, Elirio customize their car into a low rider for the Universal Car Competition to win the cash prize that will enable them to buy their own garage.

This series is fantastic! If you're looking for an out of this world read, this one comes highly recommended.
- Casey

Pashmina

Nidhi Chanani

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Chanani
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Priyanka Das has so many unanswered questions: Why did her mother abandon her home in India years ago? What was it like there? And most importantly, who is her father, and why did her mom leave him behind? But Pri's mom avoids these questions and the topic of India is permanently closed. For Pri, her mother's homeland can only exist in her imagination. That is, until she find a mysterious pashmina tucked away in a forgotten suitcase. When she wraps herself in it, she is transported to a place more vivid and colorful than any guidebook or Bollywood film.

Lift

Minh Lê

jE Le
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Picture Books, Graphic Novels

From the award-winning and bestselling creators of Drawn Together comes the fantastic tale of a magical elevator that will lift your spirits--and press all the right buttons! Iris loves to push the elevator buttons in her apartment building, but when it's time to share the fun with a new member of the family, she's pretty put out. That is, until the sudden appearance of a mysterious new button opens up entire realms of possibility, places where she can escape and explore on her own. But when she's forced to choose between going at it alone or letting her little brother tag along, Iris finds that sharing a discovery with the people you love can be the most wonderful experience of all. Using their dynamic comics-inspired storytelling, acclaimed author Minh Lê and Caldecott Medal-winning artist Dan Santat carry readers on a journey of ups, downs, and twists and turns that will send hearts--and imaginations--soaring.

DING! ---Looking for a lift?---
- Casey

Catherine's war

Julia Billet

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Billet
Read Woke, Graphic Novels

As France buckles under the Nazi regime, budding photographer Rachel Cohen must change her name, go into hiding, and bear witness to the atrocities of World War II.

The prince and the dressmaker

Jen Wang

GRAPHIC NOVEL Wang
Read Woke, Graphic Novels

Prince Sebastian is looking for a bride--or rather, his parents are looking for one for him. Sebastian is too busy hiding his secret life from everyone. At night he puts on daring dresses and takes Paris by storm as the fabulous Lady Crystallia--the hottest fashion icon in the world capital of fashion!

I could gush about this one for days. It's definitely on my reread list for 2020 as well.
- Casey

The cardboard kingdom

Chad Sell

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Sell
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

Follows the adventures of a group of neighborhood children who create costumes from cardboard and use their imagination in adventures with knights, robots, and monsters.

Nightlights

Lorena Alvarez

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Alvarez
Read Woke, Graphic Novels, Horror

Every night, tiny stars appear out of the darkness in little Sandy's bedroom. She catches them and creates wonderful creatures to play with until she falls asleep, and in the morning brings them back to life in the whimsical drawings. When a mysterious new girl appears at school, Sandy's drawings are noticed for the first time, but Morfie's fascination with Sandy's talent soon turns into something far more sinister.

Just enough cute, just enough frightening, just right for the upcoming fall.
- Casey

El deafo

Cece Bell

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Bell
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels

The author recounts in graphic novel format her experiences with hearing loss at a young age, including using a bulky hearing aid, learning how to lip read, and determining her "superpower."

Sea Sirens : a Trot & Cap'n Bill adventure

Amy Chu

jGRAPHIC NOVEL Chu
Read Woke, Diverse Characters, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

Trot, a Vietnamese American surfer girl, and Cap'n Bill, her cranky one-eyed cat, catch too big a wave and wipe out, sucked down into a magical underwater kingdom where an ancient deep-sea battle rages. The beautiful Sea Siren mermaids are under attack from the Serpent King and his slithery minions--and Trot and her feline become dangerously entangled in this war of tails and fins. This beautiful graphic novel was inspired by The Sea Fairies, L. Frank Baum's "underwater Wizard of Oz." It weaves Vietnamese mythology, fantastical ocean creatures, a deep-sea setting, quirky but sympathetic main characters, and fast-paced adventure into an imaginative, world-building story.--

A retelling of Frank Baum's The Sea Fairies with Vietnamese mythological elements, lovely storytelling, and fabulous art! This one has something for everyone.
- Casey

Tales of the mighty code talkers

COMIC Tales
Read Woke, History, Graphic Novels

"There has been a great deal of writing the past several decades about Native American Code Talkers of World War Two. The published works have been about Navajos and the tremendous contribution they made in the Pacific campaigns of the war. What is often overlooked is the role played in both World Wars by men of other tribes. There were Cherokee, Choctaw, Comanche, Creek and other tribal representatives with their languages involved as well. Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers, a graphic anthology of historically based stories, begins to fill that void. Seven stories -- two by the book's editor, Arigon Starr, dealing with Choctaw and Comanche code talkers, one by Roy Boney, Jr. on Cherokees, one by Johnnie Diacon on Creeks, and one by Jonathan Nelson on Navajos, plus stories from Lee Francis IV and Michael Sheyahshe -- provide an excellent rendering of the subject."