Anne Frank's Diary by
A timeless story rediscovered by each new generation, The Diary of a Young Girl stands without peer. For both young readers and adults it continues to capture the remarkable spirit of Anne Frank, who for a time survived the worst horror the modern world has seen--and who remained triumphantly and heartbreakingly human throughout her ordeal. Adapted by Ari Folman, illustrated by David Polonsky, and authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, this is the first graphic edition of The Diary and includes extensive quotation directly from the definitive edition. It remains faithful to the original, while the stunning illustrations interpret and add layers of visual meaning and immediacy to this classic work of Holocaust literature.
Hey, Kiddo by
A National Book Award Finalist! In kindergarten, Jarrett Krosoczka's teacher asks him to draw his family, with a mommy and a daddy. But Jarrett's family is much more complicated than that. His mom is an addict, in and out of rehab, and in and out of Jarrett's life. His father is a mystery -- Jarrett doesn't know where to find him, or even what his name is. Jarrett lives with his grandparents -- two very loud, very loving, very opinionated people who had thought they were through with raising children until Jarrett came along. Jarrett goes through his childhood trying to make his non-normal life as normal as possible, finding a way to express himself through drawing even as so little is being said to him about what's going on. Only as a teenager can Jarrett begin to piece together the truth of his family, reckoning with his mother and tracking down his father. Hey, Kiddo is a profoundly important memoir about growing up in a family grappling with addiction, and finding the art that helps you survive.
I Am Alfonso Jones by
Alfonso Jones can't wait to play the role of Hamlet in his school's hip-hop rendition of theclassic Shakespearean play. He also wants to let his best friend, Danetta, know how he reallyfeels about her. But as he is buying his first suit, an off-duty police officer mistakes a clotheshanger for a gun, and he shoots Alfonso.When Alfonso wakes up in the afterlife, he's on a ghost train guided by well-known victimsof police shootings, who teach him what he needs to know about this subterranean spiritualworld. Meanwhile, Alfonso's family and friends struggle with their grief and seek justice forAlfonso in the streets. As they confront their new realities, both Alfonso and those he lovesrealize the work that lies ahead in the fight for justice.In the first graphic novel for young readers to focus on police brutality and the Black LivesMatter movement, as in Hamlet, the dead shall speak'and the living yield even more surprises.
Illegal by
A powerfully moving graphic novel by New York Timesbestselling author Eoin Colfer and the team behind the Artemis Fowl graphic novels that explores the current plight of undocumented immigrants. Ebo is alone. His brother, Kwame, has disappeared, and Ebo knows it can only be to attempt the hazardous journey to Europe, and a better life--the same journey their sister set out on months ago. But Ebo refuses to be left behind in Ghana. He sets out after Kwame and joins him on the quest to reach Europe. Ebo's epic journey takes him across the Sahara Desert to the dangerous streets of Tripoli, and finally out to the merciless sea. But with every step he holds on to his hope for a new life, and a reunion with his family. 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award Winner A New York Public Library Best Book of 2018 A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2018 An Amazon Best Book of 2018 A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Graphic Novel of 2018 An American Library Association Notable Book for 2019 2019 YALSA Top Ten Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2019 CBC Notable Social Studies Book A Junior Library Guild Selection
This Place by
Explore the past 150 years through the eyes of Indigenous creators in this groundbreaking graphic novel anthology. Beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through Indigenous wonderworks, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact. This is one of the 200 exceptional projects funded through the Canada Council for the Arts' New Chapter initiative. With this $35M initiative, the Council supports the creation and sharing of the arts in communities across Canada.
I Was Their American Dream by
. Malaka's upbringing will look familiar to anyone who grew up in the pre-internet era, but her particular story is a heartfelt tribute to the American immigrants who have invested their future in the promise of the American dream. The daughter of parents with unfulfilled dreams themselves, Malaka navigates her childhood chasing her parents' ideals, learning to code-switch between her family's Filipino and Egyptian customs, adapting to white culture to fit in, crushing on skater boys, and trying to understand the tension between holding onto cultural values and trying to be an all-American kid. I Was Their American Dream is at once a journal of growing up and a reminder of the thousands of immigrants who come to America in search for a better life for themselves and their children.
A Quick and Easy Guide to Queer and Trans Identities by
In this quick and easy guide to queer and trans identities, cartoonistsMady G and JR Zuckerberg guide you through the basics of the LGBT+ world!Covering essential topics like sexuality, gender identity, coming out, andnavigating relationships, this guide explains the spectrum of human experiencethrough informative comics, interviews, worksheets, and imaginative examples. Agreat starting point for anyone curious about queer and trans life, and helpfulfor those already on their own journeys!
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists by
August 26, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote. And while suffrage has been a critical win for women's liberation around the world, the struggle for women's rights has been ongoing for thousands of years, across many cultures, and encompassing an enormous variety of issues. Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activistsis a fun, fascinating, and full-color exploration of that important history, tracing its roots from antiquity to show how 21st-century feminism developed. Along the way, you'll meet a wide range of important historical figures and learn about many political movements, including suffrage, abolition, labor, LGBT liberation, the waves of feminism, and more.
Hot Comb by
An auspicioius debut examining the culuture of hair from the Rona Jaffe Foundation award-winning cartoonistHot Comb offers a poignant glimpse into Black women's lives and coming of age stories as seen across a crowded, ammonia-scented hair salon while ladies gossip and bond over the burn. The titular story "Hot Comb" is about a young girl's first perm - a doomed ploy to look cool and to stop seeming "too white" in the all-black neighborhood her family has just moved to. In "Virgin Hair" taunts of "tender-headed" sting as much as the perm itself. It's a scenario that repeats fifteen years later as an adult when, tired of the maintenance, Flowers shaves her head only to be hurled new put-downs. The story "My Lil Sister Lena" traces the stress resulting from being the only black player on a white softball team. Her hair is the team curio, an object to touched, a subject to be discussed and debated at the will of her teammates, leading Lena to develop an anxiety disorder of pulling her own hair out. Among the series of cultural touchpoints that make you both laugh and cry, Flowers recreates classic magazines ads idealizing women's needs for hair relaxers and product. "Change your hair form to fit your life form" and "Kinks and Koils Forever" call customers from the page.Realizations about race, class, and the imperfections of identity swirl through Flowers' stories and ads, which are by turns sweet, insightful, and heartbreaking. Flowers began drawing comics while earning her PhD, and her early mastery of sequential storytelling is nothing short of sublime. From her black and white drawings to her color construction paper collages, Hot Comb is a propitious display of talent from a new cartoonist who has already made her mark.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking up with Me by
Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley's dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There's just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy's best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: Break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it's really Laura Dean that's the problem. Maybe it's Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever. Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.
They Called Us Enemy by
George Takei has captured hearts and minds worldwide with his captivating stage presence and outspoken commitment to equal rights. But long before he braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future. In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard. They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future. What is American? Who gets to decide? When the world is against you, what can one person do? To answer these questions, George Takei joins co-writers Justin Eisinger & Steven Scott and artist Harmony Becker for the journey of a lifetime.
Grass by
This true story of a Korean comfort woman documents how the actrocity of war devestates women's lives.This true story of a korean comfort woman documents how the atrocity of war devastates women's livesGrass is a powerful anti-war graphic novel, offering up firsthand the life story of a Korean girl named Lee Ok-sun who was forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Imperial Army during the second World War - a disputed chapter in 20th century Asian history.Beginning in Lee's childhood, Grass shows the leadup to World War II from a child's vulnerable perspective, detailing how one person experienced the Japanese occupation and the widespread suffering it entailed for ordinary Korean folk. Keum Suk Gendry-Kim emphasizes Lee's strength in overcoming the many forms of adversity she experienced. Grass is painted in a black ink that flows with lavish details of the beautiful fields and farmland of Korea and uses heavy brushwork on the somber interiors of Lee's memories.Cartoonist Gendry-Kim's interviews with Lee become an integral part of Grass, forming the heart and architecture of this powerful non-fiction graphic novel and offering a holistic view of how Lee's wartime suffering changed her. Grass is a landmark graphic novel that makes personal the desperate cost of war and the importance of peace.
There are multiple options for finding graphic novels for young adults at the TDRL. Start with some of the TDRL staff picks on the left or find more by using the resources listed below.
Children's and Young Adult Literature Guide
The Children's and Young Adult Literature Guide has booklists which can help you browse recently published graphic novels. The lists below are a good place to start:
NoveList Plus
NoveList Plus is used to search for book recommendations by age, format, genre, topic, tone, character type, awards, and more. The following shows one way to search for YA graphic novels. Remember! The TDRL doesn't own all the books listed in your NoveList search results; check your public library for books not available at the TDRL.
Step One: Log into NoveList Plus (use your Ace account if accessing it off campus)
Step Two: Click on Advanced Search under the search bar
Step Three: Type the following into the first two search fields. Make sure the second field has the "NOT" criteria listed (unless you are interested in seeing manga results). Click "Search."
Step 4: Use the Refine Results filter to limit to Teen, fiction/nonfiction, publication date, or appeal factors. You can also sort by popularity or publication date.
Step 5: Review your results and check Quick Search for the availability of specific books at the TDRL.