SSYRA 3-5 Graphic novels

There are three graphic novels on the Sunshine State Young Reader 3-5 list this year.  That might give you an idea of the popularity of graphic novels among 3-5th graders, but it also speaks to the fact that graphic novels cover a greater range of topics than ever before and more of them are being published.  I already reviewed "Measuring Up" by Lily Lamotte here.  So let me tell you about the other two, because they were also terrific.

"Katie the Catsitter" written by Colleen AF Venable and illustrated by Stephanie Yue is very fun fantasy fiction story.  Katie is 12 and wants to go to summer camp with her two best friends but her mom can't afford to send her.  Katie decides to earn the money doing odd jobs around her apartment buildings, except she's terrible at it!  Until one day, her neighbor notices that Katie is really great with her cat and asks Katie to cat sit and pay her a lot of money, which seems to Katie, to be the easiest job in the world.  Part of what makes this story so great are the plot twists, which would be mean of me to spoil!  So let's just say, that things are not always what they seem to be.  I loved the mystery of this and I really liked some of the adults in the story who had some very interesting character traits.  The art work is just plain wonderful and that's one of the things that is so great about graphic novels- the text takes you places, but the art work takes you too.  One of my favorite images is Katie's last day of school (so there's no text, but a full page with three images to show readers what the last day of school is like.  The first one is an empty classroom with the chairs on top of the desks.  The second is the kids walking through the hallway, saying good bye to each other, taking things out of their lockers, one of them is jumping for joy.  The last image is in the teachers lounge, where two teachers are talking with each other and a third teacher is jumping for joy.  It's  just such a brilliant way to show all the different feelings on the last day of school, which every person who has ever been school can completely identify with.  My students love graphic novels and I'm really happy this one made the list.  I'm even happier that I was smart enough to buy ALL of the books in the series because I think the kids are going to love this one.  Hmm, I think I should buy a few more copies....

Here's the cover. 

And here's a book trailer from the librarians at Bethel Park Library.

The second one (also a graphic novel) is called Shirley and Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillian Goetz.   This one is realistic fiction.  It's about two really different girls-Shirley and Jamila.  Shirley is very smart and really interested in science and observation but not very good at interpersonal relationships.  Jamila is also smart but really likes playing basketball and would like nothing better than to spend the entire summer playing ball.  Their parents would like each of them to attend different summer camps to work on things they are not particularly interested in but when they meet at a garage sale, Shirley has an idea that they could work together to get what each of them wants.  Their parents agree and so Shirley and Jamila spend every day at the basketball courts, Jamila is shooting hoops and Shirley is helping kids solve problems.  Jamila is not really interested in the problem solving part until one day a boy comes to ask Shirley to help him find his lizard.  In order to get all the facts, Shirley and Jamila have to leave the basketball courts to go to the scene of the missing lizard, the pool.  This violates the parental agreement that the girls made and when their parents find out, there are big consequences.  One of the things that is so great about this one is the conversation about why Shirley has trouble making and keeping friends.  This is going to be a great conversation starter for a lot of kids.  The way Shirley notices and things and draws conclusions from them is also terrific-it would be great to compare her to Florian in James Ponti's Framed books.  The pictures in this one are great as well-helping readers understand the characters more deeply.  I think the kids are going to love this one also.  

Here's the cover.