Picture books for middle graders

 One of the things that's been great about reading books for kids is reading picture books.  Picture books tap into a part of brain that's completely different from text so yeah, comic books read differently from text books, but they are no less reading than reading text.  I'll also tell you that if you haven't picked up a picture book or a graphic novel lately, you're going to be surprised at the quality of the art work.  These artists are putting out some amazing, awe inspiring work.  Here are two that you might consider. 

The first one is a based on a Chinese folktale and it's called Kuan Yin written by Maya van der Meer and illustrated by Wen Hsu.  This story is based on possibly the most revered Buddhist saint and has connections to Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and Indian culture.  It's about two sisters, Miao Shan and Ling.  Miao Shan likes to spend time with animals is filled with love.  She wants to be able to spread love and happiness full time.  Her father has other plans and would like her to marry a prince.  He is angry that his daughter would defy him.  Miao Shan asks to go to a nunnery so that she might study and learn to be of true service to all the people of the kingdom.  The king agrees, conspiring with the elders at the nunnery to give Miao Shan the most menial, most difficult tasks to do, hoping that Miao Shan will tire and come home.   Instead, the girls work together, with help from a dragon and lots of birds to bring the field back to life and provide food for the poor and medicines for the sick.  The story of compassion for others is lovely, but the artwork practically glows.  The illustrator, Wen Hsu has done an amazing job of bringing the story to life.  The pictures are mostly pastel colors but have such an intensity to them.  It's hard to look away!  My students love stories about princesses and this one is going get a lot of attention, not only for the lovely message, but for the beautiful, luminous art work.   Don't miss it!

Here's a book trailer!

The second one is a new version of a story I love called "Turtle in Paradise" by Jennifer Holm.  It's been turned into a graphic novel, illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau.  If you don't know the story of Turtle, she's a stone cold realist with a dreamer for a mother.  She and her mom having been moving from place to place as her mom gets (and loses) jobs as a housekeeper.  In the Depression, jobs are hard to come by, especially for women, so when Turtle's mom gets her latest job, her employer doesn't want children living in her house.  Turtle ends up going to Key West, where her aunt lives with her family.  The letter telling her aunt about Turtle's arrival comes after Turtle does and let's just say that there isn't a welcoming committee for Turtle.  Turtle has three boy cousins and they know just about everyone on the island.  The oldest cousin, Beans, also has a business-they take care of babies, bad babies.  They have a secret diaper rash formula as well as some good tricks to keep the babies from crying.  This is one of my favorite books ever and the graphic novel format suits it well.  The pictures have an old fashioned comic feel to them, including the pastel color scheme.  The story hasn't been doctored or altered, so you still get the wonderful dialogue and the careful unfolding of the plot, which is just wonderful.  I think this is going to be a great addition to our school library!