Reviews: Graphic Novels for Kids

Posted on July 9, 2020 at 9:42 am by Gene Ambaum

Snail Finds a Home by Mary Peterson. Aladdin Pix, 2020. 9781534431850. 64pp.

Ladybug tries to convince strawberry-loving Snail to leave his bucket of strawberries. After he turns green and vomits he agrees, and she becomes his real estate agent, taking him to places he could live while trying to keep him from being eaten by a chicken. Yeah, it’s weird. The drawings are fun, it flows really well, and little kids are going to love it. (I can’t wait for a librarian somewhere to email me about a group of stoned older readers pulling it off a library shelf and reading it to each other.)

Wolf in Underpants Freezes His Buns Off by Wilfrid Lupano, Maya Itoïz, and Paul Cauuet. Translation by Nathan Sacks. Graphic Universe, 2020. 9781541528192. 40pp.

It’s winter in the woods, which is great if you’re prepared. But the Wolf isn’t happy because maybe he isn’t ready — he keeps saying, “They’re freezing!” — and it’s freaking the other animals out. They try to figure out what Wolf is talking about, and how to take care of it so that the cold doesn’t turn him evil or wild or the like. There’s a knitting owl, a lot of fondue, and a lot of overly paranoid animals. Very entertaining.

Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution (Graphic Science Biographies) by Jordi Bayarri. Translation by Dr. Tayra M.C. Lanuza-Navarro and Carin Berkowitz. Graphic Universe, 2020. 9781541578227. 40pp. including a timeline, glossary, index, and list of further resources.

This short, simple graphic biography of Darwin starts with him being interested in science as a kid and ends with the publication of his famous theory. Along the way he fails to become a doctor (as his father wanted) and a priest. See him get sickened by an autopsy! Witness him make the mistake of trying to store a beetle in his mouth! There’s at least one more bout of nausea in here.

I read two books in this series, and this is clearly the more inspired and readable of the two. Highly recommended if you’re trying to get young comics readers interested in science.