Graphics, comics, series for kids

I love learning that something new from a favorite author has come out without me noticing, because that means I can get it right away, and I don’t have to wait weeks or months for it.  Knife’s Edge was my bonus this week, and it’s a nice follow-up to Compass South.  Track them both down if you don’t know this series.

When you’ve got a super-reader on your hands, it can be hard to constantly come up with new things for them.  Enter the series.  Whether you’re looking at early chapter books like Magic Treehouse or something for older kids like the Wimpy Kid, multiple books with the same characters can be a lifesaver.  Some parents and teachers still resist graphic novels/comics, because they aren’t seen as “real” reading.  Well, if a kid’s reading anything these days, I don’t care what it is.  I just want them reading more.

After finishing Knife’s Edge, I got to thinking about how many fun series there are for kids who like more visual reading, giving me an excuse to make a collage.  Yay, graphics!

Knife’s Edge by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

Find your way to Compass South

Maybe you’ve read everything by Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Sisters, Drama, etc.).  Perhaps you tore through Awkward (Svetlana Chmakova).  And Princess X.  And Big Nate.  And the graphic versions of A Wrinkle in Time and The Graveyard Book.  And every other graphic novel or comic book for kids you could find.

Have you come across this one?  Compass South (Four Points, Book 1) is bursting with action, abandoned kids, orphans, con artists, pirates, ship captains and at least one lost parent.  There are also two sets of twins, street kids, travel around Cape Horn, and a girl dressed as a boy.  And that’s not even all!

It’s a great quick read, with detailed and interesting illustrations, and it promises to be a story worth following in books to come.  Not all the mysteries are solved by the end, and you have the feeling some characters will reappear later on.  And what’s the deal with that knife and the watch?  Will there be spies and secret codes?  Will there be treasure?  More pirates?  I can hardly wait!

Compass South by Hope Larson with Rebecca Mock