Hello, lovely readers! This week, we’re going to shift into a new style of books: graphic novels. This week will center on the comics people are more familiar with and the next issue will feature some popular Japanese graphic novels, called manga.

Bone by Jeff Smith
Join Fone Bone, Smiley Bone, and Phoney Bone as they travel across the desert. One of Phoney’s schemes has gone wrong yet again and this time, they’ve been run out of Boneville by the angry townspeople! Separated by a mysterious swarm of locust, the Bones now have to make their way to the nearby town alone, encountering the fearsome rat creatures, a dragon, and a strange cow-racing old woman.

I really love how Jeff Smith starts this series so plainly that no one expects it to get as interesting as it does. The more you read, the more hints you get that not all is as it seems and it only makes you want to pick up the next book as fast as you can. I also love the way you can see the artwork progress, becoming more and more detailed through the books.

Amelia Rules! by Jimmy Gownley

Amelia McBride and her mom have just moved in with her Aunt Tanner, thanks to the divorce between her parents. Far from her home in New York, Amelia has to make new friends and get risked as being labeled a “nerd,” become a superhero, worry about her cast of crazy teachers, and visit the principal’s office more times than she can count!

I love Amelia, I really do. She is the embodiment of a child on the cusp of growing up, learning lessons and making friends as she goes along. Not only that, but the experiences she goes through are ones that many people can relate to. This series is both heart-warming and completely hilarious, one I would definitely recommend to comic-lovers everywhere.

Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi

After the tragic death of their father, Emily, Navin, and their mom move to an old and creepy home that used to belong to their great-grandfather. The house is weird enough as it is, especially after Emily finds a weird old necklace; now, she can’t shake the feeling of being watched. That night, their mother is kidnapped by a tentacled monster that takes her down a mysterious passage that leads to an entirely different world. Emily and Navin have no choice: th
ey have to go in after her.

Combining the two genres of sci-fi and fantasy, Kazu Kibuishi embellishes the already captivating tale with breathtaking artwork that brings readers into the story; it truly is a marvelous piece of work. Amulet is a story about family, loyalty, and stepping forward to face the things that give you nightmares as Emily accepts the power, and the danger, that her amulet brings her.