Graphic Novels

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Grades 4-6 nominees

Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award

2013

Gabby & Gator

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James Burks

Gator has never seemed to fit in with the other neighborhood pets. Perhaps this is because he’s made a bad habit of eating them. You see, ever since being flushed down the toilet when he was just a tiny gator, Gator’s had to do what gators do in order to get by. Gabby has never seemed to fit in with the other neighborhood kids. Not that she eats them or anything nearly that drastic. It’s just that they don’t share her interests, which include collecting bottles, practicing tuba, and doing good for others. When Gabby and Gator meet they immediately see the value in accepting one another just as you are. But can the same be said for the football star at Gabby’s school? Or for the animal catcher determined to capture the mysterious sewer gator?

Giants Beware!

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Jorge Aguirre and Rafael Rosado

Claudette wishes to become a female giant slayer and prove how brave she is! One major problem, Claudette’s village is safe and peaceful. After hearing the long ago story about the village being saved from a giant without slaying the giant, Claudette makes it her mission in life to find the giant and slay him. Claudette using her engaging personality talks her way out of the village where people are not allowed to venture. Claudette who convinced her best friend Marie (who wants to become a princess) and her brother Gaston (future pastry chef) to go with her, Claudette begins her adventurous journey to slay herself a giant.

Hilda and the Midnight Giant

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Luke Pearson

Hilda and her mother live in a quiet house at the base of a mountain. They are besieged by little invisible elves who live in the valley surrounding the house, who claim that the land is rightfully theirs. Hilda investigates both the possibility of coexistence with the elves and the mysterious giant who visits their land at night.

Little White Ducka Childhood in China

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Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez

Author Na Liu recounts memories from her childhood in China in the 1970s as the people of China mourn the loss of Chairman Mao. Readers will recognize several parallels in both Na’s stories and how they relate to the lives of her parents, living in China a generation before, as well as how the author’s experiences relate to the reader’s lives today.

Luz Makes a Splash

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Claudia Dávila

When a heatwave and drought threaten Luz’s urban neighborhood, everyone struggles to make do with water and energy rations. To make matters worse, she and her friends discover that a nearby soda factory has drained their local swimming hole. With their chances at relief and the future of their neighborhood gardens at stake, Luz enlists adults and friends to mount an effort that could save their resources. This realistic science vocabulary-infused tale brings conservation and citizenship authentically to life with a multi-cultural cast, beautiful monotoned artwork and clear how-to diagrams that easily translate into classroom projects.

Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales:

One Dead Spy

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Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale was America’s first spy and is quoted as saying “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”, shortly before he was executed by the British. Author Nathan Hale (yes, the same name as the spy!) brings the misadventures of the American patriot to brilliant life amidst the backdrop of the Revolutionary War. The innovative tale begins at the gallows when a giant book appears and swallows up Hale, the hangman and a British officer. Join a cast of tough historical characters that includes George Washington, Ethan Allen, and Henry Knox as readers are transported through history. The cast is playfully rendered with fun styling, and the rich settings strongly capture the time and place. The end of the book includes extensive citations, commentary on perspective, and biographical summaries of each character, plus a bonus mini-comic on the story of Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre.

Sidekicks

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Dan Santat

Captain Amazing is so busy fighting crime he has no time for his pets. When the pets learn that the Captain is looking for a sidekick the pets decide they want to try out for the position in order to spend more time with their beloved owner. Who will be Captain Amazing’s sidekick? Fluffy the Hamster? Manny the Cat? Roscoe the Dog? Or will it be Shifty the Chameleon?

The Unsinkable Walker Bean

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Aaron Renier

Walker Bean’s grandfather comes into possession of a legendary skull, thought to grant the keeper the knowledge of all of the secrets of the past, present, and future, and it makes his grandfather deathly ill. Now, to save the life of his grandfather and possibly everyone he knows, Walker must travel to a hidden island to return the skull to the trench. But nothing is as simple as it seems as Walker takes company among pirates, the elusive Dr. Patches, and the evil merwitch sisters.

Madeleine L’Engle’s

A Wrinkle in Timethe Graphic Novel

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Hope Larson

Meg Murray feels out of place everywhere – a tomboy with a temper who gets poor grades at school despite having brilliant scientist parents and a pair of perfectly normal brothers. With her father having gone missing without explanation and her “special” baby brother Charles Wallace acting stranger than usual, Meg’s world is suddenly engulfed into where time and space can be travelled in an instant. She and Charles along with schoolmate Calvin are dazzled by their exploration into other universes with the help of a brave and kindly maternal trio. Together, they must learn how to defeat the dark shadow that is overtaking existence one world at a time, and discover the truth of what happened to Meg and Charles’ father. This new expression of the Newbery-winning children’s science fiction classic is brought to stunning life by expressive styling that balances creative visualization with the imagination of the reader, and wonderfully inspires a love of literacy, learning, and STEM identity in the next generation.

Zita the Spacegirl

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Ben Hatke

Zita’s life took a cosmic left turn in the blink of an eye. When her best friend is abducted by an alien doomsday cult, Zita leaps to the rescue and finds herself a stranger on a strange planet. Humanoid chickens and neurotic robots are shocking enough as new experiences go, but Zita is even more surprised to find herself taking on the role of intergalactic hero. Before long, aliens in all shapes and sizes don’t even phase her. Neither do ancient prophecies, doomed planets, or even a friendly con man who takes a mysterious interest in Zita’s quest. Zita the Spacegirl is a fun, captivating tale of friendship and redemption from Flight veteran Ben Hatke. It also has more whimsical, eye-catching, Miyazaki-esque monsters than you can shake a stick at.