Fun fact: I used to be a regular contributor at the School Library Journal’s Good Comics for Kids blog. From 2008 to 2011, I reviewed a variety of comics and manga for younger readers, from Eric Shanower’s adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Marvel) to Matthew Loux’s charming Salt Water Taffy (Oni Press). The following index is intended to help parents, teachers, and librarians find reviews and discussion of kid- and teen-friendly manga, as well as reviews and discussion of Western comics for the under 16 crowd.
Manga and Manhwa
Articles and Roundtable Discussions About Manga
- The Best Kid-Friendly Manga of 2008 (1/23/09)
- The Color of Earth (5/18/09)
- Dragon Ball and School Libraries (10/12/09)
- Farewell to Shojo Beat (5/26/09)
- The GC4K Book Club: Twin Spica (8/13/10)
- The GC4K Guide to CMX Manga (5/24/10)
- Graphic Novel Reporter’s Core Manga List for Kids (9/6/10)
- Reactions to CMX Shutting Down (5/19/10)
- Reviewing Kids’ Manga Roundtable (9/3/10)
Manga Reviews
- Animal Academy: Hakobune Hakusho, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
- Animal Land, Vol. 1 (Kodansha Comics)
- Arata: The Legend, Vols. 1-2 (VIZ)
- BakeGyamon: Backwards Game, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- Ben 10 Alien Force, Vol. 1: Ben 10 Returns (Del Rey)
- Blade for Barter, Vol. 1 (Seven Seas)
- Captain Nemo, Vol. 1 (Seven Seas)
- Chi’s Sweet Home, Vol. 1 (Vertical, Inc.)
- ChocoMimi, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- ChocoMimi, Vol. 4 (VIZ)
- Dinosaur Hour!, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- Dinosaur King, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- Dragon Ball: The Adventure Begins! (VIZ)
- The Dreaming: The Collection (Tokyopop)
- Fairy Idol Kanon, Vol. 1 (UDON Entertainment)
- Happy Happy Clover, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- Hollow Fields, Vols. 1-3 (Seven Seas)
- Leave it to PET! The Misadventures of a Recycled Super Robot, Vol. 1 (VIZ)
- The Lapis Lazuli Crown, Vol. 1 (CMX)
- The Legend of Zelda, Vols. 1-2: Ocarina of Time (VIZ)
- The Lizard Prince, Vol. 1 (CMX)
- Mameshiba: On the Loose! (VIZ)
- Meet Mameshiba (VIZ)
- Mugen Spiral: The Complete Two-Volume Series (Tokyopop)
- Ninja Baseball Kyuma!, Vol. 1 (UDON Entertainment)
- Nui!, Vol. 1 (Broccoli Books)
- The Palette of 12 Secret Colors, Vols. 1-6 (CMX)
- Panda Man to the Rescue (VIZ)
- RE:Play, Vol. 3 (Tokyopop)
- Rin-ne, Vol. 4 (VIZ)
- Sand Land (VIZ)
- Spy Goddess: The Chase for the Chalice, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
- SUIHELIBE!, Vol. 1 (CMX)
- Taro and the Magic Pencil (VIZ)
- Telling Tales (Sweatdrop Studios)
- The World I Create (CMX)
- Yotsuba&!, Vols. 6-7 (Yen Press)
Comics and Graphic Novels
Articles and Roundtable Discussions About Kids’ Comics
- Are All Comics for Kids? (1/7/10)
- Books We Wish We Could Have (12/1/09)
- Colorful Characters: Storytelling Through Comics (7/19/09)
- GC4K Book Club: Calamity Jack (4/27/10)
- GC4K Book Club: Foiled (6/17/10)
- GC4K Book Club: Ghostopolis (1/11/11)
- GC4K Book Club: Smile (3/17/10)
- GC4K Book Club: Zeus: King of the Gods (2/12/10)
- Graphic Classics (9/22/11)
- Great Graphic Novels for Teens (2/4/10)
- Ibuki’s Pants (4/11/11)
- Snowed In (3/1/10)
- Tough Cookies We Love (3/16/09)
- Who Decides What Kids Can Read? (10/27/09)
Best-of and Reading Lists
- ALA: Core Titles List (7/1/10)
- The Best Comics for Kids 2009 (12/8/09)
- The Best Comics for Kids 2010 (12/15/10)
- The Best Graphic Novels of 2008 (12/17/08)
- Comic Relief: 39 Graphic Novels Kids Can’t Resist (7/1/11)
- Comics That Celebrate America’s Cultural Diversity (7/7/09)
- Great Halloween Comics for Kids (10/26/10)
- Hurricane Preparedness (8/26/11)
- Romance Comics (2/14/10)
- Summer 2009 Reading List (6/16/09)
- Summer 2010 Reading List (6/23/10)
- Sweet Indulgences: Guilty Pleasures 2008 (12/31/08)
Comic and Graphic Novel Reviews
- The Adventures of the Araknid Kid, Episode 1: Kracker and Flea (Crash Land Studios)
- Age of Reptiles: The Journey, No. 1 (Dark Horse)
- Amelia Rules! True Things (Adults Don’t Want Kids to Know) (Simon & Schuster)
- Astronaut Dad, Vol. 1 (Silent Devil Productions)
- Bayou, Vol. 1 (Zuda)
- Beasts of Burden, No. 1: The Gathering Storm (Dark Horse)
- Biker Girl (Hyperion)
- The Dayan Collection, Vols. 1-4 (Dark Horse)
- DC Super Pets: Midway Monkey Madness (Capstone Publishing)
- DC Super Pets: Pooches of Power (Capstone Publishing)
- Fashion Kitty (Hyperion)
- Fashion Kitty and the Unlikely Hero (Hyperion)
- Fashion Kitty versus the Fashion Queen (Hyperion)
- First in Space (Oni Press)
- Flight: Explorer, Vol. 1 (Villard Books)
- Gabby & Gator (Yen Press)
- Girl Comics, No. 1 (Marvel Comics)*
- Guinea Pig: Pet Shop Private Eye, No. 4: Fish You Were Here (Lerner)
- How I Made It to Eighteen: A Mostly True Story (Roaring Brook)
- Kill Shakespeare, Nos. 1-2 (IDW Publishing)
- Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers, No. 1 (Marvel Comics)
- Luuna, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
- The Marvelous Land of Oz, No. 1 (Marvel Comics)
- Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox, No. 1: The Meeting (Graphic Universe)
- Muppet King Arthur, No. 1 (BOOM! Studios)
- Otto’s Orange Day (TOON Books)
- Pigling: A Cinderella Tale (Graphic Universe)
- The Popularity Papers (Amulet Books)
- Red Moon (Cossack Comics)
- The Return of King Doug (Oni Press)
- Rock and Roll Love (Hyperion)
- Salt Water Taffy: The Legend of Old Salty (Oni Press)
- A Sam & Friends Mystery, Book Three: Mummy Mayhem (Kids Can Press)
- The Secret Adventures of Hamster Sam: Attack of the Evil Boll Weevils! (DM Creative Publishing)
- Sidekicks (Scholastic)
- The Spaghetti Strand Murder (Alterna Comics)
- Squirrelly Gray (Random House)
- A Study in Scarlet: A Sherlock Holmes Graphic Novel (Self-Made Hero)
- The Stuff of Legend, Book One: The Dark, Nos. 1-2 (Th3rd World Studios)
- Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade, No. 1 (DC Comics)
- There’s a Wolf at the Door (Roaring Brook Press)
- Trickster (Fulcrum Books)
- Twisted Journeys, No. 17: Detective Frankenstein (Lerner)
- The Undersea Adventures of Cap’n Eli, Vol. 1 (Nemo Publishing)
- The Unlikely Trio: The Last Barn on the Left (Alterna Comics)
- Wall-E: Working to Dig You Out, No. 00 (BOOM! Studios)
- Wonder Woman: Trial of the Amazons (Stone Arch Books)
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Nos. 1-4 (Marvel Comics)
- YAM: Bite-Sized Chunks (Top Shelf)
- Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework (Toon Books)
* with Robin Brenner