New Graphic Novels in August

August 3, 2015 by Anna M.

I have always loved reading graphic novels. I grew up reading superhero comics from Marvel and manga in high school and have since moved on to reading all the graphic novels that come by my desk here at Mackin. Two new great titles have passed by my desk recently that are both being published in August and would be great appeal for middle school high interest readers.

Masha isn’t happy with her father, he barely spends any time at home, preferring to spend all his time with his fiancee and her daughter. When her father’s new fiancee and daughter come to dinner, Masha finds out that her soon-to-be step-sister is a complete monster. Her chance to get away comes when she sees an advertisement for an opening to be Baba-Yaga’s new assistant. Masha uses her beloved grandmother’s tales of Baba-Yaga to outsmart the witch in her three tests. This graphic novel gives a nostalgic feeling with the memories Masha experiences of her grandmother telling her stories and the wicked, but lovable nature of Baba-Yaga. This is a fairly short graphic novel, also, only being around 130 pages, so it is something that readers can devour in a sitting, which is great for reluctant readers. This would be good to pair with the recent novel Egg & Spoon by Gregory Maguire because of the Russian folklore aspect to each tale.

Baba Yaga’s Assistant by Marika McCoola and illustrated by Emily Carroll. 9780763669614. Aug 4th, 2015. Gr 5-8.

When Violet’s school gets devoured by the whales that are roaming space whose excrement (hint: those are the dumplins) powers ships and stations, her parents take some drastic measures to find her a new school and make some extra money. When her father takes a particularly dangerous job and isn’t heard from, Violet escapes from the station where she and her mother are living to rescue him. She collects a rag tag group of friends, including a chicken, the last living Lumpkin, and her father’s old fishing buddies to find her father and ensure that the whales don’t eat them along the way. This graphic novel will be perfect for high interest readers with a multitude of poop jokes and a hyper little girl with a taste for adventure. This graphic novel is larger than the previous title with the page number being around 320. However, it is broken down into chapters and I think the humor and adventure mixed throughout will encourage readers to continue until the end.