Favorite Graphic Novels for Elementary Kids

Do your children have a love for the "graphic novel" style books as well? Graphic novels have honestly been a game changer in our household.  You may not know them as "graphic novels" specifically, but basically any book with "comic" type pictures, or a lot of fun pictures, fonts, etc. are included in my loose definition of a graphic novel for our purposes!  My children love them, and they make a very easy transition into chapter books, especially when your child may be at a higher reading level than the easy readers, but not willing to give up the pictures, the colors, and all the fun things.  Of course picture books come at every level, and I am always a fan of those... but regardless, these books I'm listing really helped my kids enjoy reading and kept them excited.  They also love that they are quick reads, and they can bust through them rather quickly, which is always a bigger deal for kids, right?  My kids tend to want to finish things quickly, unless of course it's something like getting their socks and shoes on for school... that tends to fully encourage them to slow down and notice all the things around them.

As a note, graphic novels come at every age level.  Just because a book is at their reading level and has fun pictures, may not mean it's at their maturity level.  As always, check it out before they read it to make sure the content is appropriate and in line with the types of things you want them to read!  Some graphic novels are much more geared towards teens or even adults so.. there's my tidbit on that!

If you haven't given graphic novels a whirl yet, I recommend trying any of these.  I do think they are a great option to get some children interested in reading that otherwise are not the most interested.  They have seriously helped with some of ours!  Hope it does the trick for you too!

1.) Babysitters Club and Babysitters Little Sister

My daughters LOVE these.  So fun to see a series that I enjoyed so much as a kid being reinvented as a graphic novel for them.  I'm super excited that the Little Sister ones are now being released as well, it's a much better age and interest level for my younger daughters.  The second book is out now as well!

2.) Geronimo and Thea Stilton books

There are so many of these and a lot of subcategories of them as well.  These have been such a big hit with each of my daughters and I'm fully confident that my son will enjoy them as well when he hits that age- so this is a good one for boys and girls alike!  The books are super fun, the stories are interesting and attention-holding, and the pictures and fun fonts make it much more appealing at younger ages.  There are really a variety of reading levels in these as well, shorter/easier ones that my kids could read at the end of kindergarten/first grade, and much longer/more difficult ones that are still interesting to them (and at their level) through 4th or 5th grade. 

3.) Owl Diaries and Unicorn Diaries

These books are adorable.  The Unicorn Diaries is a new series, and are awaiting the first book to arrive from the school book order, but we own Owl Diaries through book 11!  These are very easy readers, and worked well in kindergarten and first grade for my kids.. however, they love the stories so much, and really enjoy having such a large series to follow the characters through, that they request to read the new ones as they come out, even as a 3rd or 4th grader!  I encourage them to read books below their level if they enjoy them for sure, so I think it's great to have a quick, fun, read that basically reads as quickly as a picture book now that they are at a higher reading level.

4.) Phoebe and Her Unicorn

We just recently found a couple of these for my 8 year old daughter who LOVES unicorns.  If you have a unicorn lover as well, and honestly, based on the amount of unicorn products out there, a lot of people must... these would be a fun option!  

5.) Smile, Guts, Sisters, etc.

Another big hit at our house.  My oldest daughter who is now in high school first discovered these around middle school age and really enjoyed them.  She is not a big reader, no matter how hard we try, and these are some that she really enjoyed and couldn't wait to buy or check out.  During a time where it was difficult to get her to read for enjoyment, these were really helpful and it was lovely to see her with a book in her hand that she did not want to put down!  Since then, my younger daughters have really enjoyed them.  They do talk more about middle school type stuff, but none of it has felt inappropriate for our 3rd and 5th grader.  Use your best judgement.

6.) Anne of Green Gables

This is new to me! I found it while browsing the free Kindle Unlimited books on Amazon, and can't wait to check it out!  It's the classic Anne of Green Gables, remade into a graphic novel, and I have very high hopes for it!  Leave me a comment if you or your children have read this yet!?  I'm excited to see what it's like.

Let me know in the comments if you have any other graphic novels that your kids love! We are always looking for more around here.