Select language, opens an overlay
  • General Recommendations
  • Staff-Created List

Summer Learning: Graphic Novels

Fun and new graphic novels to enjoy this summer. These titles are for the whole family, the recommended summer reading age level is noted in each description. This is an multigenerational booklist that features selections for Pre-Readers (0-5), Readers (5-10), Pre-Teens (10-12), Teens (12-17), and Adults (18+). Selected by SJPL staff.

San José Public Library

50 items

  • Pre-Readers/Readers. “When G wants to be first in the alphabet, A refuses, declaring that reading will be destroyed, but G is willing to take that risk.”
    BookNew York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2023] — J PICTURE BOOK Bacon
  • Pre-Readers/Readers. "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a ... pancake? Here is a delightfully clever and endearingly funny graphic novel about a pancake named Peggy, who accidentally develops superhero abilities and must defend her home of…
    BookNew York : Alfred A. Knopf, [2023] — J FICTION SUPER PANCAKE
  • Pre-Readers/Readers. "Beaky Barnes, a no-nonsense chicken who is determined to save her desirable egg, must outwit a hungry inspector, a desperate chef, and an entrepreneurial woman on her tail, to make her escape."
    BookNew York : Penguin Workshop, [2023] — J FICTION BEAKY BARNES
  • Readers. "Begrudgingly agreeing to accompany his best friend Pickles to Wizard's Wharf, Albert tries to get into the spirit of things, but when a malfunctioning ride separates them, Albert and Pickles must rely on how well they know each…
    BookNew York : Viking, 2024. — J FICTION WOMBATS
  • Readers. "Tykotech City is a marvelous and peaceful place, filled with technology beyond anyone's wildest dreams. But as power cuts begin to plague the residents, and a sinister force infiltrates the city, the lives of the cityfolk are in…
    BookLondon : Flying Eye Books, 2023. — J FICTION JUNIPER MAE : KNIGHT OF TYKOTECH CITY
  • Readers. “Batcat loves being all alone in their home on Spooky Island. Up in their tree house, they pass the time playing video games and watching TV. But when Batcat suddenly finds themself haunted by an annoying, ice cream–stealing…
    BookNew York, N.Y. : Amulet Books, 2023. — J FICTION BATCAT
  • Readers. "Listen! Hear a tale of mallow-munchers and warriors who answer candy's clarion call! Somewhere in a generic suburb stands Treeheart, a kid-forged sanctuary where generations of tireless tykes have spent their youths making merry,…
    BookNew York, NY : First Second, 2023. — J FICTION Bea
  • Readers. “Marlene loves three things: books, her cool Tía Ruby and hanging out with her best friend Camila. But according to her mother, Paola, the only thing she needs to focus on is school and "growing up." That means straightening her…
    BookNew York : First Second Books, [2022] — J FICTION Frizzy
  • Readers. Maggie is the odd one out in her family, and decides she needs a best friend. What’s a better friend than a puppy!? Maggie is hoping to adopt one but finds out she is severely allergic to anything with fur. Will this stop Maggie…
    BookNew York : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2021. — J FICTION Allergic
  • Pre-Teens. “Relatable, funny, and heart-wrenchingly honest, Saving Sunshine is the poignant story of Muslim American siblings learning how to build each other up in a world that is too often unkind.”
    BookNew York : First Second, 2023. — J FICTION Saving
  • Pre-Teens. “Presents graphic illustrations of miscellaneous facts about the solar system, space travel and the life of astronauts, and the exploration of outer space.”
    BookNew York : Aladdin, 2023. — J 523.2 Barfield
  • Pre-Teens. When Bình fights back against a bully who makes fun of his Vietnamese heritage, he expects to be cheered as the hero. He defeated the bad guy, right? Instead, it gets him a stern warning from his vice principal and worried…
    BookNew York : Little, Brown and Company, 2023. — J FICTION Enlighte
  • Pre-Teens. “Funny, heartwarming, and poignant, A First Time for Everything is a feel-good coming-of-age memoir based on New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat's awkward middle school years. It celebrates a…
    BookNew York : First Second, 2023. — J FICTION FIRST
  • Monstrous

    a Transracial Adoption Story

    Myer, Sarah,
    Pre-Teens. Bullied by her classmates, Sarah, a Korean American girl growing up in a rural community with few Asian neighbors, channels her rage into her art and cosplay until it threatens to explode.
    BookNew York, NY : First Second, 2023. — YA 362.734 Myer
  • Pre-Teens. Travis and his sister, Corey, can't resist a good trick. When they learn that their grandmother's quiet Vermont inn, where they're spending the summer, has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little "haunting" of…
    BookNew York, NY : Clarion Books/Harper alley, imprints of HarpercollinsPublishers, [2023] — J FICTION All
  • Pre-Teens. “Now in a graphic novel format, this classic tale of survival, hope, courage and friendship, which has been inspiring readers for more than 50 years, will delight old and new fans alike.”
    BookCalifornia : Ten Speed Graphic, an imprint of Ten Speed Press, [2023] — J FICTION Watership
  • Pre-Teens. "Eighth grader Drew Ellis recognizes that he isn't afforded the same opportunities, no matter how hard he works, that his privileged classmates at the Riverdale Academy Day School take for granted, and to make matters worse,…
    BookNew York, NY : Quill Tree Books, Harper Alley, imprints of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2023] — J FICTION NEW KID
  • Pre-Teens. “Can five overlooked kids make one big difference? There's George: the brain, Sara: the loner, Dayara: the tough kid, Nico: the rich kid, and Miguel: the athlete. And they're stuck together when they're forced to complete their…
    BookNew York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2022. — J FICTION Invisibl
  • Jessi's Secret Language

    Jessi's Secret Language

    Chau, Chan,
    Pre-Teens. “Jessi recently moved to Stoneybrook and is one of the newest members of The Baby-sitters Club. She's getting ready to start regularly sitting for the BSC's newest charge, Matt Braddock. Matt has been Deaf since birth and uses…
    BookNew York, NY : Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic, 2022. — J FICTION BABY-SITTERS CLUB
  • Pre-Teens. Aiza has always dreamt of becoming a Knight. It's the highest military honor in the once-great Bayt-Sajji Empire, and as a member of the subjugated Ornu people, Knighthood is her only path to full citizenship. Ravaged by famine…
    BookNew York, NY : Quill Tree Books, [2022]. — YA FICTION Squire