Tried-and-true themes of navigating friendships and crushes lead fall’s middle grade lineup, along with inventive early reader fare by Shannon Hale, Peter McCarty, Iasmin Omar Ata, and Brenna Thummler.
Top 10
Cabin Head and Tree Head
Scott Campbell. Tundra, Sept. 30 ($13.99, ISBN 978-1-77488-505-5)
This quirky early reader is “a congenial snapshot of best buds who are eager to bask in life’s everyday joys,” per PW’s review. Ages 6–9.
Dear Jackie
Jessixa and Aaron Bagley. Simon & Schuster, Sept. 9 ($14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5344-9657-6)
The team behind Duel reunite in this “authentic,” per PW’s starred review, tale about a middle schooler who pretends she has a secret admirer to prove herself to a new clique. Ages 8–12.
Dream On
Shannon Hale and Marcela Cespedes. Roaring Brook, Aug. 26 ($21.99, ISBN 978-1-250-84306-7)
Hale follows up her Real Friends series with this “heartfelt graphic novel series opener about friendship, family, and finding where one belongs,” according to PW’s starred review. Ages 8–12.
The Five Wolves
Peter McCarty. First Second, Oct. 14 ($29.99, ISBN 978-1-250-17062-0)
The Caldecott Honoree crafts a fable in poetic verse that follows a pack of artistic wolves as they travel the globe in search of inspiration. Ages 9–14.
Gumshoe
Brenna Thummler. HarperAlley, Jan. 13 ($15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-333527-1)
The Eisner-nominated creator of the Sheets trilogy presents a mystery adventure set in the Southwest where a girl adores letters so much she’s mistaken for a mail thief—and seeks justice with help from the Gumshoe gang. Ages 8–12.
How to Say Goodbye in Cuban
Daniel Miyares. Random/Schwartz, Sept. 30 ($21.99, ISBN 978-0-593-56829-3)
Miyares chronicles his father’s childhood in “a reverent graphic novel about one immigrant family’s experience navigating Cuba’s tumultuous political history,” per PW’s starred review. Ages 8–12.
The Many Misfortunes of Eugenia Wang
Stan Yan. Atheneum, Sept. 30 ($14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-6659-4332-1)
Eugenia’s mother won’t let her celebrate her unlucky number birthday, but she plans a party anyway, and fears she may really be cursed. Ages 8–12.
Tuck Everlasting
Natalie Babbitt and K. Woodman-Maynard. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Sept. 2 ($22.99, ISBN 978-0-374-39185-0)
This watercolor-painted graphic adaptation of the classic about a family surviving for generations on a hidden spring of immortality—and a friendship that tests the bounds of time—releases on the original’s 50th anniversary. Ages 10–14.
Wallflower
Iasmin Omar Ata. Viking, Jan. 13 ($13.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-11715-6)
Love blooms between two young people surprised by their shared visions of floral auras—flowers that reveal people’s true nature—in this romance from the Ignatz award winner. Ages 8–12.
The Vanishing of Lake Peigneur: A Graphic Novel Based on a True Story
Allan Wolf and Jose Pimienta. Candlewick, Oct. 7 ($19.99, ISBN 978-1-5362-1743-8)
A real-life ecological disaster gets the comics treatment in this account of how an entire lake in a Louisiana salt-mining region suddenly disappeared—with all the fish and vessels it contained. Ages 10–14.
Middle Grade Comics Longlist
Abrams Fanfare
Kindred Dragons by Sarah Mensinga (Oct. 14, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-4197-7116-3). A girl without a dragon egg of her own to raise on a magical Prince Edward Island meets a sickly specimen whom she’s determined to cure—and discovers secrets about her relationship to dragonkind. Ages 10–13.
Andrews McMeel
The Scarlet Ship by Claire Grimond and Léo Verrier, trans. by Rebecca Potters (Oct. 7, $22.99, ISBN 979-8-8816-0175-1). Young artist Malo, whose grandmother is a famous painter, takes to the high seas on a floating ship—only to learn it’s helmed by nefarious anti-art pirates who are determined to
eradicate creativity. Ages 9–12.
T.S. Hullabaloo: A Graphic Novel Based on a (Mostly!) True Story by Zack Rosenberg, Victor Fusté, and Sarah K. Turner (Oct. 7, $22.99, ISBN 979-8-8816-0291-8). At Jack Daring’s middle school, some kids have feline creatures attached to them that make mischief, and they have to figure out how to adapt to learn and thrive. Ages 9–12.
Atheneum
Oddity Woods by Kay Davault (Aug. 5, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-6659-1583-0) collects the webcomics series featuring a 13-year-old detective toting a magical spyglass, who is searching for her father through a forest rife with the supernatural. Ages 8–12.
Charlesbridge Moves
Limelight: Curtain Up on Poetry Comics! by Renee Latulippe and Chuck Gonzales (Oct. 28, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-62354-142-2). The lead-up to a middle school musical theater opening is told through poetic verse, from auditions to dress rehearsal and the curtain going up, in a graphic narrative full of tips and insider humor for young actors. Ages 9–12.
Dark Horse
Red & Blue: Monster Hunters by Sara Soler, trans. by Silvia Perea Labayen (Dec. 16, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5067-4981-5). Professional hero wannabes Red and Blue set out to battle a dragon—only to find that Slayer, Inc., the organization that could induct them into the heroic ranks, claims to stand for what’s right but is doing wrong. Ages 8–10.
DC Books for Young Readers
Kid Flash: Going Rogue by Steve Foxe and Jerry Gaylord (Oct. 7, $12.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-7995-0229-6). The nephew of the Flash is pretty fast, thinks a lot of himself, and takes many selfies. A trip to another dimension with his crew of ruffians—Golden Glider, Pied Piper, Trickster, and the Top—and his superhero uncle turns his attitude around. Ages 8–12.
Disney Hyperion
Daybreaker (Ilustra #1) by Tori Tadiar (Sept. 16, $24.99, ISBN 978-1-368-08966-1).A boarding school student named Mika dreams about the Filipino gods and goddesses from the stories her departed grandmother once told her. When a moth appears speaking in her Lola’s voice, it imparts an unexpected legacy that literally binds Mika to two of her classmates. Ages 8–12.
Elsewhere Editions
Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa and Osama Tsukasa, trans. by Asa Yoneda and David Boyd (Dec. 9, $20, ISBN 978-1-962770-30-9). Woodblock-print-style illustrations by Tsukasa illuminate this adaptation of the classic Japanese tale of a printer’s apprentice who, the night before the Milky Way festival, boards a mystical railway and rolls across a landscape meeting myriad kooky strangers. Ages 8–12.
First Second
Area 51 (Archives of the Unexplained #1) by Steve Foxe and Fran Bueno (Aug. 5, $21.99, ISBN 978-1-250-85028-7) launches a new series of fictional takes on historical unsolved mysteries and conspiracy theories, including an infamous unidentified aircraft sighting in Nevada. Ages 9–13.
My Sister the Werebeast by Alina Tysoe (Oct. 7, $23.99, ISBN 978-1-250-89669-8). Peanut is an extraordinary child with normal older sisters, who tries to keep her fire breathing, flood-level sobs, and tantrums that turn her into a strange creature out of sight of the local monster hunter. Ages 8–12.
The Space Cat by Nnedi Okorafor and Tana Ford (Aug. 12, $22.99, ISBN 978-1-250-81747-1). A cat named Periwinkle spends
its days pampered by its owners and its nights jetting through the stars in a spacecraft designed just for felines—but when
the family moves to Nigeria, aliens invade and get this interstellar kitty’s back up.
Ages 8–12.
Wrong Friend by Charise Mericle Harper and Rory Lucey (Jan. 20, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-85197-0). Charise and Casey, besties since they were small, grow apart when Casey enters high school and the girls’ two-year age gap suddenly seems too hard to cross. Ages 8–12.
Graphic Universe
Absolutely Everything by Damian Alexander (Sept. 9, $17.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-7656-0852-4). Marcella is new to middle school, and her ADHD is making navigating homework, friendships, and her parents’ decision to move apartments overwhelming. She tries to put all her stresses on one list, but it just grows longer. Ages 9–14.
Graphix
Facing Feelings: Inside the World of Raina Telgemeier by Raina Telgemeier (Oct. 21, $26.99, ISBN 978-1-338-88548-4). This close-up on Eisner winner Telgemeier’s life and path to becoming a bestselling cartoonist grew out of a career retrospective at the Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum. Ages 8–11.
Winging It by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter (Oct. 21, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-338-81852-9). Luna’s mother has died, and when she and her father move across the country to Washington, D.C., where her mother grew up, she finds purpose in the Natural History Museum, studying the luna moth for which she’s named. Ages 8–12.
HarperAlley
Hooves of Death by Sam Bragg (Sept. 23, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-344824-7) collects the webtoon about unicorns versus zombies in a showdown to save the last human survivors hiding out in a postapocalyptic Yellowstone National Park. There’s also a Pegasus and bigfoot involved. Ages 8–12.
Millie of the Manor by Karina Evans and Andrea Bell (Sept. 2, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-328248-3). Amy has social anxiety, which goes into overdrive at parties—but she’s hoping that her friend’s murder-mystery-themed event will give her an opportunity to play-act her way out of her worries. Ages 8–12.
Zeb and Bel: A Case of Bird Problems by Rachel Elliott (Jan. 27, $15.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-06-335429-6). A cat and dog duo who dutifully solve mysteries in their apartment building take on the case of a missing prankster parakeet that has everyone in a tizzy after a magic show goes awry. Ages 8–12.
Holiday House
First Kiss with Fangs by Marker Snyder (Sept. 2, $22.99, ISBN 978-0-8234-5702-1). Thirteen-year-old vegetarian vampire Ivan resists his bloodthirsty nature and sticks it out in his daytime school while his brethren graduate to night academy—a commitment that’s tested by a tasty-cute transfer student named Damien. Ages 10–14.
Serendipity by Gabbie Benda (Jan. 27, $19.99, ISBN 978-0-8234-5789-2). Serendipity has always been fortunate—she’s the class president, and good things fall her way naturally. But a curse at a town carnival turns that luck upside down, and teaches her that being first in line isn’t always the best way to make friends. Ages 8–12.
Holiday House/Ferguson
Rodeo Hawkins and the Daughters of Mayhem by John Claude Bemis and Nicole Miles (Oct. 7, $22.99, ISBN 978-0-8234-4512-7). There are many kids named Sidney Poblocki across the multiverse—all of them under threat by assassins—until one particular Sidney, who has run away from his foster home, tries to get out of the loop with the help of the spirited Rodeo Hawkins. Ages 9–12.
LB Ink
Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Setor Fiadzigbey (Dec. 2, $13.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-316-27967-3). The ghost of a 12-year-old Black boy killed by police in contemporary times converses about racism in America with the spirit of Emmett Till—and with the daughter of the officer who murdered him. Ages 8–14.
Marvel Universe
Marvel & Disney: What If...? by Luca Barbieri and Giada Perissinotto (Oct. 28, $24.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-302-96100-8). Disney characters including Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto are cast as Marvel superheroes like Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Captain Marvel, Wolverine, and Spider-Man in this mash-up of animated universes. All ages.
Milky Way
Alyte by Jérémie Moreau (Nov. 11, $28.99, ISBN 978-1-990252-47-1). An orphaned tadpole strikes out through a dangerous river land, dodging birds and bears and forging friendships with other creatures that teach him the ways and wonders of the natural world. Ages 10 and up.
MIT Kids
Maker Girl and Professor Smarts by Jasmine Florentine (Aug. 5, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-5362-2764-2). New Bork City (yes, Bork) is hit with an asteroid that turns most denizens into superheroes—or villains—and two kids who only have their wits and science-loving creativity to battle with try to save the town’s ice cream from Mr. Antifreeze. Ages 7–10.
Oni
Agent Cupcake by Mel Hilario, Lauren Davis, and Katie Longua (Nov. 4, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63715-876-0). A unicorn spy gets a human kid sidekick named Miguel, and together they take orders from the Mystical Beasts Bureau to figure out why unicorns are losing their sparkly powers. Ages 8–12.
Dracula’s Brunch Club by Brian Gonsar and Keenan Gaybba (Aug. 12, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63715-840-1). Dracula’s a baking enthusiast whose jelly donuts keep his brunch club undead forever—until a run on the sweet stuff puts him into battle with Constantine, who’s now sniffing around the villagers for snack time. Ages 8–12.
Goat Magic by Kate Wheeler (Aug. 19, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63715-805-0). A telepathic shepherd who doubts her magic and a princess cursed to turn into a goat at every daybreak unite their uneasy forces to return the displaced royal to her throne—and fall in love along the way.
Ages 8–12.
Indoor Kid by Mat Heagerty and Lisa DuBois-Thompson (Oct. 28, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-63715-930-9). Muscletown is a city for star athletes, where the Brohemians rule—much to the dismay of video gamer and dedicated homebody Arnie, until he lucks into a trinket that turns him into a baller. But will he leave his indoor kid crew on the sidelines? Ages 8–12.
Papercutz
And the Last Dragon’s Breath (Chase Speedington #1) by Franco Aureliani and Mike Hartigan (Nov. 4, $9.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5458-2067-4). Chase Speedington, the energetic adopted son of a queen, runs after the secret of his birth parents—and into nemesis Evil Eisenfaust. Ages 7–12.
Ten-Ton Titan Terrier by David Pepose and Ornella Greco (Oct. 7, $12.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5458-2046-9). When alien Bio Titans threaten to take over Earth, a pet pup suits up to save the day—its scientist owner has invented a mechanical outfit that can fight back against the space invaders, and only the canine version is in working order. Ages 7–12.
Witches of Pepperwood Bay by Lisa Manuzak Wiley (Oct. 21, $9.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-5458-2055-1). A trio of witch sisters watch over the lighthouse that ushers in the mystical residents of Pepperwood Bay—among their duties: tracking down a neighbor’s missing magical teapot. Ages 7–12.
Penguin Workshop
Who Discovered How to Breathe Underwater? Jacques Cousteau by Ned Wolfe and Caroline Hu (Nov. 4, $7.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-38564-7). This entry in the Who HQ Graphic Novels series profiles diver and inventor Jacques Cousteau and his creation of the first scuba diving suit, which allowed for deeper sea exploration. Ages 8–12.
Putnam
Deepwater Creek by Michael Regina (Aug. 26, $13.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-0-593-11739-2). After the hurricane that hit
their town clears up, a clique of kids takes a late summer fishing trip—that hooks into horror when two brothers are pulled under water by a monstrous tug on the
line. Ages 8–12.
Unfairies by Huw Aaron (Jan. 6, $13.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-217-00576-5). In a world called the Garden populated by feuding fairies who employ acorn weapons, a peaceful party-loving tree fairy named Pip tries to stay above the fray—but falls afoul of a prophecy. Ages 8–12.
Roaring Brook
Run Home: A Graphic Memoir by Alyssa Bermudez (Jan. 27, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-250-77431-6). In the early aughts, Bermudez joined her high school’s running club as a freshman at her parents’ urging. She found friendship and the strength to get her through a family crisis when her father fell ill. Ages 10–14.
Space Case (Moon Base Alpha #1) by Stuart Gibbs and Ward Jenkins (Aug. 19, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-6659-3481-7). A 12-year-old kid who lives on the moon—250,000 miles away from his best friend back on Earth—gets caught up in a lunar murder mystery. Ages 8–12.
Stone Arch
Double Feature by Steven Scott and Lavinia Brandizi (Aug. 1, $7.99 trade paper, ISBN 979-8-8752-1534-6) launches the Sixth-Grade Shape-Shifter series, one of a simultaneous pub trio of titles including Gadget Bandit and Game Changer. Shape-shifting tween Sawyer sneaks onto a movie set by masquerading as the actor who was actually cast in the star role. Ages 8–11.
Top Shelf
The Land of Unfinished Dreams by Marco Ventura and Marco Ferraris (Aug. 5, $19.99, ISBN 978-1-60309-555-6). A grandpa skilled at spinning bedtime stories for his grandkids finds himself transported into a world populated by the creatures, heroes, and foes of his fantastical yarns. Ages 9–12.
Psychic Investigators, Evil Exterminators by KT Healey (Sept 16, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-60309-564-8). Gabriel believes he can see the dead—but for some reason, he can’t locate his aunt when she crosses over. In grief, he connects with a new friend who hopes they can hunt ghosts together. Ages 9–12.
Token City Wondercade by D. Bradford Gambles and Spencer Holt (Jan. 20, $14.99 trade paper, ISBN 978-1-60309-579-2). When a new game that’s only labeled “Hex” shows up at Izzy’s dad’s video game arcade, it carries with it just what the name promises. Ages 9–12.
Read more from our Fall Comics & Graphic Novels feature.
We Can Do Hard Things: Inspirational Comics for Kids
These middle grade comics offer accessible stories about how one person (or many) can change the world. Or at least get their homework done.
Comics for Emerging and early readers, and for parents and caregivers to read aloud, focus on big-feeling topics this season, such as finding friends in a new school year and venturing away from home (including to outer space!).
