As publishing trends go, this is a pretty niche one, but that doesn’t make it any the less delightful to see so many graphic novels specifically targeting children transitioning from early readers to more-complex fare. It was hard to pick just four.
Author/illustrator Paige Braddock and colorist Kat Efird bring dog Crackers, cat Butter, and puppy Peanut to readers in Puppy Problems (Viking, Sept. 22). Established house pets and fast friends Crackers and Butter find their lives upended with the arrival of Peanut in the home. In a classic storyline of resentment and repentance, the two older animals cope with the impossible cuteness and disruption the lovable puppy brings.
Pea (a green pea), Bee (a bumblebee), and Jay (a bluejay) star in Stuck Together (HarperAlley, Sept. 1), Brian “Smitty” Smith’s series opener. Pea gets the story rolling, literally (it’s his mode of locomotion), when his thirst for adventure finds him lost and far (for a pea) from home. In fairly short order he makes friends with Bee and Jay, and their mostly mild-mannered adventures unfold according to a gently loopy internal logic.
In Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery (Etch/HMH, Sept. 22),Renée Treml introduces an unlikely detective, the skeleton of a tawny frogmouth who resides in a natural history museum. He has a sidekick, of course: Watts, a taxidermic Indian ringneck parrot. Their adventures begin when the emergency alarm announces the theft of the Royal Blue Diamond, and the game’s afoot.
With Mellybean and the Giant Monster (Razorbill/Penguin, Oct. 13), Mike White introduces scruffy little mutt Mellybean, who digs a hole into another dimension while playing a game the cats call Hide the Shoe. She plunges through and lands on the head of Narra, a humongous yellow monster with a single horn. White milks the differences in size and temperament for all they’re worth even as the duo goes about fomenting revolution.
Vicky Smith is a young readers’ editor.
