Adelaide's Picks : 3 New Graphic Novels for 10 to 12 Year Olds

Here are 3 great new graphic novels for 10 to 12 year olds! Historical Fiction, Realistic Fiction, and a really fun Fantasy story too. Tween readers will love these graphic novels.

We love graphic novels at our house. At any given time, you can find at least one or two on any of my children's nightstands. When they finish one they think is exceptional, they bring it and put it on my nightstand for me to read too.

All three of the books in this post are ones that made it onto my nightstand after Adelaide finished reading them. I read them too (I will always read a book when my kids tell me to) and she's right, they are really fantastic graphic novels.

These are middle grade books, meaning they're graphic novels for 10 to 12 year olds. That being said, my 13 year old also enjoyed these, and Adelaide is only 9. So, if you have readers around 10 or 12, these are good picks.

If you're looking for even more graphic novels, I shared 10 Graphic Novels for Tweens that my kids loved last year. Check those out too! We were so pleased to see that one of our favorites on the list actually won the Newbery Award last month!

3 New Graphic Novels for 10 to 12 Year Olds

White Bird: A Wonder Story

by R.J. Palacio

This is a brand new graphic novel from the author of Wonder. It's absolutely stunning, both the illustrations and the story.

The story is about Sara, a young Jewish girl in a Nazi-occupied village in France during WWII. Sara sees her classmates mocking a boy who was crippled after contracting polio as a child. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she shuns him too. And yet, when the Nazis arrive at her school one day, it's this very boy who becomes her savior.

It's a powerful, poignant story and the graphic novel format only adds to its beauty. This one inspired a deep conversation with my kids about standing up for injustice when we see it. It's one we'll all be thinking about for a long time.

Note: there is some violence in this one, because it is dealing with Nazis and WWII. Also, I've seen some reviewers take issue with what can be seen as a political statement at the end of the book regarding the current issue of separating children from families at the border.

This Was Our Pact

by Ryan Andrews

This is a weird, magical, wonderful graphic novel. It's very unique, but if I had to make a comparison, I'd say it's like a cross between The Hobbit and Spirited Away.

It begins with an ordinary enough premise: A group of boys on bikes on a quest to follow lanterns as they float down the river on the Autumn Equinox. But as one boy after another breaks the pact and turns back for home, you end up with just two boys, one of whom is the kinda weird kid that no one actually invited. What happens next is completely unexpected and wholly original.

This is absolutely brilliant. The art is great, the story is equal parts funny and meaningful, and the dreamlike fantasy adventure is mesmerizing, a real page turner. Plus, there's a talking bear (and he was my favorite character)!

Best Friends

by Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham

Shannon Hale's daughter was really struggling with friendships and so, being the writer that she is, she wrote this book about her own experiences with friendship as a kid in middle school. She also wrote Real Friends, which is about her friendship experiences in elementary school.

As a parent of three girls, I can definitely say that one of the hardest things for me is watching my kids go through all the ups and downs that come with friendship during childhood. These books capture the real experience so well, and they offer some wisdom without ever feeling heavy handed.

All of my girls love these graphic novels - they've read them three or four times each (and I don't think they're done yet). I hope Shannon Hale (and LeUyen Pham, whose illustrations are perfect for the story) write more of these!