When Sarah Hunter is not reading for her job as editor of the Books for Youth and Graphic Novels sections at Booklist, she's baking something tasty or planning trips to the Pacific Northwest. Follow her on Twitter at @SarahBearHunter.
Over the past 20 years, Jason Lutes has been steadfastly churning out a stunning epic, and today, for the first time, it’s out in its entirety from Drawn & Quarterly. Berlin, which he started writing and drawing in 1998, recounts the intersecting paths of a diverse group of people living in Weimar-era Berlin, and how the rise […]
Spill Zone, the first volume in a series of the same name that began last year, marked Scott Westerfeld’s first foray into comics and was resoundingly well-received. The series takes place in a near-future Poughkeepsie, New York, which has been taken over by an otherworldly presence. Inside the zone, corpses float ominously, detritus suspended in […]
Lynn Johnston wrote and illustrated her classic comic strip, For Better or for Worse—about the travails and comedy in the life of the Patterson family—for 29 years. In that time, she gained a reputation for drawing great comics, executing sharp timing, and creating a genuinely funny, often sensitive picture of the idiosyncrasies of marriage and […]
If you’re already a fan of comics, this week’s pick, Ngozi Ukazu’s charming Check, Please!, might be old news: The internet’s been abuzz about it because, apart from the fact that it’s simply wonderful, comics publisher First Second recently announced they’re publishing it in print in 2018, and NPR included it in their 100 Best Comics […]
As editor of the graphic novels section at Booklist, I have the luxury of having first pick of what to review, and there are a few comics artists whose work I always snatch up for myself. After reading This One Summer, a book I adore and still regularly recommend to anyone who will listen, I put Jillian Tamaki […]
Mystery Month wriggles its tentacles into just about every corner of Booklist, including Webcomics Wednesday, so naturally I’m showcasing a crime-fiction comic this week. The Pale, by husband-and-wife team Sanders and Jay Fabares, has some classic genre markers: gruff, small-town sheriff; brainy, loner FBI agent; and a seemingly random, run-of-the-mill death that’s part of a much larger pattern. But […]
I love it when I’m surprised by plot twists, and this week’s Webcomics Wednesday pick does just that. Kristin Kemper’s Sylvania opens on a young girl in a verdant forest at daybreak, rendered in soft earth tones and glowing sunrise pinks and oranges. Warm, dappled light filters through the leaves of the trees, and the girl looses […]
We’re in the midst of our Spotlight on Middle Grade fiction, and I can’t think of a better time to showcase a webcomic about a tween detective embarking on a spooky adventure. This week’s Webcomics Wednesday pick, Oddity Woods, opens on chase though an eerie forest, which, for all its pink and purple shadowing, still exudes a […]
Dear readers, I have a confession to make: I’ve been holding out on you. For about a year now, I’ve had my eye on a comic with my favorite things: a smart-alecky protagonist, spooky atmosphere, a tiny touch of magic, and seriously amazing art (from the cinematic panel compositions to the precise, architectural backgrounds, to the […]
Followers of my Webcomics Wednesday posts might notice a recurring theme: I cover a lot of webcomics about young girls who suddenly find themselves gifted with magic powers. Though I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like that trope, there’s another reason I cover it so often: The world of webcomics is simply flooded with […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
Encouraging Middle-Schoolers to Choose Books
There’s been a lot of discussion among the librarians I know about what to do with middle-schoolers: they just don’t seem to read as much as they used to. I know that here in Chicago, we have a unique perspective on this situation, since our schools run K–8. In my former school system in Maryland […]
Getting Started with the Global Read Aloud
The 2017 Global Read Aloud kicked off yesterday, and I’m here to help. Author and educator Pernille Ripp founded the program as a way to connect students and teachers from different locales around the topics of books. (Think One Book One School or One Book One City, but on a global scale.) Each year, Ripp […]
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE: Practice Recognizing Fake News
Cindy: There have been a number of YA fiction books with the title “Two Truths and a Lie,” but we’ve found a creative, informational book for middle-grade students that reinforces evaluating information for truth. Fake news, anyone? Two Truths and a Lie: It’s Alive (2017) by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson is the first […]
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