Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Format: Graphic novel

InvestiGators: Case Files

Graphic novel

Laugh yourself silly with the latest hilarious adventure in the InvestiGators series! InvestiGators: Case Files is a special solve-along edition of the full colour comic book series by John Patrick Green. Find clues, spot suspects and crack six new cases alongside the InvestiGators! Perfect for fans of Dog Man and Bunny vs Monkey.

Immersive mystery-solving fun – the perfect book for holidays, car journeys and rainy days!

Mango and Brash are back, and this time they’re asking you to help them crack the case! The InvestiGators have been given the G.R.I.D., a brand-new tool to help gather evidence and clues. Using the prompts in each chapter, readers can make their own deductions alongside the Gators and solve the case! Featuring plenty of familiar faces from investigations past, and packed full of hilarious hijinks, join Mango and Brash as they get to the bottom of cases big and small!

Collect all the books in the InvestiGators series by John Patrick Green: InvestiGators, Take the Plunge, Off the Hook and tons more. Don’t miss Agents of S.U.I.T., the spin-off series featuring Mango and Brash’s colourful coworkers.

Christmas Surprise: A Peanut, Butter & Crackers story

Paige Braddock

Graphic novel

In this fourth hilarious graphic-novel adventure, Peanut, Butter and Crackers are getting excited about Christmas. But then they discover someone living in their Christmas tree!

It’s Peanut’s first Christmas and he’s very excited to open the gifts under the tree. Crackers explains that he must wait until Christmas and the dogs go off for their daily walk. But while Peanut and Crackers are having lots of fun with their friends at the dog park, someone sneaks into their house.

Meanwhile, happy to be left alone at last, laid-back cat Butter is so busy enjoying some peace and relaxation, he doesn’t even notice that he’s not alone. And when the dogs get home, it’s not long before they sniff out the stranger living in their Christmas tree and bark a CODE RED!

The Cartoonists Club

Raina Telgemeier & Scott McCloud

Graphic novel

#1 New York Times bestselling cartoonists Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud team up for a one-of-a-kind friendship story about creativity and self-expression.

Welcome to the club!

Makayla is bursting with ideas but doesn’t know how to make them into a story.

Howard loves to draw, but he struggles to come up with ideas and his dad thinks comics are a waste of time.

Lynda constantly draws in her sketchbook but keeps focusing on what she feels are mistakes, and Art simply loves being creative and is excited to try something new.

They come together to form The Cartoonists Club, where kids can learn about making comics and use their creativity and imagination for their own storytelling adventures!

A full colour graphic novel to inspire a new generation of young cartoonists!

Anzu and the Realm of Darkness

Mai K. Nguyen

Graphic novel

5 Worlds meets Spirited Away in this graphic novel of a girl fighting to return home from the spirit world.

Anzu has just moved to a new town during Obon, a time for families to remember and celebrate their ancestors. Ever since her grandmother Obaachan died, though, Obon has lost its magic for Anzu. She doesn’t feel like celebrating.

Escaping the festivities, Anzu chases after a stray dog. She slips and falls down a ridge – to find herself in the Shinto underworld known as Yomi, a place she’s heard about in Obaachan’s stories. The stray dog, she finds out, is actually the Gatekeeper of Yomi, and he warns her to return to the human realm before it’s too late.

Only, getting home is not simple. Faced with the nefarious Queen Izanami and a realm of creatures, Anzu is in a race against the clock. Can she break a curse, free the spirits of other lost children and reach the gate home before sunrise? . . . Or will she be stuck in Yomi for ever?

Comic Strip Myths: Myths, Gods and Gladiators in Ancient Rome

Laurie Avon & Stephen Davies

Graphic novel, Short story collection

This fascinating and funny comic book collection is the perfect introduction to the world of the ancient Romans.

Including six mythical tales retold in comic strips, readers will learn about the founding of Rome in ‘Romulus and Remus’, meet a callous cyclops in ‘Polyphemus and Ulysses’, and much more. Each myth is told in engaging modern language, which is easy for children to understand yet still retains the humour and intrigue of the original tales.

As you journey back through ancient Rome, you’ll meet an amazing array of mythical creatures and glorious gods, whilst non-fiction spreads will help you learn more about gruesome gladiators, amazing armies, evil emperors and the epic Roman empire.

With bright and bold illustrations by Laurie Avon, this retelling of the Roman myths will educate and entertain readers of all ages.

Tiny Hercules

Jon Lock & Nich Angell

Graphic novel

Get ready for legendary laughs with Tiny Hercules! Perfect for fans of Bunny vs Monkey and Dogman, Tiny Hercules is the hilarious debut full colour children’s graphic novel from co-creators Jon Lock and Nich Angell.

He’s brave! He’s strong! He’s the size of a jam jar! He’s Tiny Hercules, the world’s tiniest, mightiest hero – and he’s winning his way back to Tiny Olympus, one legendary deed at a time!

Tiny Hercules has been banished to Earth as a punishment for ruining Tiny Zeus’s bodacious party. To get home he must complete twelve legendary tasks but it isn’t going to be easy – even for a demigod. Crash landing in the peaceful town of Chutney-on-Toast, Tiny Hercules soon spots his first task: defeating a lion!

Except it’s not a lion . . . it’s actually a cat! Soon, Tiny Hercules is racing across town after the cat and causing chaos as he goes. When the cat’s owner, 10-year-old Jeff, and a suspiciously Zeus-like swan join the chase all hell breaks loose in this zany comic book adventure!

The Crossover (Graphic Novel)

Dawud Anyabwile & Kwame Alexander

Graphic novel

Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag 2020 Readers Awards

‘With a bolt of lightning on my kicks . . . The court is SIZZLING. My sweat is DRIZZLING. Stop all that quivering. ‘Cuz tonight I’m delivering,’ raps twelve-year-old Josh Bell. Thanks to their dad, he and his twin brother, Jordan, are kings on the court. But Josh has more than basketball in his blood – he’s got mad beats, too, which help him find his rhythm when it’s all on the line.

See the Bell family in a whole new light through Dawud Anyabwile’s dynamic illustrations as the brothers’ winning season unfolds, and the world as they know it begins to change.

Athena: Goddess of Wisdom and War

Imogen Greenberg & Isabel Greenberg

Graphic novel

Discover the adventures of Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, war and courage in this stunning graphic novel. From her extraordinary birth – sprung from the head of her father, in the midst of a thunderous headache – to her refusal to take no for an answer. Find out how she inspired powerful gods, goddesses and humans and the terrifying fate of those who dared to cross her path.

Prepare to be amazed as you uncover the story of one of the most fearless ancient goddesses, and the tales of a world where humans, gods and goddesses could meet.

This action-packed graphic novel is illustrated and written by the brilliantly talented sister duo, Isabel and Imogen Greenberg.

White Bird

R.J. Palacio

Graphic novel

From the bestselling author of Wonder comes the graphic novel White Bird: soon to be a major film starring Ariella Glaser, Orlando Schwerdt, Bryce Gheisar, Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson.

To the millions of readers who fell in love with R J Palacio’s Wonder, Julian is best-known as Auggie Pullman’s classroom bully. White Bird reveals a new side to Julian’s story, as Julian discovers the moving and powerful tale of his grandmother, who was hidden from the Nazis as a young Jewish girl in occupied France during the Second World War.

An unforgettable, unputdownable story about strength, courage and the power of kindness to change hearts, build bridges, and even save lives, from the globally bestselling author of Wonder.

A full-colour graphic novel, brilliantly illustrated throughout by R. J. Palacio

Evil Emperor Penguin: The World Will Be Mine!

Laura Ellen Anderson

Graphic novel

Evil Emperor Penguin’s plans to take over planet Earth are in place, and nothing can stop him . . . wait, is that his arch-nemesis, Evil Cat?! Surely the world is too small for TWO evil geniuses!

Who will become the cutest evil genius in the world?

Giggles are guaranteed in this delightfully silly comic, with extra how-to-draw content so young readers can become creators, too!

Best Books by Age

Popular Children's Authors

Format: Graphic novel

News: Reflecting Realities Report 2025: Summary of Findings

NEWS: The Children’s Booker Prize is Established

Stories That Make You Feel: Simon Stephenson on The Snowman Code

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review