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Format: Graphic novel

Graphic novel
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Raina wakes up one night with a terrible upset stomach. Her mom has one, too, so it’s probably just a bug. Raina eventually returns to school, where she’s dealing with the usual highs and lows: friends, not-friends, and classmates who think the school year is just one long gross-out session. It soon becomes clear that Raina’s tummy trouble isn’t going away… and it coincides with her worries about food, school, and changing friendships. What’s going on?

Raina Telgemeier once again brings us a thoughtful, charming, and funny true story about growing up and gathering the courage to face – and conquer – her fears.

A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel featuring a girl with severe allergies who just wants to find the perfect pet!
At home, Maggie is the odd one out.

Her parents are preoccupied with the new baby they’re expecting, and her younger brothers are twins and always in their own world.

Maggie thinks a new puppy is the answer, but when she goes to select one on her birthday, she breaks out in hives and rashes. She’s severely allergic to anything with fur!

Can Maggie outsmart her allergies and find the perfect pet?

A young graphic novel series, about two friendly ‘bugbops’ called Bumble and Snug.

This brightly illustrated story is lovely for Key Stage 1 to read independently. The characters are lovable, the story is fun and easy to follow, and the comic strip style makes for a really fun read. There are oodles of fun moments to enjoy, from picnics and pirates to jelly and a giant octopus.

Visual readers new to the graphic novel format will find this a real treat.

 

This important and very topical text uses a comic-book style to portray some of the experiences of some refugee families. Azzi and her family flee their home and find themselves on a frightening and dangerous journey to a new country. In her new home, Azzi is faced with adapting to a foreign way of life, starting a new school and learning to speak English. This is an excellent, thought-provoking text that presents a difficult topic in a way that evokes empathy and understanding in young readers.

We’ve all heard about Humpty Dumpty’s catastrophic fall, but what about how he got back up again? In this humorous picture book, Humpty Dumpty recounts his brave and arduous journey back up to the top of the wall again. We like the way in which this cleverly illustrated story acknowledges that things go wrong sometimes but that it can be our individual response to such misfortunate that often harvests resilience and hatches us into something stronger than ever before.

A heart-wrenching true story in graphic novel form, all about life as a refugee. This book is set to restore your faith in real-life happy endings.

This powerfully moving graphic novel is about Omar, an eleven-year-old living with his brother in a Kenyan refugee camp. Despite harsh daily struggles, Omar finds hope, finds enjoyment in football and dreams of a future shaped by education.

This poignant and unforgettable tale is based on a true story, told in a compelling graphic novel format. It’s an essential read, offering profound insights into courage and resilience.

This is a brilliantly visual re-telling of Ernest Shackleton’s adventures from pole to pole, published to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Shackleton’s historic expedition.

This engaging text is filled with diagrams, maps, infographics and fascinating facts that will both delight readers and transport them through an imaginary exploration of frozen worlds.

We recommend Shackleton’s Journey as a good non-fiction text to use for engaging reluctant readers in KS2. There is also an accompanying activity book available from Amazon.

A retelling of Shackleton’s astonishing journey, well pitched for KS2. This recount of Shackleton’s expedition is accompanied by illustrations, maps and timelines, making it detailed and informative without losing any of the drama of the exciting tale. For more on Shackleton, you may also like William Gill’s fantastic visual retelling of Shackleton’s Journey available on Amazon.

Graphic novel

Dr Seuss’ The Lorax absolutely enthralled my year 2 class and we had some brilliant discussions about the polluted environment that the boy lives in and why it came about. Even though it was written decades ago, the themes are still important today. The destruction of the trees, the impact on the habitats of the animals living there and the pollution from the factory the Once-ler built are huge talking points about the need for industry – but at what cost? The way that Seuss wrote, although not to everyone’s liking, added to my class’ enjoyment.

This beautiful and factual picture book about Wangari Maathai is inspiring and full of hope. The devastating impact of deforestation is made starkly clear but it is counterbalanced by the actions taken by first Wangari Maathai and then more and more women until millions of trees had been planted and healing began. Children I have shared this story with have asked probing questions and wanted to find out more: How long did it take the trees to grow? How long before the earth recovered? Maathai was the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work and classes may enjoy this two-minute video clip where she tells, herself, the story of the tiny hummingbird who does her best to make a difference. This book could also be useful for Black History Month and International Women’s Day.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

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