Bad Machinery: The Case of the Good Boy
Oni Press
Publisher/ Author Submission
“Whatever it draws, whatever it writes, comes true!” At the carnival, Mildred wins an enchanted pencil and draws herself a puppy dog, or tries to. The animal she ends up with is something else entirely, and a mysterious baby-snatching beast is on the loose in Tackleford! What is this beast? How can it be stopped? Six British pre-teens are on the case! That is, when they’re not in school, playing video games, writing love notes or dodging bullies. Wacky antics mix with real-life humor and wit to make every page funny and the whole story almost believable. Originally published as a webcomic and expanded for the print edition, Bad Machinery: The Case of The Good Boy will appeal to readers of all ages.
GRAPHIX
Nominated by: Mike Jung
After crash landing at the South Pole, friends Bird and Squirrel find themselves in the middle of a new adventure. The local penguin tribe has been paying tribute to a giant killer whale, although there is a prophecy that a Chosen One will come to defeat the whale in a fight. Bird quickly takes on all the perks of being thought of as the Chosen One, although Squirrel is not so sure. With the help of their new penguin friend, Squirrel must try to save his friend before he becomes the whale’s next meal. With bright and colorful artwork, great humor, fun characters, and a surprise twist at the end, this is a feel good read with plenty of heart.
Harry N Abrams
Nominated by: Flowering Minds
Cece Bell provides unique insight into what it’s like to grow up with a hearing impairment. She gives the info we already know — hearing aids, sign language — but more importantly, she provides what if feels like to communicate with others who have reactions to her deafness. Her characters are well-rounded and sympathetic, and the humor woven through the story adds a lot of kid appeal.
Gaijin: American Prisoner of War
Disney-Hyperion
Nominated by: Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Gaijin: American Prisoner of War is set during WWII after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. A teenage boy, half Japanese and half Irish, is forced with his mother to live in an internment camp. Once there, he struggles with being bullied by other kids and trying to fit in, while dealing with the betrayal he feels by being forced from his home. Gaijin is a deep graphic novel on many levels, from bullying to discrimination to finding one’s place in the world.
Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust
First Second Books
Nominated by: Jenna G
This is an account of living through the Holocaust told by a grandmother to her granddaughter. By having the grandmother tell her tale, the author is able to convey the horrors of the Holocaust at a remove, sheltering her granddaughter from the worst of what happened. The reader sees what the grandmother, as a young girl, experiences. Her parents are taken away, and she is hidden by a sympathetic Christian family. She does not know about what the Nazis are doing — just that things are scary and her parents are not there. It is still a sad and hard story, but it focuses on survival and perseverance, not death and torture.
Nominated by: Sarah Potvin
The Dumbest Idea Ever! is an inspiring memoir of two pivotal middle school year’s from the author’s life. A teenager becomes a cartoonist at the age of fifteen dealing with normal middle school angst and the effects of being a superstar in his small town. Jimmy makes the reader feel exhilarated and gives off an excitement that one can accomplish anything if one is passionate enough about it. A most genuine author graphic memoir.
Enchanted Lion Books
Nominated by: Alysa Stewart
Ballad by Blexbolex (Bernard Granger), or Romance in the original French, is an art piece — an experiment in narrative structure and story telling. It takes the graphic novel format and stylistic influences from Hergé (Tintin) and explores its potential. At first pass, it’s the journey from home, to school, and back again; but it’s told more than once. Each time it’s retold it becomes more complicated and more magical.