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The 2013 Graphic Novel Winners Announced by Katherine Sokolowski

Posted by on December 29, 2013 in 2013 Nerdies | 5 Comments

I’m so excited to share with you the winners of the third annual Nerdy Book Club awards. Each year I’ve written up the post for the winners in the Graphic Novel category and I will continue to do so as long as I can coerce Donalyn, Cindy, and Colby to let me. One reason that I dearly love writing up the post for this category is that I am indebted to these authors. While they don’t realize it, they teach beside me each day. These books have helped turn more children into readers in my classroom than any other, so I want to start this post by sending out my gratitude to the authors and illustrators on this list. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thanks for working so hard, sharing your words and illustrations, and for making our students realize that they are readers and that reading can be fun.

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Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2013 Nerdy Book Club award in the category of graphic novels:

 

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Odd Duck Written by Cecil Castellucci; Illustrated by Sara Varon

Cecil’s Website: http://castellucci.wordpress.com/

Sara’s Website: http://chickenopolis.com/

 

My students already knew Sara Varon from Robot Dreams and Bake Sale, so they were excited to see this new graphic novel illustrated by her. In Odd Duck, we meet Theodora who has some quirks – like not wanting to migrate – but considers herself altogether normal. Her neighbor Chad, on the other hand, is simply odd. Theodora isn’t sure what to make of him. This book explores the meaning of friendship, tolerance, and examines what exactly “normalcy” means.

My students have cracked up over this book. They love Chad’s crazy antics and Theodora’s cluelessness. This is a volume that has been read over and over. Check it out, your students will be grateful.

 

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The Great American Dust Bowl Written and Illustrated by Don Brown

Don’s website: http://www.booksbybrown.com/

 

Don’s book is hot in my classroom. Students have laddered it with Hesse’s Out of the Dust and Phelan’s The Storm in the Barn in their quest to learn even more about this time in American History. Students are enthralled by this non-fiction text, using the story and images to conjure up their understanding of what life was like during this time period known as the Dirty Thirties. This is a great addition to your graphic novel collection.

 

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Lunch Lady and the Video Game Villain: Lunch Lady #9 Written and Illustrated by Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Jarrett’s website: http://www.studiojjk.com/

Follow on Twitter: @StudioJJK

 

The Lunch Lady series is a sure fired hit in my classroom. My students love following the stories of the Breakfast Bunch and their lunch ladies. In this installment Hector is running for student council president and the Breakfast Bunch is backing his candidacy. Tensions rise when they realize that high-tech equipment is being stolen from the school. Join the Lunch Lady, Betty, and the Breakfast Bunch as they rush to solve their newest mystery.

 

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Squish #5: Game On Written by Jennifer Holm and Illustrated by Matthew Holm

Jenni’s website: http://www.jenniferholm.com/

Matt’s website: http://www.matthewholm.net/

Follow on Twitter: @jenniholm @mattholm

 

I received this installment of Squish at the start of summer break and it was perfect timing. My boys are a bit addicted to video games – or I say they are. They think their playing time is perfectly normal. That’s why this book was a perfect fit. Squish starts playing a new video game called Mitosis. He quickly becomes obsessed, just needing five more minutes to reach a new level, conquer a new challenge. My boys read this book and identified with the compulsion to play that Squish was feeling, even if he went to new levels of addiction. The Holm siblings gave us a great opportunity for discussion with this book while still making it a fun story that kids will love to read.

 

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Babymouse #17: Extreme Babymouse Written by Jennifer Holm and Illustrated by Matthew Holm

Jenni’s website: http://www.jenniferholm.com/

Matt’s website: http://www.matthewholm.net/

Follow on Twitter: @jenniholm @mattholm

 

The Holm siblings won two in this year’s Nerdy awards – and have one at least one award every year of the Nerdies! I’m thrilled that this installment of Babymouse made the cut because I simply love it. In Extreme Babymouse we hit the slopes and Babymouse is sure she needs to be a snowboarder. I loved this book for so many reasons: the Lunch Lady cameo, humor, etc. What I loved most was the messages around peer pressure and being who you are. This Babymouse might be my favorite one yet.

 

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And there you have it! Another year of the Nerdies, another group of terrific graphic novels. If you’ve missed any of these this year, I hope you check them out. Five fabulous books that belong in any classroom.

Katherine Sokolowski has taught for fifteen years and currently teaches fifth grade in Monticello, Illinois. She is passionate about reading both in her classroom and also with her two sons. You can find her online at http://readwriteandreflect.blogspot.com/ and on Twitter as @katsok.