It’s 1999, Sara is about to start sixth grade, her first day of school since her family’s moved to a new house. She’s excited to join a new club but even more excited to spend lots of time with her best friend Monica since they didn’t get to see each other much this past summer. It’s going to be a great year! That is, until Sara wakes up to discover her legs are suddenly… hairy.
Mixed Feelings by Sara Amini and Shadia Amin is a colorful fun semi-fictional memoir of Amini’s own childhood. The book follows Sara through her sixth grade year as she starts dealing with puberty and the dynamics of middle school life. On top of this newfound hair she’s discovering on her legs (and arms… and eyebrows), Monica has a new best friend from her summer camp and Sara can’t seem to escape the two of them, making her feel like a left out third wheel. There’s some standard touchpoints of a first year in middle school story but Amini’s storytelling works in such a way it never feels redundant or overdone.
In an attempt to try something new and fulfill her goal of joining a club, Sara joins drama club, landing a lead role after her first audition. All that time spent watching television is finally paying off! The drama club and the upcoming play are a solid backbone to the story. The depictions of the intricacies of drama clubs and the pre-show warm up games are a particular highlight; any reader who spent time in a drama club will find them very familiar.
As the mixed race daughter of immigrants, Sara begins facing uncomfortable questions and exclusionary remarks from peers at school and her Farsi classes. She’s not Colombian enough, she’s not Iranian enough, she’s not Catholic, she’s not Muslim, so what is she anyway? There’s multiple scenes of other kids belittling her identity with appropriately angry and frustrated reactions from Sara. She watches her mother being discriminated against for her language and accent firsthand. Her pride in her parents’ backgrounds and their respective cultures grows as the story continues, which could be a source of inspiration for young readers dealing with similar experiences themselves.The text features bits of dialog in both Spanish and Farsi throughout the book and includes a glossary at the end.
While it does have serious moments throughout, Mixed Feelings is overall a very fun graphic novel. The scenes of Sara’s ongoing newly sprouted hair drama and subsequent secret shaving are laugh out loud funny. So are many of the moments with her family, especially with her dad. Amin’s art includes great facial expressions that jump off the page, with lots of colors in the panels. The art sets the mood for the story and works alongside the emotions perfectly. For readers interested in retro pop culture, including those beyond their middle grade years, there’s a lot of great 90s references hidden in the very detailed art too.
The first in a new series, Mixed Feelings is a delightful addition to the ever growing collection of middle grade graphic novels. Amini’s love of her family and reflection on her own childhood shines through the story; Amin’s art complements this perfectly. The story deals with serious topics while making you laugh on the next page. Readers will be excited to follow Sara’s story through to the next book in the series.
Mixed Feelings By Sara Amini Art by Shadia Amin Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2026 ISBN: 9781338797398
Company Age Rating: 8-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Colombian-American, Iranian-American, Character Representation: Colombian-American, Iranian-American,
Have you ever felt like you needed to talk but the words just wouldn’t come out? How about wanting to be social, outgoing, and funny but finding yourself overwhelmed at the prospect? Aron Nels Steinke’s Speechless is a middle grade graphic novel about Mira, a sixth grader who can’t always find her voice and what she wants to say, no matter how hard she tries at it.
Mira doesn’t talk in school; it started years ago when she was little and it just… hasn’t stopped. But this year, it’s time for middle school and time for her to finally speak at school! Except, by this point, her classmates are used to her not talking, so they fill in for her and thus begins another school year of being speechless. Mira retreats to her sanctuary, her bedroom, where she spends her free time creating stop motion animated films for her channel Danger Cat Studios. Filmmaking is a safe place where she can be herself, as loud as she wants to be.
Throughout the book, and the first year of middle school, Mira attempts finding her confidence and voice. She makes a new friend, develops her first crush, and deals with her former best friend suddenly being inescapable. (Literally, she moves in with Mira’s family!) Her personal struggles lead to school struggles and disappointing grades. Her parents learn she hasn’t been speaking at school and start her in therapy, where she learns more about herself.
Speechless is a welcome addition to any graphic novel bookshelf. With everything going on in Mira’s life throughout the story, Steinke keeps the story light enough that readers will find it enjoyable and still relatable. Her therapy visits and subsequent diagnoses are just another aspect of who Mira is, rather than overtaking her sixth grade story. Learning she has selective mutism and social anxiety leads to Mira better understanding herself. She struggles with the intensity of her emotions and often jumps to the worst possible scenario. Readers facing their similar anxiety will see it’s just one aspect of who they are, along with a lot of other wonderful things about them, and that they’re not alone in how they feel.
Throughout Speechless, Steinke shows Mira’s crafting process in detail, with specifics of how she made her creations out of everyday objects. Her filmmaking process is shown in smaller panels to better appear like a stop motion animation film. With social media being so prominent in readers’ lives and often presented in other books, it’s fun to see the internet being used as a place of creativity and originality in this particular graphic novel.
Steinke’s art is colorful and realistic, there’s lots for readers to pick apart in certain panels. It reflects Mira’s mood and current situations too. When she’s angry, the pages are darker and busier. When she’s feeling trapped in a classroom and not able to speak, there’s more movement from other characters, leading the reader to feel like they’re right there alongside her.
Readers of Steinke’s Mr. Wolf’s Class series should enjoy this standalone graphic novel, as will fans of middle grade stories centered on fitting in, new struggles, and embracing what makes you you. Like other popular middle grade graphic novels, Steinke’s own experiences inform the story he tells. He also includes an afterward with his experiences and recommended resources. Readers who’ve enjoyed similar graphic novels are sure to enjoy this one too.
Speechless By Aron Nels Steinke Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2025 ISBN: 9781338849325
Company Age Rating: 8-1
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: , Anxiety Character Representation: Mute, Jewish , Anxiety
Oh, sure, we’ve all been there. We bust our butts using our super powers and gadgets to save the school and our friends and loved ones just don’t show us any appreciation whatsoever! So, we gotta take the appreciation where we can find it, even if we have to make it ourselves.
Leon: Worst Friends Forever: A Graphic Novel is the follow-up to Leon the Extraordinary. This story explores the fallout of his initial victory against a villain called The Monocle. It turns out that doing heroic deeds doesn’t automatically make you likable. Leon finds himself at odds with his superhero mother as well as his friends at school; his interests have swayed much more into the direction of what he perceives to be acts of heroism at the cost of what it means to simply be a decent person. He’s beginning to let his friendships slip away, his relationship with his mother is becoming strained and difficult, but he fails to grasp the larger implications of these changes.
This is what makes getting through the book difficult: Leon is not particularly likable. The “worst friends forever” component of the story refers to a plot line where Leon has an argument with his good friend Carlos that does get resolved eventually, but it certainly takes its time, and on top of that, the overarching conflict of Leon taking matters into his own hands too rashly and too often is still very present. The final action of the comic sees someone trying to contact Leon’s superhero mother, who is absent, and Leon volunteering to help in her place. This is met with an angry reply of “But I didn’t ask for your help!” Leon ignores the shout, and proceeds in the way he thinks is best. There is a planned third volume and I am hoping that this conflict will be better explored and resolved.
The narrative in Leon: Worst Friends Forever is extremely dependent on the world-building that took place in the previous book. If you are planning on purchasing this, please be aware that it is the second volume in a series of two (so far) and I personally feel that it is not suitable as a standalone narrative. Certainly, more mature readers are going to pick up on context clues about the overall story, but I think younger readers might be a bit confused about some of the smaller details: who exactly knows about Leon’s identity as a hero (other supers, kids and adults alike, flaunt their powers and some don’t – I’m not sure what the delineation is), what his specific powers are (he does not have any – it is not mentioned in this specific volume), who his friends are, how his mother fits into all this, etc. The art is big, blocky, and punchy with a lot of bright colors set against flat and busy compositions – it very much reminds me of a kids’ cartoon.
Leon is hard to like right now, but this is a middle volume, so the story is probably just in its awkward stage.
Leon: Worst Friends Forever: A Graphic Novel By Jamar Nicholas Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2024 ISBN: 9781338744200
Company Age Rating: 8 – 13
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: African-American, Character Representation: African-American,
In 1981, the Lin family moved from Taiwan to America, navigating the rocky terrain of settling in Los Angeles and adapting to American culture. Betty C. Tang (Parachute Kids) continues their saga in Outsider Kids as the children encounter new challenges while their parents support them overseas. This time, they must deal with their cousins and aunties, which triggers an uproar of competitive rivalry and family drama.
Feng-Li (Ann) has taken up learning how to play the flute and aspires to participate in a music audition with a summer youth band; Ke-Gang (Jason) experiences budding feelings toward a new male classmate named Alex; Jia-Xi (Jessica) watches over her siblings while applying to college in hopes of getting into Harvard. As if this weren’t enough stress, news comes from overseas that their grandfather Wai Gong has fallen seriously ill.
Meanwhile, their smart aleck cousin Ting-Ting (Josephine) creates some serious drama, upstaging the friendship scene as Ann fears losing a mutual friend to Josephine. A violin virtuosa, she struts around like a spoiled brat, touting a cosmopolitan education from a European school in Taipei (not to mention her fluency in English, French, and German), taking every opportunity to remind everyone of her acceptance into the prestigious Music Institute of Los Angeles. Jason develops a crush on a guy at school named Alex, triggering unforeseen feelings that rise to the surface. Family ties clash amidst the looming specter of deportation in this deftly plotted story of scraping by to sustain a fractured and fleeting American dream.
Once again, Tang delivers an emotionally compelling story with intriguing characters whose lives undergo random peaks and valleys in a foreign country while tackling thorny issues of divorce, illegal immigration, queer sexuality, forgiveness, and abandonment of parental love. Rich and vibrantly colored panels infuse life into each scene: From costumed kids trick-or-treating on Halloween night and solitary, pensive moments of Ann writing letters to her parents to the hilarious scenes of amateur music practice sessions, each panel resonates with emotional depth, innocent charm, and honest humor. Multifaceted characters grapple with occasional flare-ups that drive the plot forward as they land in intriguing situations rendered through intersecting plot lines.
An honest depiction of the numerous trials and triumphs facing young immigrants, Outsider Kids offers a delightful glimpse into an all-too real experience that complements diverse middle grade graphic novel collections of realistic fiction, one that captures and illustrates the virtues of hope, determination, and perseverance against overwhelming odds.
Outsider Kids By Betty C. Tang Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2025 ISBN: 9781338832716
Company Age Rating: 9-12
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13) Creator Representation: Taiwanese-American, Character Representation: Taiwanese-American,
If the nature of life is to change, then Janey is no stranger – she describes herself as a “boat kid.” Her parents own a steel schooner called the Merimaid (read that again—it’s not the same name as the mythical woman with a fish’s tail), and they delight in using her for extensive travel around the world. And although Janey loves going on these adventures, they definitely get in the way of a lot of other things that come standard-issue with most childhoods: the comfort of stable floors, consistent power and screen time, and even making best friends.
Janey’s journey is as rough as the sea during a storm. She loves being a boat kid, but she also hates it; the all-encompassing loneliness is almost constant, but she also gets to experience a school of flying fish on the water at sundown – something most people (let alone kids her age) will never see. Her parents take her from Florida, to the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands. It’s there that Janey finally, FINALLY, meets another boat kid roughly her age. But…Astrid (aboard the Valhalla) isn’t someone that Janey would ordinarily hang out with. She’s hard to get along with, guarded, and doesn’t seem to mind taking small risks that could result in big trouble. Janey doesn’t want to be alone, but with friends like Astrid, being alone doesn’t always sound so bad… or so Janey might think.
The art style is whimsical and soft – lots of rounded edges and a delicate, warm color pallet. I would describe it as “friendly.” This is a voyage you want to be on, even when you’re seasick. The text is easy to read and even employs some nifty affects when implying echoes.
The story is both a heartwarming and tear-inducing memoir about the author’s experiences with facing challenges while growing up in the years before easy access and widespread internet. Although her stories are unique, they are still relatable: never underestimate the healing power of a good scream, it’s okay to be pushed outside of your comfort zone, best friends are best friends – no matter how far away (and it’s normal to fight with them sometimes), and we all miss Carl Sagan.
There are hard discussions about abusive family members, so take heed if that brothers you. Read all the way through for the author’s notes on how she spent much of her early life sailing and living in a schooner that her parents were able to build and rig themselves through her father’s employer. Although the story is geared to be child-friendly, I would recommend it to anyone. It’s a quick read and although the subject matter can get heavy, it never feels dense or crowded.
It’s a delightful, fascinating story, and not many kids can call themselves “boat kids.” Take that, van families!
Sea Legs Vol. By Jules Bakes Art by Niki Smith Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2025 ISBN: 9781338835885 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle grade (7-11), Tween (10-13), Teen (13-16)
Company Age Rating: Series ISBNs and Order Related media:
NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Teen (13-16), Tween (10-13)
One False Note is the second installment of the 39 Clues series. The series itself is a collaboration between several authors (and, from what I can tell, several different series within the series). It tells the story of two siblings—Amy and Dan Cahill —who find out that their family has had a hand in, not just some, but all of history’s great events; a tradition that they still carry into the present day.
The story sees our sibling duo, the cat Saladin, and their au pair Nellie Gomez en route to Vienna to find the second of the 39 clues. But this treasure hunt has a ticking time bomb—Amy, Dan, and Nellie are going up against a number of other distant relatives who are much more experienced in clue-finding and much more familiar with the lore of the Cahill Family (unlike myself).
I typically have a structure when I write these reviews. Ordinarily, I would be talking about the art here, but I want to break out of it for this one and just say that I had zero context for the larger story of this series and although that didn’t affect my comprehension of the plot of this book, it definitely left me a little baffled about why some things were significant. Readers going in blind might trouble understanding the stakes in full – the front page with all the expository information mentions that whoever assembles all 39 clues will “become the most powerful Cahill of all,” but never explains how or why or what that might even mean to the world at large. Perhaps I’m not supposed to know at this point.
There is something a little nostalgic and amusing about the narrative and how the characters move and scheme – it reminds me of the original Hanna-Barbera Scooby-Doo cartoon, or maybe Johnny Quest; exotic locations, historical artifacts, animal companions, shadowy legions of enemies, unlikely day-saving coincidences, etc. The art style is functional and reads easily; blocky shapes with minimal highlights and shadows. I would not say it’s visually dynamic. The overall color pallet is muted, which is an interesting choice for a children’s book (in my opinion), but the pallet does change between sets of characters to better express their intentions in relation to the heroes. Historical architecture and buildings are lovingly, if simply, recreated in illustrations. The artwork all seems to have the same weight and visual hierarchy from page-to-page; no high contrast or colors, no large empty spaces to let moments have their impact on the reader, and no high-detail renders of anything.
Young fans of history will be pleased to know that each clue highlights a location and person of historical significance, so there is definitely some potential to foster intellectual curiosity. This specific volume highlights the life and work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
I think this series has a very specific audience; the narrative relies on a lot of heist storytelling tropes – newcomers to the genre will likely be entertained (as folks familiar with it will likely sigh and roll their eyes) – and makes use of puzzles, codes, and ciphers. Younger readers will be able to follow along and solve, if they are so inclined, along with the protagonists. The story is written simply, with a little bit of humor, and makes for a fully cohesive narrative.
If you’re adding this to your collection, I would recommend that you ensure you have all the other 39 Clues books (not necessarily the graphic novels) so that readers who are curious about the overall story are able to access it and fully piece together just what’s going on. But you’re probably just as good giving this one a miss. Much like its distant cousin, The DaVinci Code, with its historical conspiracies, I personally found this book very middle of the road. The best I can say for it, and I hope that this review has conveyed, is that it’s a competent graphic novel.
39 Clues: One False Note By Gordon Korman?I Art by by Hannah Temple Graphix, 2024 ISBN: 9781339026473
Publisher Age Rating: 8-12 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11)
Company Age Rating: 8-12 Related media: Book to Comic
Starting a new school can be hard enough, but starting a new school while remaining true to yourself is even more challenging. Erika tries to start her new school with excitement, but losing touch with old friends who live far away, loving nerdy things, and crushing on a new classmate leaves Erika susceptible to her anxiety, which manifests as a dark alter-ego that makes her question everything about herself…
Please Be My Star is a graphic novel loosely inspired by The Phantom of the Opera about Erika, an awkward teen who recently started a new high school and immediately began crushing on Christian, a nice and cute guy in her theater class. She draws pictures of him and, due to an old friend’s comment about her drawing people she barely knows and her own anxiety, feels like she’s a creep for doing such things.
When her theater class offers the chance for her to write a one-act play for classmates to perform, she jumps at the chance to write one, envisioning Christian in the lead role. At the same time, she befriends Julie, another theater classmate who happens to be friends with Christian. Thanks to Julie, Erika is able to form tenuous connections with Christian and their other friends Miguel and Morgan. They all agree to help with Erika’s play, much to Erika’s excitement.
As she spends more time with Christian and the others, Erika feels like they are becoming real friends, but her doubts about herself and her frustration with getting the play ready keep her second-guessing not only herself but her friends as well. On top of it all, she has a shrine to Christian using items of his that she’s either borrowed or found from his visits to her house to work on the play. The shrine is a secret she has to keep at all costs or she fears everyone will think of her as a weirdo and creep.
Elliott’s art is beautiful and suits the story perfectly. The manga-inspired style gives the characters a range of expressions and helps convey how fully realized Elliott’s characters are from the cute and caring Christian to the mean and emotional Paola. Even characters with less panel time are given special care. The art helps convey the mood shifts from sweet and hopeful to dark and fearful as Erika’s doubts and anxieties manifest. The range in Elliott’s art is incredible.
The publisher’s age rating for Please Be My Star is ages 14-18 and that range seems pretty accurate. Erika and the others are high schoolers navigating relationships and anxieties and fears. While there are many cute and funny moments in the story and the ending is hopeful, there is also a darker tone throughout as Erika worries about being a creep and always being lonely.
Please Be My Star ends up being a very raw but sweet story about being the weird kid in high school and learning to open up and take a chance on new friends despite past heartaches. This book is for anyone who has ever been a weird kid, who has been afraid to embrace their own weirdness, or who has ever taken the time to appreciate a fellow weird kid. Various pop culture references sprinkled throughout are fun to catch. Teens and adults alike can enjoy this one.
Please Be My Star By Victoria Grace Elliott Scholastic Graphix, 2024 ISBN: 9781338840407
Publisher Age Rating: 14-18 NFNT Age Recommendation: Teen, Older Teen (16-18), Adult Series ISBNs and Order Related media:
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18), Teen (13-16)
Imagine that you are in middle school and you are excited to go on a school field trip. But, things start to go wrong very quickly. Natalie Mariano, is attending Midway Middle School and is anxious about going on her trip. She feels her mom is a little bit over protective, especially if there is traffic, its too dark or its going to rain. Natalie is given a fieldtrip form that requires a signature from her parents and worries that her parents will not approve for her to go.
Natalie decides to do what she can to prove to her parents that she is reliable and trustworthy, but unfortunately, just before she rides her bike to her friend Zoe’s house, her mom tells her it is too dark. The next day to Natalie’s dismay, her bicycle is stolen and she experiences a setback to her plan of being responsible. Eventually after a long discussion, Natalie’s parents let her go to Philadelphia and Natalie is super excited.
During her field trip, Natalie is given a scavenger hunt assignment list that she has to fill out and complete. On her first day, Natalie visits the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Mutter Museum, which is filled with various scientific and anatomy body parts. Natalie has so much fun with her friends, she decides to stay up late, which causes them to be out of sorts the following morning. On the second day in Philadelphia, Natalie’s trip goes wrong very fast, especially when she is at Washington Square Park with her classmates. Shawn, the troublemaker, plays a prank on Natalie and tricks her into believing there is a snake next to her. In a panic, Natalie jumps up screaming and leaves her cellphone behind. While Natalie and her friend Fiona are visiting the Liberty Bell, Fiona discovers that her puppet sock Argyle is also missing. In a panic, the girls decide to backtrack through the city to find Natalie’s cell phone and Fiona’s puppet sock. The girls end up on a wild goose chase as they end up in various parts of Philadelphia, separated from their classmates and growing more hungry by the minute.
As the clock is winding down to the final hour for their school trip, Natalie finds herself in a panic and fears that she will be stuck in Philadelphia forever, being doomed to eat cardboard granola bars. Finally a brilliant idea pops up in Natalie’s mind, when she decides to follow the other tour groups back to their bus stop. While searching through all of the buses, they run into their annoying school mate, Shawn and find their teacher. Natalie tells her teacher about her wild adventure and her teacher offers to help her find her phone. Natalie and her teacher backtrack to Independence Hall, and thankfully Natalie is able to text her mom, even though the phone is on low battery. Thankfully, a schoolmate has found Fiona’s puppet sock.. So Natalie’s field trip ends on a happy note.
When Natalie returns to school, she remembers all of the places she had visited in Philadelphia, and despite not having her phone on her, is able to create drawings that document her adventures. The drawings are enough for her to earn raffle tickets and be entered into a drawing for a brand new bike. Natalie is super stoked for the drawing but discovers that she ends up winning a yo yo instead. The story ends up on a happy note, when Natalie’s friend Luca wins the drawing and the new bike and decides to give it to his friend Natalie, who needs the bicycle more than he does.
Although the recommended age group for this comic book series is for those aged 8-12, I would recommend this story for younger readers who are attending grades 3 thru 5. The comic book is drawn in a modern comic book style, with thick bold lines and colorful images, which makes it a delightful read for younger readers.
All is Nat Lost By Maria Scrivan Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2024 ISBN: 9781338890587
The superhero Captain Amazing is getting older, and he could use some help on the job. When he announces hisplan to hold auditions for a sidekick, no one is more excited than his own pets, Roscoe the dog and Fluffy the hamster. Their beloved human is always out saving the city, and they miss him at home. Becoming his new sidekick would mean spending lots of time with him, and Roscoe and Fluffy are both determined to audition. Even Captain Amazing’s brand-new pet, a chameleon named Shifty, is interested in trying out.
Roscoe is a large dog with his own superpowers. Shifty can at least use his chameleon camouflage to sneak around. But Fluffy has never demonstrated any special abilities, and, well, he’s a hamster. Still, he won’t give up. Fluffy and Shifty team up to practice fighting crime… and find an unexpected ally who helps them learn how to be heroes. And they’ll need all the help they can get, because some major supervillainy is afoot.
This is a fun romp with cool powers, crime-fighting action, humor, and heart. Captain Amazing’s pets have very different personalities: Roscoe is bossy and impatient, Fluffy is determined and clever, and Shifty is nervous and excitable. There is also Manny, the jaded superhero cat who becomes Fluffy and Shifty’s mentor. What they all have in common is courage and caring about each other, even if they don’t always know how to express it. As the pets learn how to be heroes, they also learn how to be a family.
The art uses color, texture, lighting, and perspective to create a rich world that feels three-dimensional, like moving through a video game. The human characters are detailed and on the realistic end of the cartoon spectrum, while the animal characters are more caricatured. They are also partially anthropomorphic: their front paws are hands with opposable thumbs, Fluffy and Shifty walk on their hind legs, and all the animals have very human facial expressions. The artist makes good use of superhero-comic visual tropes like action lines, midair poses, and dramatic rooftop silhouettes. There is a wide and dynamic range of panel layouts, especially during action scenes, which adds visual interest and increases the sense of movement and drama.
This volume was originally published in 2011. This 2024 edition includes sixteen new pages at the end, which hint at an intriguing connection between Captain Amazing, Manny, and certain other characters. (No spoilers!) The art style in these pages is different: both appear to be created digitally, but the original art has a smoother, more painted-looking style, while the new art has sharp, fine black outlines and more visible digital “brushstrokes,” making it feel more like a drawing than the immersive, three-dimensional looking original art.
Like most superhero stories, this one involves some peril and violence. No one dies, but there are some close calls and injuries. The main supervillain, in the big final showdown scene, is quite menacing.
This book will already be familiar to some readers from its 2011 version, but the new edition presents an opportunity to hand it to a new crop of young readers who like superhero and action stories with heart. Fans of the original will also be happy to learn that this new edition is Book One in a series, with three sequels in the works.
Sidekicks Book One, Vol. 1 By Dan Santat Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2024 ISBN: 9781338879155
Weapon Kosher may not be the hero we deserve. He may not be the hero we need. But he is the hero who comes in brine. In the latest installment of Scott Morse’s middle grade graphic series, Magic Pickle and the Roots of Doom, our bread and butter superhero faces his biggest challenge yet.
While fighting three villainous candies, the Tricky Treats, Magic Pickle (Weapon Kosher if we’re being formal) accidentally creates two new sentient vegetables. First, Herb Cloveson (aka Strong Scent), a clove of garlic suddenly thrust into complex awareness who just wants a friend and guidance. Despite the part he -unintentionally- played in Herb’s creation, Magic Pickle immediately rejects the allium’s attempts at friendship and is quickly overwhelmed by his powerful, garlicky punch.
The other new vegetale villain is Square Root, a power hungry turnip who will stop at nothing on the path to world domination. Square Root offers Herb the friendship Magic Pickle denied, even if he is just using the bulbous baddie for his powers. This becomes a very big dill for Magic Pickle when he loses his powers to Square Root and must face off against a bushel of tuberous terrors. Can Magic Pickle move past his half-sour disposition to find strength in unexpected places and rely on others, like his sidekick/partner/assistant JoJo?
This graphic continues Morse’s track record of engaging, silly content that the intended reader will love. Nearly overflowing with pickle based puns, Magic Pickle and the Roots of Doom is a bright, funny, quick read with decent deeper messages. Herb doesn’t know how to push back when he feels like his new friends aren’t the kind of tubers he can root for. Magic Pickle doesn’t know how to ask for help or what to do when he finds himself in a… well, pickle. These are concepts that tween readers can definitely connect to, folded into the familiar traps and tropes of a traditional comic. Yes, it’s a silly book about a pickle. And yes, there’s the potential for life lessons between the salty puns.
Guy Major’s vibrant colors enhance Morse’s bright, dynamic illustrations and make this a very easy graphic to look at. Morse’s background in animation is evident, letting the characters jump and move across the page. There are segments, however, where the panels lose their natural flow, usually in action-based moments. This makes some pages a little messy, to the point where small, green directory arrows are included as visual clues for reading as opposed to the action directing the reader’s eyes. This only pops up on a few pages, but it does muddle the flow of those pages a little. Additionally, there are no built-in chapter breaks in this book. While this is a quick read, given the publisher’s target reader is 8-12 years-old, having action breaks to allow for a break in reading would be handy.
Despite these small points, this is a great book. It doesn’t require any previous knowledge of the Magical Pickle universe and it’s just a fun read. This is an easy pick for readers who have aged out of Dog Man or The Bad Guys and who would relish a new hero.
Magic Pickle and the Roots of Doom Vol. By Scott Morse, Guy Major Scholastic GRAPHIX, 2024 ISBN: 9781338188066
a new house. She’s excited to join a new club but even more excited to spend lots of time with her best friend Monica since they didn’t get to see each other much this past summer. It’s going to be a great year! That is, until Sara wakes up to discover her legs are suddenly… hairy. 
but finding yourself overwhelmed at the prospect? Aron Nels Steinke’s Speechless is a middle grade graphic novel about Mira, a sixth grader who can’t always find her voice and what she wants to say, no matter how hard she tries at it.
ones just don’t show us any appreciation whatsoever! So, we gotta take the appreciation where we can find it, even if we have to make it ourselves.
culture. Betty C. Tang (Parachute Kids) continues their saga in Outsider Kids as the children encounter new challenges while their parents support them overseas. This time, they must deal with their cousins and aunties, which triggers an uproar of competitive rivalry and family drama.
called the Merimaid (read that again—it’s not the same name as the mythical woman with a fish’s tail), and they delight in using her for extensive travel around the world. And although Janey loves going on these adventures, they definitely get in the way of a lot of other things that come standard-issue with most childhoods: the comfort of stable floors, consistent power and screen time, and even making best friends.
authors (and, from what I can tell, several different series within the series). It tells the story of two siblings—Amy and Dan Cahill —who find out that their family has had a hand in, not just some, but all of history’s great events; a tradition that they still carry into the present day.
challenging. Erika tries to start her new school with excitement, but losing touch with old friends who live far away, loving nerdy things, and crushing on a new classmate leaves Erika susceptible to her anxiety, which manifests as a dark alter-ego that makes her question everything about herself…
very quickly. Natalie Mariano, is attending Midway Middle School and is anxious about going on her trip. She feels her mom is a little bit over protective, especially if there is traffic, its too dark or its going to rain. Natalie is given a fieldtrip form that requires a signature from her parents and worries that her parents will not approve for her to go.
plan to hold auditions for a sidekick, no one is more excited than his own pets, Roscoe the dog and Fluffy the hamster. Their beloved human is always out saving the city, and they miss him at home. Becoming his new sidekick would mean spending lots of time with him, and Roscoe and Fluffy are both determined to audition. Even Captain Amazing’s brand-new pet, a chameleon named Shifty, is interested in trying out.
brine. In the latest installment of Scott Morse’s middle grade graphic series, Magic Pickle and the Roots of Doom, our bread and butter superhero faces his biggest challenge yet.
