7 Awesome New Middle Grade Graphic Novels

Fake Blood, by Whitney Gardner
A first crush is never easy. But for most kids, at least there first crush isn’t a vampire slayer, like poor AJ’s is. He’s had a crush on Nia Winters for ages, but she only cares about vampires. After a misguided attempt at trying to win her affection by dressing up as a vampire, he learns that vampires are real, and Nia is trying to protect the whole school from them. Who doesn’t love a good vampire story? Whitney Gardner’s charming (almost Lumberjanes-esque) art makes Fake Blood a perfectly fun story about your first crush and your first vampire encounter. You know. Normal things.

Sheets, by Brenna Thummler
Would your kids be more willing to do the laundry if they thought a ghost needed clean sheets? Because they’ll be ready to help—and leave a clean sheet out for whatever ghost lives in your house—after they dive into Brenna Thummler’s Sheets. Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost, stuck helping her family’s laundry business when she’s not stuck at school in terrible gym classes. She’s keeping a careful balance on her life… until Wendell shows up. Wendell, the ghost of a boy who died too soon. Wendell, who steals a sheet from Marjorie’s laundromat and turns Glatt’s Laundry into his personal playground at night. Wendell, who could accidentally turn Marjorie’s whole world upside-down. Clean illustrations paired with a sweet story make this a great pick for kids who want something a little more supernatural after Shannon Hale’s Real Friends.

The Cardboard Kingdom, by Chad Sell
Does anybody else remember the ‘90s show Out Of the Box? It featured a bunch of kids working together to turn regular cardboard boxes into their own personal clubhouse. Take the concept and multiply it by ten, and you get Chad Sell’s The Cardboard Kingdom. A collaboration with ten other authors, Sell’s graphic novel follows a group of sixteen kids using cardboard boxes to turn their block into a kingdom, and themselves into the superheroes and magical creatures they’ve always dreamed they could be. It’s a beautiful exploration of identity and creativity.

Sanity and Tallulah, by Molly Brooks
If your kids loved Catstronauts and A Wrinkle in Time, they’ll love Sanity and Tallulah. Wilnick may be forgotten space station at the end of the galaxy, but best friends Sanity and Tallulah are making the best of it. When Sanity uses her lab skills to create a three-headed kitten, she has to show Tallulah—and the kitten escapes, causing chaos on the ship and forcing everybody to evacuate. Can Sanity and Tallulah find the cat and save their home before it’s too late? Molly Brooks’ debut graphic novel is a sci-fi adventure story that focuses on friendship and cats. What’s not to love?

New Kid, by Jerry Craft
If your kids loved Awkward and Invisible Emmie, you’re going to want to pre-order them Jerry Craft’s New Kid right now. Jordan Banks loves drawing cartoons, but rather than send him to the art school he wants to attend, his parents enroll him in a private school where there are few kids of color. Though the education is supposed to be great, he doesn’t really fit in at Riverdale Academy Day School… and he doesn’t really fit in Washington Heights anymore, either. How can you stay true to yourself when you don’t even know where you belong? Award-winning author-illustrator Jerry Craft makes a splash with this honest look at what it takes to fit in when you look and feel different.

The Hidden Witch, by Molly Ostertag
The follow-up to The Witch Boy is finally out! Molly Knox Ostertag’s debut middle grade novel, about a boy who discovers that he’s not a shapeshifter like the rest of the boys in his family, absolutely charmed readers. The Hidden Witch picks up where The Witch Boy left off, as Aster studies witchcraft with his grandmother. When his non-magical best friend Charlie gets cursed, it’s up to Aster to find the person who tried to charm her before their entire town ends up in danger. Fantastical explorations of identity? Magic? Witchy grandmas? Yes, please.

Aquicorn Cove, by Katie O’Neill
I’m obsessed with Katie O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society… and now that I’ve read it, I’m almost equally obsessed with Aquicorn Cove. Full of O’Neill’s soft, colorful illustrations, Aquicorn Cove follows Lana, returning to the island cove with her dad for the first time since her mother died. When Lana finds an injured baby Aquicorn and nurses it back to health, she discovers that there might be more to the island than she first saw—and that the behavior of her aunt and those who live on the island could put her mother’s old home in jeopardy. O’Neill seamlessly hybrids a story about grief with an observation of humanity’s role in conservation… all with magic, and perfect for any animal-obsessed kid.