This list below is compiled by Ira Marcks, the instructor for our GN Bootcamp. These are books that he references in the course to teach all different aspects of visual narrative, sequential storytelling, and comics technique.
He generously offered to share this booklist with the whole community!
This is a working library, which is why it runs from picture books for four-year-olds all the way to Maus by Art Spiegelman. It also includes a whole shelf of craft manuals that you’ll refer to again and again.
Make sure you check out Ira’s own Shark Summer in the Middle Grade section!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Early Reader (Ages 4-8) (9 entries)
- Early Graphic Novel (Ages 6-10) (13 entries)
- Middle Grade (Ages 8-12) (30 entries)
- Young Adult (Ages 12-18) (17 entries)
- Contemporary Graphic Novels (21 entries)
- Inspiration and Reference Books (14 entries)
Early Reader (Ages 4-8)
Simple visual narratives told with elements of comic art.
A Trip to the Top of the Volcano with Mouse (2012) — Frank Viva. Mouse joins a child on a climb toward a volcano’s summit, worrying about hunger, cold, and danger along the way.
Benny and Penny in The Toy Breaker (2010) — Geoffrey Hayes. Mouse siblings Benny and Penny hide their toys from Cousin Bo because they fear he will break them.
Good Night, Planet (2017) — Liniers. After a girl falls asleep, her stuffed animal Planet explores the house with a dog and a mouse.
My Toothbrush Is Missing (2018) — Jan Thomas. Dog searches for a missing toothbrush while animal friends offer increasingly silly guesses about what a toothbrush looks like.
Shapes and Shapes (2023) — Ivan Brunetti. Simple geometric forms become characters, objects, and playful compositions.
Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons (2008) — Agnès Rosenstiehl. Lilly notices the small pleasures of spring, summer, fall, and winter, from shells and flowers to apples and snow.
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt (1989) — Michael Rosen; Helen Oxenbury. A family crosses grass, mud, water, and a snowstorm in search of a bear.
Wiggler’s Big Joke (2026) — Kaeti Vandorn. Wiggler prepares a very big joke, but making others laugh proves more complicated than expected.
Written and Drawn by Henrietta (2015) — Liniers. Armed with new colored pencils, Henrietta creates a comic about a brave girl and a three-headed monster.
Early Graphic Novel (Ages 6-10)
Resolved narrative arcs told with simple language and comic sequencing.
Ape & Armadillo Take Over the World (2016) — James Sturm. Armadillo proposes one plan after another for world domination, but Ape keeps pointing out the unpleasant consequences.
Ariol, Vol. 1: Just a Donkey Like You and Me (2013) — Emmanuel Guibert; Marc Boutavant. Ariol is a blue donkey navigating school, family, friendship, and a crush on classmate Petula.
Hilda and Twig: Hide from the Rain (2024) — Luke Pearson. Hilda and her deer-fox companion, Twig, are caught outdoors when the rain begins.
Little Robot (2015) — Ben Hatke. When dangerous machines arrive to reclaim her new robot friend, a lonely girl must use her mechanical ingenuity and courage to keep her new companion safe.
Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure (2015) — Nadja Spiegelman; Sergio García Sánchez. During a class trip, Pablo becomes separated from his group in the New York City subway. Classmate Alicia helps him find his way using city history, maps, and transit facts.
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (A Narwhal and Jelly Book) (2016) — Ben Clanton. Cheerful Narwhal and cautious Jelly meet, become friends, and share waffles, imagination, and ocean adventures.
Night Stories: Folktales from Latin America (2024) — Liniers. A collection of Latin American folktales using comic art to convey the tradition of oral storytelling.
Owly (2004) — Andy Runton. With little to no dialogue, a gentle owl searches for friendship and ways to help others.
Pumpkin and Beetle: Two Vampire Cats (2025) — Jannie Ho. Vampire-cat siblings Pumpkin and Beetle face small supernatural misadventures together.
The Lost Sunday (2025) — Ileana Surducan. A girl goes on a folkloric quest for Sunday after the day of rest mysteriously disappears.
The Shark King (2012) — R. Kikuo Johnson. This Hawaiian folktale follows Nanaue, the son of a human mother and the Shark King. As he discovers his unexpected inheritance.
The Snips: A Bad Buzz Day (2025) — Raúl the Third. A lively cast of barbershop tools confronts a haircut crisis.
The White Snake (2019) — Ben Nadler. Young Randall is sent to discover a neighboring king’s secret in this comic art retelling of a Grimm fairy tale.
Middle Grade (Ages 8-12)
Adventurous comics focused on friendship, family, identity, and independence.
Akiko, Volume One (1997, Out of print) — Mark Crilley. Akiko is whisked from Earth into space and recruited to rescue the kidnapped Prince Froptoppit.
American Born Chinese (2006) — Gene Luen Yang. Three seemingly separate stories follow Jin Wang, the legendary Monkey King, and a boy embarrassed by a cruel stereotype.
Art Club (2024) — Rashad Doucet. Aspiring artist Dale Donavan starts an after-school art club when his school refuses to support the arts.
Bone (1991) — Jeff Smith. The Bone cousins are driven from Boneville into a mysterious valley with a dark history.
Click (2019) — Kayla Miller. Olive discovers that all her friends have formed acts for the school talent show and finds herself in the role as host.
Curlfriends: New in Town (2023) — Sharee Miller. A girl adjusting to a new school finds connection through a group of friends with distinct personalities and interests.
Drama (2012) — Raina Telgemeier. Callie loves working behind the scenes on her middle school’s musical, but stage problems and complicated crushes test the production.
First Kiss with Fangs (2025) — Marker Snyder. A supernatural coming-of-age story about first crushes and awkward changes.
Frizzy (2022) — Claribel A. Ortega; Rose Bousamra. Marlene dreads the weekly salon visits meant to straighten her curls into so-called good hair.
How to Draw a Secret (2025) — Cindy Chang. Drawing becomes a way for a young artist to approach a truth that feels difficult to say aloud.
Jinx (Unpublished) — Joy Buran; Noelle Melody. A coming-of-age tale about a pair of powerful but reckless twin witches.
Korobá: The Case of the Broken Masterpiece (Forthcoming 2027) — Àlàbá Ònájìn. A mystery rooted in Nigerian art and culture, following a young investigator confronting the case of a damaged masterpiece.
Lowriders in Space (2014) — Cathy Camper; Raúl the Third. Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and El Chavo Flapjack enter a car contest to save their garage.
New Kid (2019) — Jerry Craft. Cartoonist Jordan Banks enters a prestigious private school where he is one of few students of color.
Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend (2023) — Noah Van Sciver; Marlena Myles. A nonfiction graphic narrative examining how the Paul Bunyan myth was manufactured and popularized.
Peanutbutter & Jeremy’s Best Book Ever! (2003) — James Kochalka. Peanutbutter, a good-natured cat, and Jeremy, a clever crow, navigate neighborhood mishaps and an unlikely friendship.
Rutabaga the Adventure Chef (2015) — Eric Colossal. Rutabaga travels through a fantasy world searching for rare ingredients instead of treasure.
Shark Summer (2021) — Ira Marcks. A group of Martha’s Vineyard kids investigate a local shark legend while trying to make their own movie during a Hollywood production.
Smile (2010) — Raina Telgemeier. After severely injuring her front teeth, Raina endures braces, surgery, headgear, changing friendships, and adolescence.
Stargazing (2019) — Jen Wang. Christine befriends Moon, an artistic and confident new neighbor who seems unlike anyone she knows.
Surfside Girls: The Secret of Danger Point (2017) — Kim Dwinell. Surfer Sam discovers she can see ghosts and teams with her best friend, Jade, to investigate a supernatural mystery.
Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy (2022) — Jonathan Hill. A young lizard boy tries to navigate seventh grade while hiding what makes him different.
The Adventures of Tintin (1929) — Hergé. A long-running adventure series about the young reporter Tintin and his dog Snowy travel the world investigating mysteries.
The Cartoonists Club (2025) — Raina Telgemeier; Scott McCloud. Four young artists with different strengths form a club devoted to making comics.
The Hidden Dominion of Geordie James — Mike Dawson. A lonely fifth grader’s obsession with an escaped factory-farm pig jeopardizes his science-fair project.
This Was Our Pact (2019) — Ryan Andrews. On the night of the autumn equinox, Ben and his friends follow festival lanterns downriver to learn where they go.
Unreal (forthcoming 2027) — Ellen Walker. Frances escapes into the Demiworld with her autistic younger sister, Annabel, and meets a wizard seeking a cure for strangeness.
Warriors: The Prophecies Begin, Vol. 1 (2024) — Erin Hunter; Natalie Riess; Sara Goetter. Rusty, a house cat longing for adventure, leaves his home and joins the wild cats of ThunderClan.
Watership Down: The Graphic Novel (2023) — Richard Adams; James Sturm; Joe Sutphin. A band of rabbits flees a doomed warren and searches for a safe home.
Zita the Spacegirl (2011) — Ben Hatke. Zita enters a portal to rescue her abducted friend and lands on a planet facing destruction.
Young Adult (Ages 12-18)
Comics with mature emotional stakes, relationships, and themes around identity.
Armaveni: A Graphic Novel of the Armenian Genocide (2026) — Nadine Takvorian. Nadine searches for the family history her parents find too painful to discuss.
Big Jim and the White Boy (2024) — David F. Walker; Marcus Kwame Anderson. A reimagining of the story of Jim from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, told from a Black perspective across generations.
Heartstopper, Volume 1 (2019) — Alice Oseman. Charlie Spring and rugby player Nick Nelson become friends after being seated together at school.
Hey, Kiddo (2018) — Jarrett J. Krosoczka. Jarrett Krosoczka recounts growing up with his grandparents while his mother struggled with addiction and his father remained absent.
Hungry Ghost (2023) — Victoria Ying. Valerie struggles with an eating disorder and grief while trying to satisfy her mother’s expectations.
I Love This Part (2015) — Tillie Walden. A story of two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into first love as they navigate intimacy, identity, and the possibility of heartbreak.
Identical (forthcoming) — Bones Leopard. Blue worries that revealing they are nonbinary will forever change the close relationship they share with their twin Tally.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (2019) — Mariko Tamaki; Rosemary Valero-O’Connell. Freddy remains trapped in an on-again, off-again relationship with charismatic Laura Dean.
Lumberjanes, Vol. 1: Beware the Kitten Holy (2015) — Noelle Stevenson; Grace Ellis; Brooke A. Allen; Shannon Watters. Five friends at a summer camp encounter supernatural creatures, coded messages, and impossible dangers.
Mismatched: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Emma (2024) — Anne Camlin; Isadora Zeferino. A contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma in which a confident teen matchmaker interferes in her classmates’ romantic lives.
On a Sunbeam (2018) — Tillie Walden. Mia joins a crew that restores ruined buildings throughout space while remembering the girl she loved at boarding school.
Raised by Ghosts (2025) — Briana Loewinsohn. A graphic memoir portraying an adolescence shaped by emotionally absent parents and mixtapes.
Sheets (2018) — Brenna Thummler. Thirteen-year-old Marjorie struggles to keep her family’s laundromat operating while grieving her mother. Wendell, a lonely ghost wearing a sheet, enters the human world and accidentally complicates the life she is trying to hold together.
Spinning (2017) — Tillie Walden. A memoir in which Walden reflects on twelve years in competitive figure skating while coming to understand her sexuality and artistic identity.
The Magic Fish (2020) — Trung Le Nguyen. Tiến uses fairy tales to connect with his Vietnamese immigrant parents while searching for language to tell them he is gay.
The Prince and the Dressmaker (2018) — Jen Wang. Prince Sebastian secretly wears elaborate dresses designed by his friend Frances and becomes a celebrated fashion figure.
This One Summer (2014) — Mariko Tamaki; Jillian Tamaki. During an annual lake vacation, Rose and her younger friend Windy observe the trials and tribulations of teendom and parenthood.
Contemporary Adult Graphic Novels
Literary, autobiographical, experimental, and historical comics for mature readers.
Fun Home (2006) — Alison Bechdel. Alison Bechdel investigates her childhood, her closeted father’s life, and his sudden death.
Girl in the World (2019) — Caroline Cash. A candid collection of autobiographical comics about friendship, relationships, work, sexuality, and the messy humor of young adulthood.
A Contract with God (1978) — Will Eisner. Four interconnected stories portray Jewish residents of a Bronx tenement confronting faith, poverty, desire, disappointment, and change.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands (2022) — Kate Beaton. Kate Beaton recounts working in Alberta’s oil sands to pay off student debt.
Asterios Polyp (2009) — David Mazzucchelli. After a fire destroys his home, self-centered architect Asterios Polyp begins a journey that forces him to reconsider his failed marriage and rigid worldview.
Graffiti Kitchen (1998, out of print) — Eddie Campbell. Eddie Campbell’s semi-autobiographical graphic novel follows relationships, desire, and self-destructive behavior within a close social circle.
It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (2022) — Zoe Thorogood. Zoe Thorogood chronicles six turbulent months as her comics career rises while she struggles with depression, suicidal thoughts, and loneliness.
Maus I: My Father Bleeds History (1986) — Art Spiegelman. Art Spiegelman records his father Vladek’s experiences as a Polish Jew before and during the Holocaust, alongside their difficult present-day relationship.
Maus II: And Here My Troubles Began (1991) — Art Spiegelman. Vladek’s account continues through Auschwitz, liberation, and the aftermath of survival.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters (2017) — Emil Ferris. In 1960s Chicago, ten-year-old Karen Reyes investigates the death of her upstairs neighbor while imagining herself as a monster.
The Best We Could Do (2017) — Thi Bui. Thi Bui traces her family’s escape from Vietnam and resettlement in the United States while becoming a parent herself.
Edena (1983) — Moebius (Jean Giraud). Space travelers Stel and Atan encounter a mysterious world that transforms their bodies and identities.
City of Glass: The Graphic Novel (1994) — Paul Auster; Paul Karasik; David Mazzucchelli. Crime writer Quinn is mistaken for a private detective and accepts a mysterious case.
Ex Libris (2021) — Matt Madden. A lone reader awakens in a strange library where every book opens into a different comics style.
(In a Sense) Lost and Found (2014) and Vanishing Act (2018) — Roman Muradov. Two graphic novels with surreal poetry and a sense of humor.
Jar of Fools (1994) — Jason Lutes. A grieving, alcoholic stage magician is drawn into the lives of other damaged people, including his former mentor and an escaping mother and child.
Reykjavik (2009) — Henrik Rehr. An intense and abstract graphic work inspired by Iceland’s capital. (Danish only)
Svøm! (Swim!) (2008) — Henrik Rehr. A spare visual narrative centered on swimming. (Danish only)
Drømmen om langskibene (The Dream of the Longships) (1987) — Henrik Rehr. A Danish graphic narrative shaped by Viking imagery, dream, and cultural memory.
Ambient Air (2014) — Erin Curry. An experimental comic built from blurred, layered images and fragmentary impressions.
Sable (2016) — Alexis Beauclair. An experimental comic assembled from stark shapes, repeated forms, and visual rhythm.
Inspiration and Reference Books
Craft and theory for comics people!
Drawing Words & Writing Pictures (2008) — Jessica Abel; Matt Madden. A comprehensive resource covering writing, drawing, panel transitions, page design, lettering, production, and critique. Structured to support classroom teaching or independent study.
How to Say Everything (2018) — Tom Hart. Tom Hart presents practical structures and exercises for shaping autobiographical and emotionally resonant comics.
Making Comics (2006) and Understanding Comics (1993) — Scott McCloud. Scott McCloud combines comics theory with practical guidance for creators developing their own approach to sequential art.
Cartooning: Philosophy and Practice (2011) — Ivan Brunetti. A compact, exercise-driven course in cartooning.
Cartooning: The Only Cartooning Book You’ll Ever Need to Be the Artist You’ve Always Wanted to Be (2005) — Art Roche. A kid friendly, hands-on introduction to cartooning that covers characters, expressions, movement, composition, lettering, shading, and visual storytelling.
Lexicon of Comicana (1980) — Mort Walker. Mort Walker’s satirical glossary explores how cartoon symbols communicate sound, motion, and emotion.
Syllabus: Notes from an Accidental Professor (2014) and What It Is (2008) — Lynda Barry. Drawn from her teaching notebooks, Barry encourages creators to recover playful image-making and trust the unexpected connections that generate stories.
Draw Stronger: Self-Care for Cartoonists and Visual Artists (2018) — Kriota Willberg. An anatomy-informed guide to drawing without unnecessary pain.
The Magic Words (2016) — Cheryl B. Klein. Children’s-book editor Cheryl B. Klein offers tools for premise, character, plot, voice, revision, and audience. The guide combines craft instruction with an editorial perspective on how stories for young readers work.
The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers (1983) — John Gardner. John Gardner discusses narrative technique and point of view. Exercises challenge writers to practice specific techniques in style.
The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation (1981) — Frank Thomas; Ollie Johnston. Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston explain the studio’s history, working methods, and twelve principles of animation.
Creative Illustration (1947) — Andrew Loomis. Andrew Loomis breaks down composition, value, staging, perspective, figure drawing, and the visual organization in narrative and commercial image making.
The Noble Approach (2013) — Tod Polson. A richly illustrated guide to animation designer Maurice Noble’s creative philosophy.
The Elements of Color (1961) — Johannes Itten. Johannes Itten introduces color contrast, harmony, expression, and the psychological and symbolic effects of color.
Want More? Consider joining KCU Graphic Novel Bootcamp!
KCU Graphic Novel Bootcamp is a 13-week online course for creators making comics for kids and teens. Over those 13 weeks you’ll complete a whole short comic, start to finish — story development, thumbnails, character and environment design, pacing, lettering, pencils, inks, color, revision, final art. Ira Marcks is the lead instructor. The course includes weekly recorded lessons, live critique sessions, Q&A in a private community, and small critique groups. It finishes with a printed student anthology. Enrollment is open now and closes on September 15, 2026. Class begins on September 19th! → Click here to learn more or enroll. |
