The team at Long Melford Library share some of their favourite comic book series for kids. Browse our staff picks and pick up a copy from your local library!
Below is just a selection of what’s available – take a look at our fave titles from each series and explore the rest when you next visit the library!
Want more suggested books? Take a look at our recommendations or explore more of the National Year of Reading campaign.
Pablo and Splash: Roman Holiday
Sheena Dempsey
When their penguin pal Benji won’t believe they’ve travelled through time, Pablo and Splash have a point to prove. The two travel to Ancient Rome, hoping to bring back a centurion helmet as proof of their adventures.
But when Pablo and Splash meet an emperor with a passion for collecting exotic birds, only some quick thinking – and emergency time travel – can save them from the fate that awaits them in the Colosseum!
Hilo: The Boy Who Crashed to Earth
Judd Winick
D.J. and his friend Gina are totally normal kids. Until a mysterious boy comes crashing down from the sky and nearly blows up their club house!
Hilo doesn’t know where he came from, or what he’s doing on Earth (or why going to school in only your underwear is a bad idea!) but he’s starting to think he might not be the only alien to have crash-landed on our planet.
Can the trio unlock the secrets of his past? Can Hilo survive a day at school? And are D.J. and Gina ready to save the world?
Investi-Gators: Case Files
John Patrick Green
Mango and Brash are back, and this time they’re asking you to help them crack the case!
The InvestiGators have been given the G.R.I.D., a brand-new tool to help gather evidence and clues. Using the prompts in each chapter, readers can make their own deductions alongside the Gators and solve the case!
Featuring plenty of familiar faces from investigations past, and packed full of hilarious hijinks, join Mango and Brash as they get to the bottom of cases big and small!
CatStronauts: Digital Disaster
Drew Brockington
Darby Fuzzelton, the world’s richest cat, is determined to open the first-ever space hotel! Her first guests? The elite CatStronauts along with a few kittens who were top of their class at Space Camp. Their job? To prove that her space hotel is safe to the public.
When the cats and kittens arrive, they’re greeted by AVA, an advanced Artificial Intelligence system programmed to handle countless hotel operations. Upon seeing Cat-Stro-Bot and his ability to go anywhere, AVA becomes obsessed with gaining her own freedom. With AVA distracted, all the hotel systems go on the fritz!
Will the CatStronauts escape this hotel of horror?
Hilda and the Stone Forest
Luke Pearson
Hilda may be grounded, but that won’t stop her from heading off on another daring adventure!
But everything is thrown off course when her mother catches her and is dragged along for the ride. Furious with each other, the bickering pair find themselves lost in the land of the trolls, forced to embark on a dangerous journey to make their way home. And to make matters even more difficult, Hilda has to do so as a troll?
Buckle your seatbelts for a crazy body-swapping adventure!
Toby and the Pixies: Worst King Ever
James Turner
Shy and anxious schoolboy Toby accidentally becomes king of a pixie kingdom at the bottom of his garden!
These chaos-creating magical critters cause havoc for Toby at home and at school with their ridiculously silly powers (despite them only trying to help!), much to Toby’s embarrassment and frustration.
But when his extrovert friend Mo discovers Toby’s secret double life, Toby realises that maybe being king of the pixies isn’t so bad after all.
Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder
Dav Pilkey
P.U.! Dog Man got sprayed by a skunk! After being dunked in tomato juice, the stink is gone but the scarlet red colour remains.
Now exiled, this spunky superhero must struggle to save the citizens who shunned him! Will the ends justify the means for Petey, who’s reluctantly pulled back into a life of crime in order to help Dog Man?
And who will step forward when an all-new, never-before-seen villain unleashes an army of A.I. robots?
Warrior Cats: Tigerstar and Sasha
Erin Hunter
When Sasha is forced to leave her kittypet home, she must forge a solitary new life in the forest. Life on her own is exciting at first but quickly gets lonely. Then she meets Tigerstar, leader of ShadowClan, and wonders whether she would be better off joining the ranks of his forest Clan.
But Tigerstar has many secrets, and Sasha isn’t sure she can trust him. Will she be forced to wander alone forever? And where does she belong?
Bumble and Snug: The Worried Dragons
Mark Bradley
When Bumble and Snug accidentally bring home some dragon eggs, they have to teach the little dragons how to be dragons – with the help of books, costumes, sweets and treasure, of course!
But the little dragons’ parents are very worried about them and Bumble and Snug need to help their new friends home soon, otherwise they may end up as dragon dinner.
Plants vs. Zombies: Constructionary Tales
Paul Tobin
The battle to protect Neighborville continues! A behind-the-scenes look at the secret schemes, ridiculous plans, and craziest contraptions concocted by the bizarre Zomboss, leader of the zombie army, as he proudly leads around a film crew from the Zombie Broadcasting Network.
Crazy Dave has some silly schemes and convoluted contraptions of his own, though, to protect Neighborville’s citizens. With his niece Patrice, neighborhood hero Nate Timely, and his own army of powerful plants and strange inventions, Dave’s ready to counter any frightening invasion that Zomboss can think up!
Standalone Graphic Novels
We strongly recommend these titles too! They’re not part of a comic book series, but they’re fantastic stories well-worth reading.
Unicorn Boy
Dave Roman
The first few years of Brian’s life were unremarkable – nothing weird about this kid, no sir. Then he found a bump on his head. And it grew, and grew, and grew. Into a full-blown, sparkling, SINGING unicorn horn!
It was the last thing a shy kid like Brian could ever want – but destiny waits for no Unicorn Boy. And when shadowy creatures from another realm kidnap his best friend Avery, Brian must accept his fate as a hero and go on a perilous journey to try and save the day!
Can Unicorn Boy save his best friend from the underworld?!
The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust memoir of Hope and Survival
Estelle Nadel
Here is an illustrated graphic novel recounting the heart-rending true story of a young girl’s struggle for survival during the Holocaust, suitable for children age 10+.
Born to a Jewish family in a small Polish village, Estelle Nadel – then known as Enia Feld – was just seven years old when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. Once a vibrant child with a song for every occasion, Estelle would eventually lose her voice as, over the next five years, she would survive the deaths of their mother, father, their eldest brother and sister, and countless others. Estelle would weather loss, betrayal, near-execution, and spend two years away from the warmth of the sun – all before the age of 11.
This book is a first-hand account written by Estelle Nadel for children learning about the Holocaust in the later stages of the primary curriculum.