This week, dear readers, has been the 98th National Children’s Book Week. Children’s book week is the longest national literacy initiative in this country, begun in 1919. Though Children’s Book Week ends tomorrow, there are still plenty of ways to celebrate it.

Speaking of celebrations, today is also the Peabody Library’s first annual PILCON! This is an all-ages comicon that is completely free and utterly awesome. You can find a lot more information about PILCON on its events page and also on Kelley’s blog post about it earlier this week.

Given that PILCON is all ages and will be having programs that are suitable for kids, and given that it is still Children’s Book Week, I thought today would be a good day to celebrate the great things that are coming out of the graphic novels world for kids. Graphic novels are not all high-fantasy, manga or bound comic strips. This is an equally true statement for adults, teens and children. What many people don’t know is that we have our own graphic novels section for kids here at the South Branch that sometimes gets overlooked in the hunt for Diary of a Wimpy Kid or Captain Underpants. So here are some books from our kids’ graphic novel section that deserve a second (or first!) look from anyone, regardless of age.

Big Nate by Lincoln Pierce

These books are hugely popular here at the South and are ideal for kids who have blown through the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. These are episodic books ideal for short attention spans or quick reads as the “stories” only cover a few pages before moving on to the next one. Pierce originally published Big Nate as a newspaper and web comic strip, but the books are full-color and eye catching. Nate is a wisecracking 11-year old sure to delight kids in that age range or adults and teens looking for a lighthearted read.

Hilda by Luke Pearson

I LOVE the Hilda books. Hilda is a blue-haired girl who has an equal sense of compassion and adventure. Pearson balances real-life issues (feeling out of place , family struggles) with fantasy elements (trolls, talking birds, Hilda’s pet which is something like a small, antlered fox) and uses a muted color palette that convincingly create’s Hilda’s world. These are more of a classic graphic novel format with each story taking place over the course of the entire book, but I defy anyone not to be charmed.

Bone by Jeff Smith

This is a new-to-me series that is more fantasy but still fun. Fone Bone, Phoney Bone and Smiley Bone are cousins who go on adventures through forests, foreign lands and townships, fighting dark forces, but getting help from friends along the way. These books are more plot-heavy but are beautifully illustrated with detailed characters and landscapes that draw the reader into the story and create convincing moods.

Unicorn Crossing by Dana Simpson

I’ve said before that Phoebe and her Unicorn is one of the best things to come into the comics world since Calvin and Hobbes and I meant it. I eagerly await each new installment of Phoebe and Marigold Heavenly Nostrils’s adventures which charm me and keep me laughing throughout. These have a similar setup to the Big Nate books, and are well worth reading.

Wile E. Coyote Experiments by Suzanne Slade & Mark Weakland

Not many people realize that there are some amazing non-fiction graphic novels (partly because graphic “novel” is a misnomer in these cases) out there both for adults and kids. These books are eye-catching, thin volumes that explain scientific principles in plain language and hilarious illustrations. If you’ve ever laughed at a Looney Tunes cartoon, these books are delightfully nostalgic and if you ever wondered about the principles behind Wile E. Coyote’s exploits (and spectacular failures), these are a must-read.

Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier

This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, wonderfully drawn and wonderfully told. It is a story of sisters, ghosts, love and acceptance in the face of difficulty and disease done in a more traditional novel format with panels and the entire book devoted to the story. The illustrations are colorful and do wonders to set the scene. This book is well worth the read by any adult as well as any older kid or teen.

Till next week, dear readers, enjoy as much of this unpredictable spring weather as possible, and check out PilCon. If you think you’ll like these selections I talked about today, there’s far more to discover!