I’m feeling all meta, reviewing a book of reviews of kidslit on my kidslit column today. and honestly, I’m delighted that this book is out, because my knowledge of graphic books is admittedly weak, and this is a great help. So. Got a kid who loves comics and graphics? There is great stuff recommended here for them, courtesy of a colleague of mine. 
A Parent’s Guide to Kids Comics
by Scott Robins & Snow Wildsmith
Krause Publications
ISBN: 978 1 4402 2994 7
This guide is meant for parents, though it would be equally useful to educators. It is well-edited to be thorough and include something for everyone in a nice span of age ranges, but not so enormous as to be intimidating or have readers get entirely bogged down, as some guides to kidslit have been. It’s an engaging read, in fact, another big plus that has clearly not been considered in some guides, and quite easy to peruse, being well-labeled and visually interesting.
Each of the entries has a description, lists any awards won, suggests educational tie-ins, gives a head up on any content issues that you might want to know about, and offers a read-alike or two. Many of them also include a page of sample art, which is really key when you are talking about something that relies heavily on the graphics! Detailed lists of all the titles in series, complete with ISBNs and prices, are found at the end, a very useful feature for those who are looking to purchase.
I am finding this a really great and very usable little guide – I also like the tagging of different themes or genres along the edges, for those who have something they are drawn to (heh) already. Although I’m not a huge graphic reader, I found myself jotting down a fairly good list of things to read, and I think the authors have made a great effort to really include something for everyone. Having a good little guide is pretty exciting – and not just for me, either. The enthusiasm in the world of comics is always fun, but you know when you can get Jeff Smith (of Bone fame) to write you a foreword, that this is something the community of comic-lovers has been wishing for for a while! It’s very much worth taking a look at to find some great reads for your kiddo, no matter what their age or interest.
Amazing, Alice… just as I’m sitting here thinking about getting some books together for my eight-year-old to read this summer – he’s turned his nose up at just about every camp idea we’ve offered, so he’ll spend a lot of time reading this summer – but it’s not his favourite thing to do, as he’s been learning tricky French for all these years, so books en Anglais are what I need to source for him (he needs the practice…) He’s not been into comics yet – maybe this is just the way to pique his interest! Where might I be able to look at such a guide?