A Parent's Guide to the Best Kids' Comics: Choosing Titles Your Children Will Love TPPublisher: Krause Publications
Release Date: May 2012
Price: $16.99
Creators: Scott Robins and Snow Wildsmith
Format: 256 pages; Color; Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4402-2994-7
Age Rating: All ages
ICv2 Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
This is an essential book for public or school libraries, and a very useful one for parents and kids alike. For kids, the most useful part is a very comprehensive list of "read alikes" that guide readers to other materials like the ones they enjoy. For parents, teachers and librarians, the book will act as a guide for those unfamiliar with comics, or those being dragged back into the medium by their children.
Each entry gives an overview of a graphic creation suitable for children, along with enough information to help a reader or a parent decide if it is right for their situation. The book is inexpensive enough that if it gets updated in a couple of years, it will be worth replacing, because it will be wearing out from heavy use.
Both authors have spent years reading and evaluating books for children and teens, as reviewers, bloggers, librarians and program planners. Their extensive knowledge and experience shows, and they have provided a solid and trustworthy reference work.
The format limited the "read alike" cross-references a bit, which is too bad, but the existing work provides an excellent starting point for exploration of graphic novels and comics for kids.
--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.