I’m so thrilled to be sharing Ben Hatke‘s newest book, LITTLE ROBOT with you today! It is a fabulous, charming story enhanced by its nearly wordless graphic format. Thank you to First Second for providing a review copy and a copy for giveaway!

     When a little girl finds an adorable robot in the woods, she presses a button and accidentally activates him for the first time. Now, she finally has a friend. But the big, bad robots are coming to collect the little guy for nefarious purposes, and it’s all up to a five-year-old armed only with a wrench and a fierce loyalty to her mechanical friend to save the day!
     #1 New York Times Bestselling author Ben Hatke brings his signature sweetness to a simple, moving story about friendship and overcoming fears that will appeal to readers of all ages.

My thoughts:
Ben Hatke’s illustrations are charming, and this nearly wordless graphic novel with chapters is an entertaining read of friendship and determination. The story of a girl who goes on adventures with her tool belt and comes across a lost robot hooks the reader right away. Adventure begins and suspense is built when we see the robot ends up being hunted by a larger scarier robot trying to get him back. The main character’s ingenuity with mechanics and fixing things has a great message. Not only are the illustrations just plain fun to look at, the story itself is a delight. I so appreciate that the young girl is a tinkerer and engineer. Little Robot is about exploration, ingenuity, technology, and friendship. A strong addition to a classroom graphic novel collection.

Author: Kiersten White
Illustrator: Jim Di Bartolo
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: April 29, 2014
Number of Pages: 384
Source of Book: ARC from Wolfson Literary agent – Thank you, Michelle!

        From the remarkable imagination of acclaimed artist Jim Di Bartolo and the exquisite pen of bestselling author Kiersten White comes a spellbinding story of love, mystery, and dark conspiracy, told in an alternating narrative of words and pictures. 
        Cora and Minnie are sisters living in a small, stifling town where strange and mysterious things occur. Their mother runs the local boarding house. Their father is gone. The woman up the hill may or may not be a witch. 
        Thomas and Charles are brothers who’ve been exiled to the boarding house so Thomas can tame his ways and Charles can fight an illness that is killing him with increasing speed. Their family history is one of sorrow and guilt. They think they can escape from it . . . but they can’t.

This book is so imaginative and unique…it’s unlike anything I’ve read before in the way it’s created and plays with timeline and intertwines story with image, and for that reason alone, it’s a must-read in my opinion. 


Stunning, enthralling, engaging, a little frustratingly confusing, but so smart in how it all comes together in the end. One of the most unique books I’ve read with alternating text and illustration sections. It’s like a logic puzzle you keep trying to figure out how the two stories interconnect and have a bunch of theories only to find out you were quasi right but really not all along. This one is twisty, but after I finished, I wanted to reread it all over again.


And, really, you can’t talk about this book without talking about the absolutely stunningly beautiful illustrations – really, I consider them to be true art on their own. The way they tie into the story, and the detail and beauty they show, far surpasses what I have read in the past. It’s one you need to see to fully grasp the impact of, but for now, I’ll share my first impression collage.

Title: PAGE BY PAIGE
Author:  Laura Lee Gulledge
Publisher: Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams)
Release Date: May 1, 2011
Number of Pages: 192
Source of Book: Bought a signed copy at the NCTE Convention

Paige Turner has just
moved to New York with her family, and she’s having some trouble
adjusting to the big city. In the pages of her sketchbook, she tries to
make sense of her new life, including trying out her secret identity:
artist. As she makes friends and starts to explore the city, she slowly
brings her secret identity out into the open, a process that is equal
parts terrifying and rewarding.Laura Lee Gulledge crafts stories and
panels with images that are thought-provoking, funny, and emotionally
resonant. Teens struggling to find their place can see themselves in
Paige’s honest, heartfelt story.

I haven’t read as many graphic novels as I would like to, but this is absolutely one of my favorites I’ve ever read, and I don’t think that will chance no matter how many I read! I’m so thankful that I saw Paul Hankins talking about it on twitter because when I saw in the booth at NCTE, I snapped it up right away. This is the kind of graphic novel I know I’ll be able to hook my students with. It has quite a bit of girl appeal as Paige is a teen whose parents moved her to a new city and she has to start all over at a new school. As she’s discovering her new city, she is also struggling to discover herself. It starts off with Paige staring at a blank sketchbook page, a realistic metaphor for a teenage girl starting at a new school and learning how to reinvent herself. This is a universal coming-of-age story written in an engaging way for a teen audience. It’s quiet and subtle, much like Paige herself, with a beautiful art style, not so much comic book style. It’s also about being brave and honest and true to oneself-all messages we all can use at times.

I really enjoyed how Laura Lee structured the pacing of this book by dividing each section with the month of the school year, and Paige trying one piece of advice her grandmother gave her. Each piece of advice is something for Paige to do to help her come out of her shell, take risks, and stand up for herself. Paige (and Laura Lee) is a wonderful artist and many of the drawings are very creative in perspective and focus. I enjoyed the artistry of this book as much as I enjoyed the plot. Paige is an honest and likeable and realistic character as a teen girl, and the group of friends she makes are also really likeable. I wanted to be friends with all of them. Through meeting them and getting their support, Paige is able to take chances and trust that her feelings are valid and starts to gain confidence in herself. One of my favorite scenes was when the group of them went to the park and put happy vibes out for people to see. PAGE BY PAIGE is a book that I would recommend to anyone (whether they’ve read a graphic novel before or not) and I have confidence it will be fully enjoyed. In fact, many of my students have already done so (although I did have to teach a few of them how to “read” a graphic novel first so they would get the full effect of this book).