Graphic Novels are a Gateway to Reading
8 graphic novel adaptations that bring beloved classics to life.
We love graphic novels! Your kids love graphic novels! The pairing of story and art appeals to readers of all tastes and ages—strong and struggling alike.
From Pokémon Adventures to Smile to Dog Man, graphic novels find fans among a generation accustomed to the dynamic visuals and comic-style dialogue of video games and TV.
But do these comics hold the same value for kids as traditional chapter books? Should I be concerned when my child wants to read nothing but comics?
The good news is that graphic novels do get kids motivated to read and produce tangible improvements in a child’s reading abilities. One 2020 study demonstrated the positive benefits of graphic novels on reading comprehension, vocabulary and reading motivation for learners of English. Other studies show how illustrations that communicate setting, sequence and complex details rapidly and dramatically develop skills of discernment and inference, paving the road to comprehension of longer texts. Due to their high entertainment value, these books help children fall in love with reading, and studies show that the reading of graphic novels is likely to turn one into a lifelong reader of prose.
So how exactly can graphics entice kids to pick up the traditional novel, with its intimidating pages of solid text?
One idea is to first hook a child on a book’s graphic adaptation. If they like it, they may come back for more. Thankfully, such adaptations are trending nearly as much as live action remakes. You have a lot of great literature to pick from, based on your child’s interests (drama? horror? dragons?). Here are a few recently published and popular graphic novels to get you started:
Mary Pope Osborne’s Magic Tree House, The Graphic Novel: Dinosaurs Before Dark, adapted by Jenny Laird
This series has been an intro to chapter books for decades of children. Now you can travel back in time with Jack and Annie in a whole new way!
Lauren Tarshis’s I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, the Graphic Novel, adapted by Georgia Ball
This series puts you on the edge of your seat, experiencing historical disasters firsthand. Now you can see the excitement as well as read it!
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, the Graphic Novel, by Chris Grabenstein
It’s the library of the future, the coolest in the world, and 12 sixth graders win an exclusive overnight lock-in to see it first! It’s all fun and games, until they discover they have to solve all the riddles and puzzles to escape. Then it’s more fun and games!
One Crazy Summer, The Graphic Novel, by Rita Williams-Garcia
Three sisters join their estranged mother for a summer in Oakland, Calif. – and get sent to a Black Panther summer camp! Your kids will travel along with these girls as they learn about their family, their history and their country. This is a beautiful adaptation of an already beloved award-winning novel.
Heidi, The Graphic Novel based on the classic by Johanna Spyri, adapted by Mariah Marsden
Did you know you can find graphic adaptations of many of the world’s finest children’s classics? This author has also adapted The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables—and they’re gorgeous.
100 Cupboards, The Graphic Novel by N. D. Wilson
An unfamiliar house. An attic full of doors. Portals to other worlds? Evil that threatens to creep into Henry’s world and a cousin Henrietta who enters and doesn’t come back?! Your children are in for a thrilling Narnia-esque ride with this one!
The Lemonade War, The Graphic Novel by Jacqueline Davies
Sibling rivalry turns into dollars and cents, as Evan and Jesse, soon to be classed together in the fourth grade, battle to earn the first $100 with lemonade stands! This book is full of the heart and colors of summer.
Aru Shah and the End of Time, The Graphic Novel by Roshani Chokshi, adapted by Joe Caramagna
This kid-favorite series from Rick Riordan Presents, based on Hindu mythology—with reincarnated Pandava brothers and a demon on the loose—is now a graphic novel! After this, your child will want to read the whole series … but they will have to read the chapter books to do it as, so far, this is the only graphic adaptation. Sneaky.
And here’s one more bit of good news: When it comes to what books kids can read to complete Tulsa City-County Library’s 2026 Summer Reading Program, graphic novels totally count!
April Harden, MLIS, is the youth librarian at Bronson Brookside Library. Check out her storytimes from 10:15-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday is family storytime and Thursday is baby and toddler storytime.
