Children's Book Suggestions | Graphic Novel Hybrids

What do you do with a kid who loves graphic novels but struggles with the transition to text-based chapter books? Try some graphic novel hybrids! These books use a mix of traditional text passages and comic-style illustrations. This helps kids build up their stamina for longer passages of text and harnesses the power of sequential art in reading comprehension.

Graphic novel hybrids aren't the only strategies for engaging readers who struggle with long blocks of text. Additional strategies include:

  • Novels in verse pair plenty of white space with age-appropriate topics, making complex stories with rich vocabularies more accessible to striving readers.
  • Digital audiobooks from Libby can be paired with print books (with narration slowed to match the reader's speed if necessary) or with fidgets, crafts, or coloring for kids whose concentration benefits from a kinetic focus.
  • For readers who thrive with the support of dyslexia-friendly fonts, our Libby e-books can be read with OpenDyslexic.
Updated May 18, 2024
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County)Oregon City Public Library
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
The last kids on Earth
Brallier, Max
Paper Book
The first book in the New York Times bestselling series with over ten million copies in print! 'Terrifyingly fun! Max Brallier's The Last Kids on Earth delivers big thrills and even bigger laughs.' Jeff Kinney, author of Diary of a Wimpy Kid Now...

A group of middle schoolers team up to fight monsters after the zombie apocalypse hits their town in this horror-comedy for young readers who like fast-paced action and cool fight scenes. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Bad Kitty gets a bath
Bruel, Nick.
Paper Book
Pet owners beware! Bad Kitty really needs a bath, and she is forced to take one in this hysterical new illustrated how-to for young readers. The following are some items you will need for Kitty's bath: one bathtub, plenty of water, dry towels, a suit of armor, a letter to...

Bad Kitty makes her chapter book debut in this humorous "instructional guide" for bathing your cat. (Bridging Fiction Grades 2-4)

The strange case of Origami Yoda
Angleberger, Tom.
Paper Book
In this funny, uncannily wise portrait of the dynamics of a sixth-grade class and of the greatness that sometimes comes in unlikely packages, Dwight, a loser, talks to his classmates via an origami finger puppet of Yoda. If that weren't strange enough, the puppet is uncannily wise and prescient....

When a quirky classmate's origami Yoda finger puppet begins dispensing surprisingly good advice, a group of middle schoolers keep an illustrated casebook as they investigate whether or not Yoda's spirit is speaking through Dwight's finger. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Accidental trouble magnet
Mian, Zanib
Paper Book
Welcome, readers, to the imaginative brain of Omar! You might not know me yet, but once you open the pages of this book you'll laugh so hard that snot will come out of your nose (plus you might meet a dragon and a zombie - what more could you want?). My parents decided it would...

This British import features spunky Omar, who struggles with bullying and fitting in when his Muslim family moves to a new town. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Big Nate : in a class by himself
Peirce, Lincoln.
Paper Book
Now an animated series from Paramount + & Nickelodeon! For fans of the hilarious Diary of a Wimpy Kid series: Get ready to meet Big Nate! In the very first novel in the New York Times bestselling series, Big Nate is in a class by himself! Nate knows he's meant for big...

Based on Lincoln Peirce's long-running comic series, the first book in this series features a disorganized sixth grader Nate, whose unshakeable confidence gets him into all sorts of trouble following a fortune cookie promising that he will surpass all others. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Dork diaries : tales from a not-so-fabulous life
Russell, Rachel Renee.
Paper Book
Nikki Maxwell is starting eighth grade at a new school--and her very first diary is packed with hilarious stories and art in this SUPER SQUEE updated edition of the first book in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries series! Nikki confesses all in her first diary...

An art-loving middle schooler keeps a diary chronicling her transition to a new school at the start of eighth grade. A great choice for girls struggling to navigate middle school drama and other confusing social dynamics. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Locker hero
Russell, Rachel Renée.
Paper Book
Meet Max Crumbly in this series from #1 New York Times bestselling Dork Diaries author Rachel René​e Russell! Max Crumbly is about to face the scariest place he's ever been: South Ridge Middle School. There's a lot that's great about his...

A formerly homeschooled middle schooler uses his favorite superheroes as inspiration while dealing with bullying and other challenges during his first year of public school. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

The 39-storey treehouse
Griffiths, Andy
Paper Book
From Australia's favourite children's storytellers"Hilariously clever" - Australian Women's WeeklyWINNER of the Australian Book Industry Awards Book of the Year for Younger Children 2014Join Andy and Terry in their astonishing 39-storey treehouse! Jump on the world's highest trampoline, toast...

Shenanigans ensue when Andy and Terry, who live in the world's most amazing treehouse, brainstorm a variety of a wacky plot threads they could use for their book. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Meet me on Mercer Street
Vivat, Booki
Paper Book
Harriet the Spy meets Front Desk in this funny, surprising graphic novel by Booki Vivat, author-illustrator of the New York Times bestselling Frazzled series. Aspiring artist Kacie spends most of her time on Mercer Street with her best friend, Nisha, people-watching...
A young teen keeps a diary as she investigates her best friend's disappearance and the changes in her neighborhood after a summer away, and experiences the effects of gentrification first hand. Color illustrations and full-page comics-style flashback make this an appealing choice for readers just transitioning into chapter books. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)
Stick Dog
Watson, Tom
Paper Book
Meet Stick Dog - a new breed of hero. In his first adventure, Stick Dog and his friends embark on an epic quest to steal a hamburger. With hilarious illustrations and pitch-perfect humour, Stick Dog is a must-have for fans of WIMPY KID, BIG NATE and DOG MAN. Stick Dog and his friends,...

Put forth as an elementary school student's creative writing assignment, each book in this series follows the adventures of Stick Dog and his fellow stray dogs as they go in search of their favorite things in the world: people food. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Diary of a wimpy kid : Greg Heffley's journal
Kinney, Jeff
Paper Book
Boys don't keep diaries--or do they? The launch of an exciting and innovatively illustrated new series narrated by an unforgettable kid every family can relate to It's a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where...

The O.G. graphic novel hybrid that proved this format was a winning formula for engaging young readers! Greg Heffley chronicles his sixth grade year in this mix of text and cartoon illustrations about the highs and many, many lows of middle school. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Invisible Emmie
Libenson, Terri
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of Raina Telgemeier and Jennifer L. Holm, Invisible Emmie is a humorous and surprising debut graphic novel by Terri Libenson, creator of the internationally syndicated, Reuben Award-winning comic strip The Pajama Diaries. This is the story of two totally different girls--...

Two middle schoolers, one popular and the other painfully shy, navigate loneliness and first crushes in the first book of the Emmie & Friends series. (Young Teen Fiction Grades 5-7)

Harriet the invincible
Vernon, Ursula
Ebook
Sleeping Beauty gets a feisty, furry twist in this hilarious new comic series from the creator of Dragonbreath Harriet Hamsterbone is not your typical princess. She may be quite stunning in the rodent realm (you'll have to trust her on this one), but she is not so great at...
A fun take on Sleeping Beauty with a twist--the princess is a hamster! After taking advantage of her curse with years of cliff-diving and other adrenaline-fueled adventures, Princess Harriet grudging returns home to meet her destiny as her 16th birthday approaches. (Children's Fiction Grades 3-5)

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.