There is a new genre, (or at least newish to me) that I call “Picture Book Graphic Novel.” I am sure there are others out there, but I have recently found three within a few weeks of each other. This means that the graphic novel panel format is done in the larger, traditional sized picture book and aimed at the picture book crowd, but can allow the older reader access as well. The first two were read via online reader’s copies and the last in an available hardcover picture book..
Author vs. Illustrator by Bob Lentz and Donald Lemke is due early August 2024. This book started out nice and solid. The author and illustrator are talking to each other, and you the reader, about how to make a book. They mention the text and art. There is humor as the illustrator likens things to a chili dog, but the metaphor works. It then got, well, too silly for me when the two start to “literally” fight and that is seen on the page of the book you’re holding and the story they are creating in the book you are holding. Things go crazy and it becomes a mess. Of course, the message is about cooperation and working together, but I was not completely loving the “how to get there” part. With that said, it was fun. There was enough humor to keep the adults captivated and kids will appreciate the action and some of the humor as well. The art is not for everyone, but it really sets the tone and works well with the rest of things.
The Unlucky Kid, with text and illustrations by Bob Holt, was a big miss for me. However, I was thinking I know so many kids who will appreciate the naïve (or clueless, depending on your personal feelings) main character, his sarcastic cat and friends and family. The concept is simple, if something can go wrong for this kid, it will. Such as, his mom tells him he can go fishing, but don’t touch the water. And just because his fish takes him on a high flying adventure over the water (and a very hairy man) doesn’t mean anything, he didn’t touch the water! And another few stories will fill out the madcapper adventures of the most unluckiest of unlucky kids. Yet, he keeps plugging away at it. This is done with some very basic, simple illustrations that are not overly crowded but Holt gets the job done. There is a decent amount of color and the tone is set perfectly and fits the story/text equally well. If not currently available, it will be out sometime in May 2024.
The older picture book graphic novel I read was Like Lava in My Veins. The superhero and supervillain story arc that we know takes a bit of a new path in Derrick Barnes and Shawn Martinbrough’s book. The theme of things is to be seen. To see ourselves in our teachers and our teachers see us in them. The main character has a literal hot temper, therefore, taking him out of regular school and into a super school. Whenever he feels singled out and picked on by his teachers his reaction is worse and he can explode. He saw the same thing with another student he felt was never given a fair shake and was just written off as a villain. Of course, things work out for both of them. The young girl is given a second chance, and our narrator sees how he has found some super friends and the right place for him. Everything is bold, bright, action packed and colorful. The images are superhero-fighting from the start, even when our characters are sitting in the classroom.