15 Wonderful Graphic Novels for 4th Graders

This is a sweet, graphic memoir about Ruth Chan’s move as a teen from Canada to Hong Kong and the link between the grit needed to move and her paternal grandparents’ perseverance during the Sino-Japanese war when her father was born. I enjoyed the slice-of-life storytelling, and the strong theme of adapting and finding a home will resonate with third-culture kids and immigrants. Ruth learns that she can do hard things, especially socially, and she also comes to see her parents as real people, which can be life-changing as a kid.

When Ash’s mom ships him off to the island to spend the summer with his dad, he’s forced to do community service at a dog shelter where he gets to know different dog breeds and personalities — as do readers. Varner includes a note about a different dog breed at the start of each chapter. As Ash makes new friends, becomes an asset to the shelter, and gets closer to his dad, stepmom, and sibling, he experiences a life-changing summer. Heads up for the death of one dog (not on the page!). I can see animal lovers ADORING this one!

I LOVED this forthcoming young graphic novel by the author of the Stella Diaz series. This is the perfect illustrated graphic-prose series for fans of Dory Fantasmagory and Ryan Hart in grades 2-4 and stars a precocious, funny female protagonist who gets a whiff of the dark side of social media in her first adventure. The formatting of this one is just gorgeous, with graphic panels and short prose sections livened by full-color illustrations. It also has cute Spanish vocabulary tips, a mom who’s a bookstore owner and is set in the same world as Stella Diaz (Gabby looks up to Stella, who’s now a middle schooler).

This is a hilarious graphic novel for fans of Squished and The Vanderbeekers about a girl who is sick of her little siblings but gets stuck at home with them when they all get chickenpox. Set in Indonesia and roughly based on Lai’s own experiences but written from her older sister’s perspective, this book will sing to firstborns but also to any sibling in a large family who’s trying to find their voice and see the gift their siblings are to them. I loved the funny depictions of life with chickenpox, the tween angst and gossip as Abby navigates her friend group and friendships that may or may not be crushes. While there is some sibling angst, this one has a lovely, heartwarming resolution and will appeal to kids between the ages of 8 and 12.

Still adjusting to a move from Florida to Milwaukee, Aliya is excited to start playing basketball at her new Islamic school, but the girls’ team is well known for losing all their games. With a new coach and renewed team spirit, the girls find something better than high scores in this soaring, sporty graphic novel. 

This quirky middle grade graphic for fans of Victoria Jamieson is all about Elena, the only female baseball player on her team. Elena likes baseball, but her mother is obsessed with it and obsessed with Elena playing because she didn’t have the chance to play the sport as a teen. Elena’s brother on the other hand, shuns competitive sports, preferring Live Action Role Playing (LARP-ing) with his friends, which Elena can’t grasp (who plays pretend?!). But when she gets injured, she’s forced to take a break from baseball and learn what it means to play for fun, not for sport. Hand to 4th graders who love role-playing, Dungeons and Dragons, or could stand to learn a thing or two about having FUN and being open to new paths.

Max is a video-game-obsessed tween who’s qualified for the Gamerville finals when his parents decide that he’s too addicted to his devices and schlepp him over to Camp Reset, a technology-free camp where he’ll be stuck during the week of his Gamerville finals. There, Max gets thrown in the mix with campers Ari, Dylan, and Zazzi, who are dealing with upheavals in their own lives. In all the mayhem, Max decides to break out of the camp for his finals. This was fun — though not as good as this author’s Swim Team — and I loved the camp vibes and the adventure, the community, and the friendships. The illustrations are lovely!

This is an entertaining graphic novel about cousins Maya and Riley (Black and Muscogee), who end up living with their grandmother when Maya’s parents are deployed, and Riley’s parents move back in with her grandmother. At school, the girls quickly realize that their vice principal is suspicious, slashing arts, robotics, and any budgets possible in favor of increasing the number of detention classrooms. With their grandmother’s advice about using their voices firm in their mind, the girls hatch a plan to expose VP Balderdash’s schemes. I loved many things about this series starter, including the natural, subtle way both girls share about their heritage and the way they find home and community with their grandmother. This is also super short (under 200 pages), and the superhero and planning scenes feel like something out of a Spy Kids movie.

Doodles from the Boogie Down is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel about young Steph and her life in New York City in the early 2000s. Steph is finishing eighth grade in a Catholic middle school, and she and her friends are applying to high school. Steph is not great at Math or Science and prefers art instead, so she’s thrilled when her art teacher encourages her to apply to LaGuardia, an arts high school. Unfortunately, her strict Dominican mom doesn’t think art is a profitable career pursuit, so Steph’s plan is to only tell her mom about plans when she’s gotten in. This is a sweet, fun semi-autobiographical graphic novel about choosing your path and life in NYC.

Astrid and Nicole are best friends who do nearly everything together. Until Astrid’s mom takes them to watch roller derby. While Astrid can’t get enough of the cool girls and all the derby action, Nicole is immediately put off. So when Astrid signs up for junior derby, Nicole chooses a ballet elective instead. However, Astrid never tells her mom that she’s derby rolling instead of doing ballet with Nicole. Things get more difficult when Astrid realizes that roller derby is no joke — physically, mentally, and emotionally. Will she make it? Roller Girl is an action-packed exploration of roller derby, the thrill of finding a passion, and the power of perseverance.

Avery has SIX siblings and is feeling squished at home, so she’s crushed when her older brother Theo gets the first chance to room alone. She has to share a room with her younger siblings, Pearl and Max. On top of that, she often babysits the youngest three siblings. Her dad is a teacher, and her mom is studying to become a programmer, so things can be hectic at home. Avery decides to get a job so she can earn money and set up a basement bedroom. But just when she’s finding her groove, it appears that the family will have to move to another city — away from the friends and neighborhood Avery has come to love. This a heartwarming, relatable middle grade book about being part of a large family, navigating sibling relationships, and adjusting to change.

 The Tryout follows young Christina as she tries out for her middle school’s cheerleading team. As one of the few Asians in her small Texas town, Christina and her Iranian-American best friend are nervous about trying out, but determined to give their best. Unfortunately, tryouts quickly lead to heartbreak when Megan decides to partner up with another girl, leaving Christina to fend for herself. Can the girls make it work? This is a fantastic graphic memoir that will appeal to fans of sports stories and books about life as a minority and child of immigrants.

After she and her dad move from Brooklyn to Florida, Bree is excited for her first day in middle school. But also, she’s super anxious about whether she’ll make friends and fit in. Thankfully, she makes a new friend in the housing complex where they live. Unfortunately, when Bree goes to choose her math club elective, it’s fully booked. As a math lover who can’t swim, she’s crushed to hear that the only elective left is swim 101. At first, Bree avoids getting in the water, but after a near-drowning in her housing complex, an elderly neighbor (who used to be part of her swim team) decides to coach Bree. Bree gets so good that she joins her swim team, but can the team get past the drama and win? Swim Team is a highly engaging graphic novel about swimming, Black history (and why many Blacks don’t swim), and friendship.

I truly loved this graphic novel about three friends who start a dog-walking business. It feels true to kids (feels like something I would’ve LOVED as a child who adored The Babysitters’ Club), and I enjoyed seeing the ethnic diversity and the parental involvement in this story. If you have kids who love animals or have an entrepreneurial streak, this is the book for them. It’s also delightfully short, and this is a series I totally plan to keep up with since every book is from a different girl’s perspective.

Tyler got into solving Rubik’s cubes after his father’s death and now has made it to the National competition. We follow him and four other contestants (an elderly record holder, a 17-year-old arrogant champion, twin contestants, and a prodigy that isn’t what he seems) as they prepare for and compete in the finals. This is a unique SHORT illustrated prose-graphic novel that takes readers behind the scenes of a cubing contest while delving into important themes like grief, integrity, modesty, popularity, and individual identity. There’s an element of mystery and I read this in one sitting eager to see how the contest turned out and also learn more about each contestant. It’s truly different from anything I’ve read and I think kids who love cubing, contests, and graphic novels will enjoy this one.

Raina is just trying to enjoy being a sixth grader when an accident severely injures her two front teeth. Thus begins an unending series of visits to dentists and different treatment options. Throughout this process, Raina still has middle school to tackle. Her friends are sometimes insensitive toward the things that matter to her, and she’s finding herself newly developing crushes on boys, even as she’s too embarrassed to smile, thanks to the braces, headgear, retainer, and other contraptions she has to wear throughout the course of this book. Smile follows Telgemeier from sixth grade until high school as each attempt to rectify the situation with her teeth is stumped, and doctors are forced to try a different route.