Category: Children’s

Are You A Friend Of Dorothy? by Kyle Lukoff & Levi Hastings

subtitled The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped. Hand to God, I did not know that the Dorothy of this saying wasn’t a real person! I always assumed it was an allusion to Dorothy Gale, the heroine of The Wizard Of Oz so iconically portrayed by Judy Garland in …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/11/19/are-you-a-friend-of-dorothy-by-kyle-lukoff-levi-hastings/

The Paper Bridge by Joelle Veyranc & Seng Soun Ratanavanh

translated into English from the original French by Katy Lockwood-Holmes. What a gorgeous, glorious book! I’ve been so bowled over by the art in children’s books of recent years, but this may be by far the best illustrated picture book I’ve ever had the privilege of reading. Most of the credit goes, ofc, to Seng …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/11/13/the-paper-bridge-by-joelle-veyranc-seng-soun-ratanavanh/

Maybe Just Ask Me! by Katie Mazeika

A good friend of mine has a slight but noticeable disability, and one of the first things he ever said to me was “Ask me about it.” That, in no small part, fueled my desire to read and review this title. Mazie is ready for her first day at a new school. She and her …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/10/30/maybe-just-ask-me-by-katie-mazeika/

The Luna Sisters Battle For The Moon Blossom by Dan Yaccarino

OMG, Idk why I assumed this would be based on Asian mythology. That one’s on me, lol. The Luna sisters are actually extraterrestrial and live on the moon. The house they live in is perfectly divided between the Bright and Dark sides. Lucy stays on the Bright side, whereas Nera prefers to stick to the …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/10/22/the-luna-sisters-battle-for-the-moon-blossom-by-dan-yaccarino/

Snap! Crunch! Munch! by Diana Castillo

Oh, I shouldn’t have read this while I’m hungry, now I’m craving Cuban food! This delightful picture book* tells the story of a young boy whose relatives come over for family dinner. As they all sit around the table and dig in to the various dishes that they’ve contributed, the narrator begins to imagine everyone …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/10/14/snap-crunch-munch-by-diana-castillo/

Night Light by Michael Emberley

I continue to be confused by the distinction between picture book and graphic novel in this line of I Like To Read comics, but when the results are as outstanding as they are here, it seems unusually pedantic (even for me!) to quibble. Night Light is another beautiful book from Michael Emberley’s series featuring a …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/10/08/night-light-by-michael-emberley/

Spotlight On Ariana Grande & Spotlight On Cynthia Erivo by Elizabeth Dennis, Hunter M Green & Ruth Burrows

or some (honestly quite excellent) combination of the three. Listen, I read a lot of gossip and entertainment magazines. It’s a running joke in my trivia circles that I get the vast majority of my news from Us Weekly and Variety. So, as an adult, I am tamping down all the salacious details I know …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/09/24/spotlight-on-ariana-grande-spotlight-on-cynthia-erivo-by-elizabeth-dennis-hunter-m-green-ruth-burrows/

Sky & Ty 2: Dinomite! by Steve Breen

I have not yet been fortunate enough to get my hands on the first book in this series but that certainly didn’t dampen any of my enjoyment of this charming graphic novel for children, which works perfectly well as a standalone. Sky and her Tyrannosaurus Rex pardner make up the fastest delivery service in the …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/09/18/sky-ty-2-dinomite-by-steve-breen/

What Happens After? by Diane Namm & Laura Jager

I really needed to read this terrific book, on the heels of Lauren Munoz’ absolutely devastating (to me) YA mystery Very Dangerous Things, which triggered yet another round of grief over a long-ago loss that I’m still trying to grapple with. The nice thing about What Happens After? is that it doesn’t try to dive …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/26/what-happens-after-by-diane-namm-laura-jager/

Recommended New and Upcoming Graphic Novels for every life stage

two teens look into each others' eyes on the cover of angelica and the bear prince

It is tempting to begin this roundup with the timeworn lede, “Comics! They’re not just for kids any more!” I’ve been rolling my eyes at that one for decades at this point, as mainstream reviewers seemingly “discover” that sophisticated graphic novels exist, over and over again. In fact, the graphic novel is a form that …

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2025/08/25/18443/