Books similar to Gunnerkrigg Court
September 17, 2018 5:52 AM Subscribe
Our ten-year-old is a reluctant reader. I gave her some of my Gunnerkrigg Court books and she tore through them. I'm looking for other books that might have the same appeal. Any recommendations?
Looking for physical books rather than webcomics, though webcomics-in-book-form are okay!
Looking for physical books rather than webcomics, though webcomics-in-book-form are okay!
Anya's Ghost (Vera Brosgol) might be a little too scary, but potentially okay if she's fine with Gunnerkrigg Court. Space Dumplins (Craig Thompson) is fantastic and age-appropriate.
Faith Erin Hicks makes great comics for this age range - I haven't read her Nameless City books but they look good.
Mariko and Jillian Tamaki also make brilliant comics (maybe ones to come back to in a year or two if your daughter doesn't click with them immediately, some are about slightly older teens). This One Summer and Skim are both great, mostly about feelings and teen girl friendships in a very deep and engaging sense; SuperMutant Magic Academy is a little lighter but also great fun.
Unsounded by Ashley Cope is also fantastic and hits a lot of the same spots for me as GK, but I think there are only a couple of volumes in print compared the to vast amount available online.
posted by terretu at 6:39 AM on September 17, 2018
Faith Erin Hicks makes great comics for this age range - I haven't read her Nameless City books but they look good.
Mariko and Jillian Tamaki also make brilliant comics (maybe ones to come back to in a year or two if your daughter doesn't click with them immediately, some are about slightly older teens). This One Summer and Skim are both great, mostly about feelings and teen girl friendships in a very deep and engaging sense; SuperMutant Magic Academy is a little lighter but also great fun.
Unsounded by Ashley Cope is also fantastic and hits a lot of the same spots for me as GK, but I think there are only a couple of volumes in print compared the to vast amount available online.
posted by terretu at 6:39 AM on September 17, 2018
Oh god do not do not do NOT give your ten year old Unsounded, I love it to bits but it is not suitable for tender hearted adults, much less a ten year old. (We are talking violence all the way to graphic torture, not to mention the sex bits.)
You can still, just barely, buy the Digger Omnibus in physical form, but it will sell out soon. All of it is available online, however!
posted by foxfirefey at 7:47 AM on September 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
You can still, just barely, buy the Digger Omnibus in physical form, but it will sell out soon. All of it is available online, however!
posted by foxfirefey at 7:47 AM on September 17, 2018 [4 favorites]
Our 11yo girl likes many of these already mentioned -- Bone (all 1300+ pages) was a particular favourite, but she also enjoyed Anya's Ghost, Space Dumplins, and Zita. Other comics not yet mentioned are the Hilda books (now a series on Netflix), Ottoline, and Nimona and other works by Noelle Stevenson, particularly Lumberjanes. Lately she's been devouring Maison Ikkoku by Rumiko Takahashi. And don't forget Tintin and Asterix.
posted by snarfois at 7:47 AM on September 17, 2018
posted by snarfois at 7:47 AM on September 17, 2018
Best answer: My kids really liked The Witch Boy, which has a good message about gender and is age appropriate. Also there's a sequel coming out soon!
posted by selfnoise at 8:16 AM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by selfnoise at 8:16 AM on September 17, 2018 [1 favorite]
They're a bit much for her at ten (there is sexuality, though it tends to be playful/pin-up rather than more graphic), but maybe in a couple of years you can hook her up with "gaslamp fantasy" graphic novel Girl Genius, about the adventures of mad teenage scientist Agatha Heterodyne, last of the Heterodynes. It'll take her about that long to get through Bone, anyway.
posted by praemunire at 8:30 AM on September 17, 2018
posted by praemunire at 8:30 AM on September 17, 2018
Might Jack, by Ben Hatke (author of Zita) is also great, as is the sequel, The Goblin King.
My son just finished the first volume of Five Worlds, which he loved very much.
I'm going to second Amulet and Bone, though, for fellow Gunnerkrigg fans. And Digger; I was able to borrow the individual volumes from my library instead of dealing with the enormous omnibus. Dang that's a good book.
posted by gideonfrog at 9:53 AM on September 17, 2018
My son just finished the first volume of Five Worlds, which he loved very much.
I'm going to second Amulet and Bone, though, for fellow Gunnerkrigg fans. And Digger; I was able to borrow the individual volumes from my library instead of dealing with the enormous omnibus. Dang that's a good book.
posted by gideonfrog at 9:53 AM on September 17, 2018
Also:
Afar
The Last of the Sandwalkers
The Three Thieves
Space Battle Lunchtime
posted by gideonfrog at 9:59 AM on September 17, 2018
Afar
The Last of the Sandwalkers
The Three Thieves
Space Battle Lunchtime
posted by gideonfrog at 9:59 AM on September 17, 2018
Phillip Pullman's Northern Lights trilogy is amazing. I read Gunnerkrigg Court a few years after I finished that and it gave me very similar thrills.
posted by yueliang at 10:15 AM on September 17, 2018
posted by yueliang at 10:15 AM on September 17, 2018
Has she tried Harry Potter yet? GC gets compared to HP a lot, especially the earlier volumes.
posted by trig at 2:29 PM on September 17, 2018
posted by trig at 2:29 PM on September 17, 2018
More Ursula Vernon -- the Hamster Princess books, and Castle Hangnail.
posted by clew at 3:29 PM on September 17, 2018
posted by clew at 3:29 PM on September 17, 2018
Response by poster: Thanks guys. I got Kid Marfa The Witch Boy and she loved it. We'll definitely try some of the rest.
posted by marfa, texas at 5:47 PM on November 9, 2018
posted by marfa, texas at 5:47 PM on November 9, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
--The Bone graphic novel series--these start super cute and get a little darker, but I think 10 year olds are still into them
--The Amulet series--these might be a little darker/scarier but are pretty popular with the kids I know
--Cleopatra in Space series
--Zita the Spacegirl
These are all kind of fantasy adventures with interesting girl characters, hopefully in that same GC wheelhouse. You could also see if she would be into comics like Squirrel Girl (also the two Squirrel Girl novels!) or Lumberjanes. Or more realistic stories like the Babysitter's Club graphic novels (the first few of those are by Raina Telgemeier, who has some GREAT standalone stories that might also work, though they aren't fantasy stories).
posted by leesh at 6:00 AM on September 17, 2018 [3 favorites]