Reading levels and needs
17 graphic novels for middle schoolers
Graphic novels are real reading and often the strongest hook for reluctant readers. These range from sixth-grade friendship stories to history and memoir.
Chosen from award lists, school and library reading lists, and reviews, and each title and author checked against Open Library, Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
New Kid
Jerry Craft · Ages 8-12
Jordan, a Black seventh grader, is sent to a mostly white private school and keeps a sketchbook of what he sees. First graphic novel to win the Newbery Medal.
Watch for: Microaggressions and racism, shown with humor.
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Smile
Raina Telgemeier · Ages 8-12
A graphic memoir of the author's dental disaster and middle school years. The book that made graphic novels a mainstay.
Watch for: Mild bullying.
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Guts
Raina Telgemeier · Ages 8-12
Raina's graphic memoir about anxiety and stomach trouble in fourth grade. Useful for kids who worry.
Watch for: Anxiety and mild bullying.
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Roller Girl
Victoria Jamieson · Ages 9-13
Astrid joins roller derby and her best friend drifts away. Graphic novel and a Newbery Honor.
Watch for: Friendship breakup.
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Real Friends
Shannon Hale and LeUyen Pham · Ages 9-13
Shannon's graphic memoir of fitting in with the popular group in fifth grade.
Watch for: Bullying.
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Amulet: The Stonekeeper
Kazu Kibuishi · Ages 8-13
Emily and her brother follow their mother's kidnapper into a fantasy world in this graphic fantasy series.
Watch for: Mild fantasy fighting.
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American Born Chinese
Gene Luen Yang · Ages 12-16
Three stories, including a Monkey King, that merge into one. First graphic novel to be a National Book Award finalist.
Watch for: Racial stereotypes shown to be criticized.
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Hey, Kiddo
Jarrett J. Krosoczka · Ages 12-16
A graphic memoir of growing up with a mother addicted to heroin and loving grandparents.
Watch for: Drug addiction and neglect.
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Brave
Svetlana Chmakova · Ages 9-13
Jensen, a day-dreamer, faces a bully in a graphic novel set at Berrybrook Middle School.
Watch for: Bullying.
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March: Book One
John Lewis · Ages 12-16
Congressman John Lewis's graphic memoir of the civil rights sit-ins. The first of three volumes.
Watch for: Racist violence and slurs.
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They Called Us Enemy
George Takei · Ages 12-16
Takei remembers being held in Japanese American incarceration camps as a child. A graphic memoir.
Watch for: Racism, family separation, and war.
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Dragon Hoops
Gene Luen Yang · Ages 12-16
Yang follows a Bishop O'Dowd high school basketball team to a state title while questioning his own life. A graphic nonfiction hybrid.
Watch for: Some adult themes and language.
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Pashmina
Nidhi Chanani · Ages 10-14
Priyanka finds a magic shawl that shows her India and the secrets her mother kept. A graphic novel.
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Persepolis
Marjane Satrapi · Ages 13-17
The author's black-and-white graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
Watch for: Torture, executions, and some sexual references; has been challenged.
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Maus I: A Survivor's Tale
Art Spiegelman · Ages 13-17
A son interviews his father about surviving Auschwitz, with mice as Jews and cats as Nazis. The first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer.
Watch for: Holocaust violence and suicide; one of the most challenged books.
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Boxers & Saints
Gene Luen Yang · Ages 13-17
Two graphic novels of the Boxer Rebellion, one from each side.
Watch for: Killing and brutality; a fairly graphic ending.
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Nimona
ND Stevenson · Ages 13-17
A shapeshifting girl becomes a villain's sidekick. Funny, then heartbreaking.
Watch for: Violence and some mature themes.
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More lists
Top 20 books for a 6th grader who is behind or reluctant
For a sixth grader who reads below grade level or avoids books, the choice is high interest and low reading demand: graphic novels, verse novels, short chapters, and real kid voices.
Top 20 books for an advanced 3rd grader
An advanced reader can decode long books but is still eight or nine.
Top 20 books for a 3rd grader who is behind or reluctant
These books use short chapters, big pictures or comic panels, and jokes to give a child a reason to turn the page.
Top 20 books for an advanced 4th grader
For a fourth grader reading at a middle-school level, the risk is not the words but the themes.
Top 20 books for a 4th grader who is behind or reluctant
Fourth graders who read below grade level often hate that the books they can read look babyish.
Top 20 books for an advanced 5th grader
A strong fifth-grade reader can handle the Victorian classics and long fantasy.
Top 20 books for a 5th grader who is behind or reluctant
These are fifth-grade-friendly in subject but lighter in text: graphic memoirs, school comics and a verse novel.
Top 20 graphic novels for grades 3 to 5
Graphic novels are real reading: panels teach inference, vocabulary and pacing.