18 Great Graphic Novels for 3-7th Graders + Writing Activities
July 20, 2026Stack Up the Good Reads! No Book Bans. Create Big Fans.
Award-winning author-illustrator, Patrick Girouard shared a quote on Threads by Friedrich Nietzsche: "You should not be afraid of someone who has a library and reads many books; you should fear someone who has only one book; and he considers it sacred, but he has never read it."
This got me thinking about book banning (often by those who react to a line but have not read or experienced the entire book) and about the real challenge librarians and reading teachers (specialists and interventionists) face in trying to get kids to expand their reading to crave reading more.
And I think about the perspective of a girl who has loved books for a lifetime, the girl who rode her wheels to the library, the one who read Goldilocks and the Three Bears more than any child in her hometown (with 7-8 sheets of ever improving signatures as proof)—and it lead to placing Mo Willem's Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs in her MFA critical thesis.
I think there's a whole lot to be said for libraries that do the following to support great book circulation and negate book banning.
Share a Link to Publishing Categories
Publisher Categories
Publisher Categories
Want to worry less about right reading reader content?
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Set up L Leveled Readers, E Easy or Every Readers that are NOT P Picture Books. Really honor the categories that are published today. It helps to keep the library books in direct support of Reading Interventionists and Reading Specialists and all teachers District wide who have concerns about selecting the right book for the right reader.
These books are set up for learning how to read independently, and that's a hug part of Pre-K to 2nd Grade reading goals. Hallmark of these titles include one thought per line. Short sentences. Repetitive words. Repeating statements between characters. And written paying attention to rhythm and sound. Books are both oral and aural—or what I love to call it: Writing to Mind, Heart and Ear.
Notice the Single Letter Call out for each category? Why do I use this? In ALEX, if I used R Real Story Nonfiction, I can then enter only the R and space for my call number and this category will pull into view. It really saves time and streamlines efficiencies, especially while whole classes are exploring new reads.
Create A Real Story Section for Readers
Want your school to know your top nonfiction picks?
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Set your schools up with R Real Story Nonfiction, and R Real Story Biography and host them on a special shelf that screams, These! These, right here, are my Top Nonfiction Picks! Looking for a tie in to a classroom activity. Look here! Need a great read aloud? Look here!
These books are written by the best of the best and published by some of the top publishers. You are doing everyone a solid by pulling these and displaying them prominently inside your library—as well as showcasing them online.
These books are, what one principal called, the ideal read and what happens when fiction and nonfiction have a baby? In ALEX, the BROWSE feature, shown here, allows me to showcase the many books in this section in a front-facing cover display. What more could you ask for?
Improve Reading by Serializing Collection
Want to improve reading my gangbusters?
PROBLEM SOLVED!
Serialize! Serialize! Serialize! No kidding. This is the way kids interact with the library. Students come in and want Pinkalicious or DogMan or and host them on a special shelf that screams, These! These, right here, are my Top Nonfiction Picks! Looking for a tie in to a classroom activity. Look here! Need a great read aloud? Look here!
These books are written by the best of the best and published by some of the top publishers. You are doing everyone a solid by pulling these and displaying them prominently inside your library—as well as showcasing them online.
These books are, what one principal called, the ideal read and what happens when fiction and nonfiction have a baby? In ALEX, the BROWSE feature, shown here, allows me to showcase the many books in this section in a front-facing cover display. What more could you ask for?
SERIES Titles Search
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Want to Speak to Banning Book Bans?
Want embrace the concept of readers read to help others?
PROBLEM SOLVED!
One of the best talks I listed to that really changed my perspective on encouraging reading was Jason Reynold's 2019 Talk, "The Library Within Us."
When we think about filling our students with life experiences and information that help them and help them help others, it's a brilliant celebration of what it means to share an unfolding story in the pages of a book.
It's a powerful way to share all there is to celebrate in every book in a library. No book bans about it. Give his chat a listen:
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