Great Graphic Novels for Teens and other distinctions

The American Library Association Midwinter Meeting was this past weekend, and there has been a flurry of announcements since then. While a number of graphic novels won awards last year, most notably the Geisel award for Benny and Penny in the Big No-No, there was just one this year: Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri and Randy DuBurke, was named a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. In addition, the Association of Jewish Libraries gave the Sydney Taylor Book Award in the Older Readers category to Barry Deutsch’s Hereville, and they also named Resistance, by Carla Jablonski and Leland Purvis, a Sydney Taylor Honor Book.

But the big news this week was the release of the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, compiled by a committee that included our own Mike Pawuk. The full list is here, and below is the GGNFT Top Ten list, with links to the publishers’ and creators’ pages so you can find more information.

1. The Zabime Sisters, by Aristophane
2. Green Monk, by Brandon Dayton
3. Saturn Apartments, vol. 1, by Hisae Iwaoka
4. Brain Camp, by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, and Faith Erin Hicks
5. Chew, vol. 1: Taster’s Choice, by John Layman and Rob Guillory
6. Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty, by G. Neri and Randy Duburke
7. Meanwhile, by Jason Shiga
8. Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
9. Ghostopolis, by Doug TenNapel
10. Set to Sea, by Drew Weing