Welcome back for the final week of the Top 10s of 2021!
This week I’ve got my favorite graphic novels and books by authors of Asian descent about people/characters of Asian descent I read in the past 12 months. If you are looking for a good read for yourself or someone you love, these are some of my top recommendations!
We have our books organized by genre in the Secondary Media Center I oversee, and the graphic novel/manga/comics section is by far THE most popular area. So over the course of a year I read a ton of graphic novels, manga, and comics trying to pick which new ones to add to satisfy the ravenous graphic novel devourers. I’m also always on the hunt for great Asian lit since we are in Asia and a huge chunk of our student population is of Asian descent.
In general, I’ve put my favorite book(s) on top and then in descending order, but considering many of these books beat out 100s of others in the same category, that’s a minor thing at this point. They are all amazing in my opinion if they’ve made these lists. I’ve set limiters for certain lists to help myself narrow things down, and all of these are books I've read in the past 12 months. I've also limited it to books that are already in our libraries at ICS, or books that are coming soon to our shelves.
You can click on the titles to read my full review of each book and any content notes/trigger warnings.
Here’s the Top 10s of 2021s Schedule for this year:
Dec 3: Nonfiction books
Dec 10: Fiction books
Dec 17: Graphic novels & Asian Lit
Some notes on terms:
Lower Grade (LG) books are aimed at Pre-K-3 grade readers
Middle Grade (MG) books are aimed at 3rd-8th grade readers
Young Adult (YA) books are aimed at teen readers
Top 10 Lower Grade Fiction Graphic Novels, Comics, Manga
(limited to 1 per author)
Bad Kitty Goes on Vacation (Bad Kitty, #14) by Nick Bruel
Leo and the Gorgon’s Curse (Brownstone’s Mythical Collection, #4) by Joe Todd-Stanton
Built for Speed (Layla and the Bots, #2) by Vicky Fang, ill. by Christine Nishiyama
Doggo and Pupper by Katherine Applegate, ill. by Charlie Alder
Kitty Sweet Tooth by Abby Denson, ill. by Utomaru
The Lost Camera (Bots, #8) by Russ Bolts, ill. by Jay Cooper
The Goblin Princess (Unicorn Diaries, #4) by Rebecca Elliott
Dinosaurs before Dark (Magic Tree House Graphic Novel, #1) based on the novel by Mary Pope Osborne, adapted by Jenny Laird, ill. by Kelly & Nichole Matthews
Let’s Go Swimming! (Hello, Hedgehog, #4) by Norm Feuti
Fair and Square (Unicorn and Yeti, #4) by Heather Ayris Burnell, ill. by Hazel Quintanilla
Top 10 Middle Grade Fantasy and Science Fiction Graphic Novels, Comics, and Manga
(limited to 1 per author)
The Girl & the Galdurian (Lightfall, #1) by Tim Probert
Katie the Catsitter (Katie the Catsitter, #1) by Colleen A.F. Venable, ill. by Stephanie Yue, color by Braden Lamb
Pepper Page Saves the Universe by Landry Q. Walker, ill. by Eric Jones
Flood-a-Geddon (Agent 9, #1) by James Burks
Shortcuts (Sanity & Tallulah, #3) by Molly Brooks
Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau
Mellybean and the Giant Monster (Mellybean, #1) by Mike White
Perfectly Normal (Ozy and Millie, #2) by Dana Simpson
The Sinister Substitute (Marvel Avengers Assembly, #2) by Preeti Chhibber, ill. by James Lancett
The Invasion: a graphic novel (Animorphs graphic novels, #1) based on the novel by K.A. Applegate, adapted by Michael Grant, ill. by Chris Grine
Top 10 Middle Grade Contemporary and Historical Fiction Graphic Novels, Comics, and Manga
(limited to 1 per author)
Yotsuba&! 15 (Yotsuba&!, #15) by Kiyohiko Azuma
Jacky Ha-Ha: a graphic novel (Jacky Ha-Ha graphic novels, #1) based on the novel by James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein, adapted by Adam Rau, ill. by Betty C. Tang
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte, ill. by Ann Xu
Wicked Epic Adventures (Wallace the Brave, #3) by Will Henry
Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd, ill. by Michelle Mee Nutter
Shirley & Jamila Save Their Summer (Shirley & Jamila, #1) by Gillian Goerz
Class Act (New Kid, #2) by Jerry Craft
Yuzu the Pet Vet 2 (Yuzu the Pet Vet, #2) by Mingo Ito
I Survived the Nazi Invasion: the graphic novel (I Survived graphic novels, #3) based on the novel by Tarshis
Twins by Varian Johnson, ill. by Shannon Wright
Top 10 YA & Adult Fiction Graphic Novels, Comics, and Manga
(limited to 1 per author)
Stranger Planet (Strange Planet, #2) by Nathan W. Pyle
Space Boy 10 (Space Boy, #10) by Stephen McCranie
Deliciously FoxTrot (FoxTrot, #43) by Bill Amend
Silver Spoon 15 (Silver Spoon, #15) by Hiromu Arakawa, translated by Amanda Haley
The Promised Neverland 7 (The Promised Neverland, #7) by Kaiu Shirai, ill. by Posuka Demizu
To All the Squirrels I’ve Loved Before (The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 12) by Ryan North, ill. by Derek Charm
I Love You More Than My Phone (Slothilda) by Dante Fabiero
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear 4 (Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Manga, Vol. 4) based on the novels by Kumanano, ill. by Sergei
Cats Are People, Too (Speed Bump) by Dave Coverly
Kakuriyo Bed & Breakfast for Spirits 5 (Kakuriyo Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 5) original story by Midori Yuma, adapted & ill. by Waco Ioka
Top 10 Middle Grade, YA, & Adult Nonfiction Graphic Novels, Comics, and Manga
Friends Forever (Real Friends, #3) by Shannon Hale, ill by LeUyen Pham
The Digestive System: a Tour Through Your Guts (Science Comics) by Jason Viola, ill. by Andy Ristaino
Big Apple Diaries by Alyssa Bermudez
Cold War Correspondent: a Korean War Tale (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, #11) by Nathan Hale
Escape at 10,000 Feet: D.B. Cooper and the Missing Money (Unsolved Case Files, #1) by Tom Sullivan
A Shot in the Arm! (Big Ideas That Changed the World, #3) by Don Brown
Blades of Freedom: a Tale of Haiti, Napoleon, and the Louisiana Purchase (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales, #10) by Nathan Hale
The American Bison: the Buffalo’s Survival Tale (History Comics) by Andy Hirsch
Spiders: Worldwide Webs (Science Comics) by Tait Howard
Jailbreak at Alcatraz (Unsolved Case Files, #2) by Tom Sullivan
Top 10 Asian MG/YA/Adult Fiction Books (about a character of Asian descent, written by an author of Asian descent)
(limited to 1 per author)
The Silence of Bones by June Hur
Lizard’s Tale by Weng Wai Chan
Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca
Keep It Together, Keiko Carter by Debbi Michiko Florence
The House on Silat Road (House on Palmer Road, #2) by Si-Hoe S.S. & Sim Ee Waun, ill. by Lim An-Ling
Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte, ill. by Ann Xu
K-Pop Confidential (K-Pop Confidential, #1) by Stephan Lee
Marshmallow & Jordan by Alina Chau
This Light Between Us by Andrew Fukuda
Rogue Heart (Rebel Seoul, #2) by Axie Oh
Top 10 Asian Fiction Picture Books & Lower Grade Fiction Chapter Books (about a character of Asian descent, written by an author of Asian descent)
Amy Wu and the Patchwork Dragon (Amy Wu, #2) by Kat Zhang, ill. by Charlene Chua
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho, ill. by Dung Ho
The Moose of Ewenki by Gerelchimeg Blackcrane ; illustrated by Jiu Er ; translated by Helen Mixter
Mindy Kim and the Birthday Puppy (Mindy Kim, #3) by Lyla Lee, ill. by Dung Ho
A New Year’s Reunion by Yu Li-Qiong, ill. by Zhu Cheng Liang
Danbi Leads the School Parade by Anna Kim
Where Three Oceans Meet by Rajani LaRocca, ill. by Archana Sreenivasan
My Day with Gong Gong by Sennah Yee, ill. by Elaine Chen
Watercress by Andrea Wang, ill. by Jason Chin
Sunday Funday in Koreatown by Aram Kim
Top 10 Asian Nonfiction Books (about a person/people of Asian descent, written by an author of Asian descent)
How (Not) to Save the World: the Truth about Revealing God’s Love to the People Right Next to You by Hosanna Wong
All Thirteen: the Incredible Cave Rescue of the Thai Boys’ Soccer Team by Christina Soontornvat
The Most Beautiful Thing by Kao Kalia Yang, ill. by Khoa Le
The Sakura Obsession: the Incredible Story of the Plant Hunter Who Saved Japan’s Cherry Blossoms by Naoko Abe
While I Was Away by Waka T. Brown
When Strivings Cease: Replacing the Gospel of Self-Improvement with the Gospel of Life-Transforming Grace by Ruth Chou Simmons
The House of Yan: a Family at the Heart of a Century of Chinese History by Lan Yan, translated by Sam Taylor
A Village with My Name: a Family History of China’s Opening to the World by Scott Tong
Journey of Heroes: the Story of the 100th Infantry Batallion and 442nd Regimental Combat Team by Stacey T. Hayashi, ill. by Damon Wong
Tiny Moons: a Year of Eating in Shanghai by Nina Mingya Powles
