Token by Alisa Kwitney and Joelle Jones

Genre: Graphic Novel

Honors: None Found

Review: In this black and white illustrated novel Shira, 16-year old girl, attends a Jewish High School in Miami Beach, Florida.  She has a lot of trouble fitting in and spends most of her free time with her grandmother, and her elderly, yet spunky best friend Minerva.  Shiras’s already difficult life becomes more problematic when her father starts dating his secretary and shows no patience or understanding towards his daughter and her feelings about the relationship.  As an outlet for her frustrations Shira starts shoplifting and spending romantic time with a young man from Spain named Rafael.  Sadly, Shira's father dismisses his daughter's emotional difficulties and decides to marry his girlfriend and move Shira away from her home and her grandmother and Minerva. Shira's story will resonates with teenagers and the relationship between Shira and her father will engage teens that also feel misunderstood by their parents. 

Opinion: This was high-quality graphic novel with an interesting story. 

Ideas: This is a great graphic novel to recommend to teen girls that have difficulty getting into Manga because it reads left to right and follows the formula of a problem novel. 

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Genre: Graphic Novel

Honors: None Found

Review: The Plain Janes begins with a dramatic scene in which Jane, a teenage girl, is thrown to the ground by the force of an explosive.  Reminiscent of current tragic events, this explosion will strike a chord with readers and will allow them to watch the aftermath of a bomb attack through the eyes of survivor.  Told in both dialogue and through letters that Jane sends to a man also caught in the attack, but stuck in a coma, Jane describes her new life.  She moves from the city to the suburbs and decides she will save herself and the boring town with art.  Soon, Jane and her new friends, "The Plain Janes" are secretly creating artistic statements all over the town and are forcing people in the town  to re-think the ordinary. 

Opinion: I think this is a creative and original story.  This book is bound to inspire readers to reconsider the definition of art and to consider ways to be creative in their own lives.

Ideas: This would be a great graphic novel to recommend to artists.  

Emiko Superstar by Mariko Tamaki

Genre: Graphic Novel

Honors: None Found

Review: Welcome to the Freakshow!  Join Emiko on her journey of self-discovery as she goes from geek to superstar in this fantastic black and white graphic novel.  Emiko is having a boring summer spending most of her time babysitting until she is passed a flyer advertising a local freakshow.  After building up the courage to attend the Freakshow she realizes that it is really an underground performance troop and she becomes inspired to perform.  After unleashing her creative juices Emiko realizes that she, is in fact, an artist with much to offer the world.

Opinion: This is a great book for teen girls.  It is a positive and inspiring book and Emiko shows that self-expression is essential to happiness.

Ideas: Recommend this book to a girl that may not be interested in reading, she may be pleasantly surprised. 

Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner by Mark and Mary Willenbrink

Genre: Art, Watercolor

Honors: None Found.

Review: Artists and potential artists will be inspired to learn how to paint with watercolors once they see the gorgeous artwork on the title page of Watercolor for the Absolute Beginner.  This introductory book begins with a detailed description of required materials and the vocabulary associated with watercolor painting.  Next, artists will find several basic lessons demonstrating the various techniques associated with using this medium.  Once learners have gathered all necessary materials and have had practice with painting techniques they are ready for the third and final section of this book, Let's Paint!.  In this final section painters will learn different styles of painting and will be guided through several practice lessons.  Rich in visual descriptions done in detailed color, this is an informative and practical guide to learning how to paint with watercolors.

Opinion: This book is neatly and logically organized and the many images allow the reader to flip through the pages and easily find the needed information.  The examples in the book are stunning, yet simple enough for the beginner to replicate.

Ideas: Have a space in the library where students can practice drawing and painting.  If feeling inspired, create still life displays for students to paint. 

Draw Insects by Doug DuBosque

Genre: Art, Drawing

Honors: None Found

Review: Each page of this simple and straightforward guide has directions for drawing a different insect.  In addition to easy to follow step-by-step directions there are images of the drawings in the various stages of completion.  The combination of visual and written direction makes for an easy to follow great drawing book that will help even the most inexperienced artists to make realistic creepy-crawlers. 

Opinion: This is a fantastic book for beginning artists.  It is clear and does not require much previous experience with drawing.  Insects are a good starting subject to draw because they are generally simple and do not require a lot of detail to be recognizable. 

Ideas: Display this book with actual art created by students to inspire non-artists to try their hand at drawing.