Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt (graphic novel) adapted and illustrated by K. Woodman-Maynard

The first week of August hangs at the very top of summer, the top of the live-long year, like the highest seat of a ferris wheel when it pauses in its turning. 

Natalie Babbitt wrote the captivating, poetic, beautiful novel Tuck Everlasting over 50 years ago. In it, Winnie Foster comes to love the immortal Tuck family and must decide whether or not to drink from the spring of eternal life. The original story is full of metaphor and images of wheels turning and time moving forward. It's a book that opened my mind when I first read it as a sixth grader in 1980. I am thrilled to say that this graphic adaptation beautifully captures that ache that Winnie Foster has to laugh and be loved, and the painful lessons she learns about staying on the wheel of time. The story has action (very important for young readers today) and includes a kidnapping, an evil pursuer, a potential execution, and life-or-death decisions. I absolutely love this story in its original form and in this lovely graphic novel. I am thrilled that it will bring Tuck Everlasting to a new generation of young readers. This book belongs in every elementary and middle school library. 

Anne of West Philly: A Modern Graphic Retelling of Anne of Green Gables by Ivy Noelle Weir, Myisha Haynes (Illustrator)

 

As a fan of Anne of Green Gables, I was excited to read this new graphic novel set in modern Philadelphia. Anne is a foster child taken in by Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert. She has a big personality and big dreams, and she makes new friends and finds a family to love her. Readers wouldn't have to know the story of Anne of Green Gables to enjoy this book, but those who do know the story will especially enjoy the way the author both follows and doesn't follow the original plot. Highly recommended for middle school libraries.