By Casey Maynard
Children love books that defy traditional format categories: picture book biographies, early reader comics, longform illustrated novels, graphic novel nonfiction. The combinations offer endless variety for readers. Lucky for us, publishers are delivering! Here is a brief list of books on Iowa City Public Library’s new children’s shelves featuring more than one format.
Author-illustrator Julia J. Kim continues the beautiful tale presented in 2017’s Where’s Halmoni? in the follow-up Where’s Joon? Both picture book and graphic novel, Joon offers readers a legendary journey. A dynamic interweaving of full- and half-spread illustrations and paneled passages highlight Kim’s masterful execution of this bilingual tale. A guide to the character’s text in Hangul is presented in the back.
The River That Flows Beside Me by Charlotte Guillain, with illustrations by Jo Empson, is a stunning examination of river ecology from a mountaintop to the sea. Massive fold-out accordion pages illustrate the interactions between a river and the various environments encountered on its journey. Children will enjoy learning about the animals that call the river home and unfolding this adventure to the sea.
Littles will also delight in discovering who laid each set of eggs in Laura Gehl’s latest nonfiction board book, Who Laid These Eggs? Adorable illustrations by Loris Lora depict the eggs of various animals, while sturdy liftable flaps reveal the creature responsible for laying each. A simple and fun first look at egg-laying creatures, this would make a great gift for new families or first birthdays.
Thao Lam’s One Giant Leap is a wordless, paneled picture book and a great first graphic novel for pre-readers. Lam’s delightful combination of inventive panel constructions and full spread illustrations make for a fun and immersive reading experience.
Finally, Lisa Voisard’s dazzling Insectorama — in the vein of its predecessor Arborama — is a nonfiction coffee table picture book. Broken down into four distinct sections, Voisard helps readers define insects, gives tips for their identification and observation, and discusses evolutionary adaptations. A little too hefty to be a true field guide, this would make a lovely at-home reference book for entomologically minded youngsters. I anxiously await the U.S. release of the next installment in this nonfiction series, Ornithorama.
Be sure to check out the online catalog or visit the library in person for great programs and more fun new titles like these.
Casey Maynard is a children’s librarian at the Iowa City Public Library. This article was originally published in Little Village’s May 2024 issue.
