School is almost out and that means your kids will need something to occupy them over summer break. The Small Press Spotlight has you covered! Holiday House and Pixel+Ink have a bunch of cool titles for readers as young as four years old. Take a peek at the details below!
Hoggy Went-a-Courtin’ (I Like to Read® Comics) by Ethan Long (Holiday House, for ages 4–8, on sale 6/14/2022)
No one can catch Hoggy on the court. He’s the best at dribbling, shooting, and scoring. But Hoggy is not the best when it comes to helping his teammates. To them, Hoggy showboats, over-dribbles, and doesn’t pass the ball.
When Hoggy’s fed-up friends ask him to leave the game, Hoggy is faced with a big decision. Will he stay angry, or will he apologize and be a better teammate? Ethan Long’s expressive, slapstick-style art shines in this story about teamwork, cooperation, and friendship—great for early comics and social emotion learning collections.
The Big Tree (I Like to Read® Comics) by Laura Knetzger (Holiday House, for ages 4–8, on sale 6/14/2022)
A touching and brightly drawn beginner comic from Ignatz Nominee Laura Knetzger, The Big Tree is heartfelt, tender, and warm. Kittens Max, Cantaloupe, and Melon love The Big Tree. In spring, they climb it. In summer, they stargaze on it. In autumn, they play in its leaves. It’s always been there. But now The Big Tree is sick and Melon and Cantaloupe’s parents have to cut it down. Max is sad to lose The Big Tree, but he’s even sadder for his friends. More than anything, Max wants to cheer them up. He thinks about it and thinks about it, and finally the perfect idea comes to him! The Big Tree is a perfect text for teaching beginning readers emotional intelligence, change acceptance, and the value of positive action.
Meet the Super Duper Seven (I Like to Read® Comics) by Tim Hamilton (Holiday House, for ages 4–8, on sale 7/12/2022)
The Super Duper Seven are the silliest superheroes you’ll ever meet! Electro-Elephant can charge your phone. Hip-No-Hippo can put bad guys to sleep. And Hungry Kitty and her four brave birds . . . . But where are the four brave birds? How can the Super Duper Seven stop crime when Hungry Kitty keeps eating members of the Super Duper team? Maybe a mouse named Mr. Polka dot can help! Tim Hamilton’s funny cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker and MAD Magazine.
Black Sand Beach 3: Have You Seen the Darkness by Richard Fairgray (Pixel+Ink, for ages 8–12, on sale 6/21/2022)
Dash and the crew are on a mission to save their summer vacation home from competing evils in the third installment in this creepy graphic novel series, perfect for fans of Gravity Falls, Rickety Stitch, and Fake Blood. After reading Dash’s journal from the previous summer–the one he swears he didn’t write, because he wasn’t at Black Sand Beach–the kids still don’t know what really happened to Dash that made him lose his memory. But they have bigger things to worry about. Like the face-eating monster they trapped out in the woods. Jumping back in time to 1994, the ghost girls that Dash befriended in his journal are alive and well. Their dad has brought them to Black Sand Beach to search for a monster. The one that’s now escaped, and terrorizing Black Sand Beach AGAIN.
*Correction: The on-sale date for Meet the Super Duper Seven has moved to 7/12/2022. Our original post read 6/14/22.
