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TOON Books are high-quality comics for kids. Check NEW RELEASES here. |
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INTEREST LEVEL: Ages 4+
READING LEVEL: Grades K-1 |
INTEREST LEVEL: Ages 5+
READING LEVEL: Grades 1-2 |
INTEREST LEVEL: Ages 6+
READING LEVEL: Grades 2-3 |
INTEREST LEVEL: Ages 7+
READING LEVEL: Grades 3+ |
Find the right TOON Book for every young reader:
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TOON Books represent a whole new approach to books for beginning and reluctant readers—a rethinking as radical as the first time Theodor Geisel put a hat on a cat. Each book is just right for reading to the youngest child, but this is also the first and only collection ever designed to offer early and reluctant readers comics they can read themselves.
Each TOON book has been vetted by educators to nurture young minds.The comic format helps every child master core reading comprehension strategies like Visualization & Imagining, Making Connections, or Retelling. With TOON Books, parents, caregivers, homeschoolers, teachers, and librarians can help every child become a lifelong reader, one who knows how to read for pleasure and for information—a reader who loves to read. "Comics are a gateway drug to literacy." —Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of Maus, A Survivor's Tale |
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OUT NOW: SHAPES AND SHAPES!
★★★ "If the Platonic ideal of the young children's comic both helps them interpret their world and introduces new ideas for them to explore and expand on, then Brunetti has brought that conceptual model into actual existence." – Booklist STARRED REVIEW
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Circles, triangles, and squares: the game is on!
Respected art professor IVAN BRUNETTI still remembers the fun he had playing with shapes as a kid. In the hands of the author/artist of Wordplay, 3x4, and Comics: Easy as ABC, shapes explode, divide, and multiply, offering young readers a basic yet exciting art and math lesson. Kids will laugh as they learn—and will also see the world in a new way. Brunetti deftly highlights the nature and logic of shapes, laying a foundation for geometry and illustration for readers of all ages! |
"A strong introduction to graphic novels . . . . Will have readers eagerly pointing out the shapes around them." — Kirkus Reviews
"Captures the fun of a bunch of kids getting their creativity into tip-top shape."— Publishers Weekly |
OUT NOW:
GOTTA GO!
"Owen, are you ready? Do you have to pee before we go?"
️★★★ “Wry, cool and spot-on….Charming… A perfect suggestion for read-alouds or one-on-one reading….A kid-friendly early reader graphic novel that hits all the right notes. You Gotta Go purchase for early elementary shelves.” - School Library Journal, STARRED review
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"Viva’s crisply stylized graphics employ a palette of flat black, white, and gray, accented with a certain yellow in a watercolorlike texture [...] Funny—and comically instructive." – Kirkus Reviews
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Owen says, “No,” but, before long, it’s, “Um…Mom…I gotta go!” He really should have listened and gone when he had a chance. Now, he’s squirming. Even thinking of something else isn’t helping. Luckily for him, grampa knows exactly what to do; he’s had a lot of practice over the years. He teaches Owen the best way to hold the urge off for just long enough, with the help of some fun and funky dance moves: the Tinkle Twist, the Wee-wee walk, the Piddle Patter, and the Leaky shake. Before long, Owen’s jumping in with some moves of his own! Artist Frank Viva, the acclaimed author of A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse and Young Frank, Architect, doesn't mind getting his feet wet as he dives into what can be a harrowing topic for children—and grampas—turning it into a hilarious, liberating, and joyful romp.
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NOW IN PAPERBACK: Two Essential TOON Books by Frank Viva!
Sea Change by Frank Viva
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Frank Viva's TOON Graphic Sea Change and Level 1 A Trip to the Top of the Volcano with Mouse join the previously released A Trip to the Bottom of the World with Mouse as affordable, but still beautifully produced softcovers. With A Trip to the Top of the Volcano with Mouse earning an Eisner nomination and Sea Change garnering praise from multiple starred reviews and authors like Lemony Snicket, both are sure to gain permanent placement on your shelf!
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A Trip to the Top of the Volcano with Mouse by Frank Viva
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PAUL BUNYAN: The Invention of an American Legend
“What do you do when you find out that a story you loved as a kid is a tall tale spun by an advertising man intent on justifying the clear-cutting of our ancestral lands by lumber companies?” |
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★★★ "Readers will come away ready to question what other falsehoods they’ve been fed about the history of marginalized people [...] An accessible and important reminder of how easily the truth can be coopted. "
-- Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW 
★★★ "Van Sciver is a master of subtle mockery." |
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★ A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection ★
"Enlightening. . . . [A] frank and accessible depiction of the environmental and economic impact of boom-bust industries . . . and how the Bunyan fiction perpetuated these systems."
--Publishers Weekly |
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In Paul Bunyan: The Invention of an American Legend, cartoonist Noah Van Sciver heads back to Minnesota in 1914 to uncover the creation of an American myth. The book takes place during a snowy train journey, when W. B. Laughead, a real-life advertising impresario employed by Minnesota’s Red River Timber Company, spins a yarn for his fellow travelers.In Laughead’s hands, a regional folk figure grows tall enough to touch the clouds, becoming the star of a colorful tale of frontier life that has obscured, for too long, the logging industry’s wholesale devastation of the region’s old-growth forests and its role in the systematic dispossession of Native peoples from their land and way of life.
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OUT NOW:
Is it a worm? Is it a snake? No! It’s a caterpillar…
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"An animated entry about a common backyard miracle…"
--Kirkus Reviews 
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Caterpillars: What Will I be When I Get to be Me? by Kevin McCloskey
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The caterpillar is on its way to one of the most magical transformations in the insect world, from a crawling digestive tube to a fluttering Glasswing, Luna moth, or Monarch. In Caterpillars: What Will I be When I Get to be Me?, the latest addition to KEVIN MCCLOSKEY’s beloved Giggle and Learn series, young readers will explore how caterpillars morph into the many different moths and butterflies that help pollinate our world.
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The essential best-selling, award-winning, teacher-approved sets:
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"Without a doubt, the best go-to option for parents looking for quality comics for early readers is the many graphic novels from Toon Books." — Mental Floss |
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A children's book about finally being seen!
A superb graphic storytelling of a classic Latin American folktale showcases the invisible labor of women and the contributions of Indigenous cultures.
Blancaflor, The Hero with Secret Powers
A Folktale from Latin America by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio García Sánchez Introduction by F. Isabel Campoy Also available in Spanish! |
"A visual delight." –The Horn Book Magazine, STARRED review
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"An energetic, girl-power addition to the fairy- and folktales shelf.” --Kirkus Reviews
Black Heroes of the Wild West:
an essential graphic novel for every young reader!
“Black Heroes of the Wild West is a brilliant and entertaining offering. Through sharp and evocative storytelling in the exciting medium of comics, lesser-known African American historical figures will be introduced to new generations of readers.”
—From the introduction by KADIR NELSON, winner of the 2020 Caldecott Award |
"Comics That Dismantle the White Cowboy Myth"
Read the "Black Heroes" Review |
And the award goes to.... a must-have guide to comics for all kids
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EISNER AWARD WINNER FOR BEST EARLY READER
The Eisner Awards are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, and sometimes referred to in the industry as the comic industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. 
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"Am I dreaming? (Pinches arm.) No, I guess I’m awake. I was surprised to learn that I won the Eisner Award, especially considering the other folks nominated. Incredible! I’m deeply honored to receive this recognition, and I hope my book will continue to be a helpful guide for budding cartoonists everywhere. Inspiring others to pick up a pencil and start drawing their own comics is the truly most gratifying part of my life."
— Ivan Brunetti 
Comics: Easy as ABC
by Ivan Brunetti |
Praise all around for TOON Books
