by Sara Smith
First published: 5/7/22 Updated 4/1/2024 Updated 8/11/2025 Finding age relevant manga for elementary readers can be difficult, so I sympathize with all of my library friends out there who are trying to satiate our younger, voracious readers! Elementary manga, known as "kodomomuke" in Japan (or just kodomo) often revolves around video game adaptations, animal stories, or stories that teach morals and lessons. You'll notice some of those themes within this list and other resources as you do your collection development. If your readers are tired of video game stories, sorry! That's kind of what's out there for the age group. The manga on this list are all titles I've read and reviewed that received a rating of 7/10 or higher. Feel free to bookmark this page, as I'll continue to update it periodically and add more titles to it. Additionally, you should definitely check out Ashley Hawkin's list and her website. Note: These titles are listed in alphabetical order by title of series. Key: some reviews may require subscriptions: Booklist* or School Library Journal+ alice in kyoto forest
Since a tragic traffic accident took both her parents at a young age, Alice has lived with her aunt and uncle and their many children. She aspires to go to high school, but her grumpy uncle has made it very clear that he has neither the patience for her. After seeing an ad in a paper for new maikos in her home city of Kyoto, Alice jumps at the chance to return. But, the Kyoto she finds upon arrival is now what she expects. Everything is slightly off - streets and shrines aren’t where she expects; no one seems to pay for anything with money; and, there are anthropomorphized animals talking to her.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-8 Read the full review here: vol 1, alpi the soul sender
In this magical tale, Alpi is a young girl who has a very important task. Great spirits bestow blessings on the regions where they live, but when they die, their bodies infect the land with terrible energy and plague the very people they once blessed. Soul Senders travel far and wide and help to send these spirits on to the afterlife and cleanse the land, but they do so at a great physical cost.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-8 Read the full review here: vol 1, ANNE OF GREEN GABLES
This version of the classic story is part of the Manga Classics line from UDON Entertainment. They are faithful adaptations written in manga style, so this is another way to get these stories into the hands of students.
Sara’s Rating: 7/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full review here beyblade x
***NEW***
Amateur Beyblader Robin has been waiting for his shot at the pros, and his chances have never been better now that he has a team up with the super talented Blader X! The popularity of Beyblades ebbs and flows, but this adventurous manga about teamwork and achieving your dreams has all the qualities of a great story that kids will find enjoyable even when the toy isn't as hot anymore. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-8 Read the full review here: vol 1* Cardcaptor Sakura
Sakura is a fourth grader who accidentally released a deck of magical cards, and now she is tasked with collecting them again before they wreak havoc all over Tokyo. This is a pretty sweet magical-girl series with plenty of beautifully illustrated magic sequences and lots of elaborate costumes. There are a couple of strange romantic relationships, like one between a teacher and a student, but it's not a main focal point of the series.
Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-8 Read the full reviews here: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4, vol 5, vol 6 CELLS AT WORK BABY
This spin off of the main story of Cells at Work is about a baby body with baby cells, and all of them are drawn in a chibi style (large eyes, puffy cheeks, short limbs). This is a really cute story and a way for elementary students to start learning some biology. And, because the body is presented like a factory, there are no images of a human body that would be inappropriate for the age group.
Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 charles schulz: the creator of snoopy and peanuts
***NEW***
From the folks who bring you Manga Classics - this biography follows Schulz from his childhood, through his service in WWII, to his first jobs as an amateur cartoonist, and the evolution of the creation of his immensely popular Peanuts cartoon strip. Readers will also learn about his family and some of his challenges he faced throughout his life. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 6-10 Read the full review here: vol 1* My Clueless First Friend
***NEW***
Takada is a 5th grade transfer student, and Nishimura is a bit of a gloomy girl that everyone else calls "The Grim Reaper." Takada is determined to figure how what makes her so special to get such a cool nickname, and what he finds is an awesome friend and someone who makes him happy to be around. Other classmates try to make fun of Takada for being around Nishimura, but Takada's carefree attitude turns all their jabs around and makes everything backfire. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-10 Read the full review here: vol 1 creepy cat
***NEW***
Flora is a mysterious girl with a penchant for painting who inherits a macabre mansion in a likewise eerie town. Unbeknownst to her, her new residence also comes with a creepy cat that can multiply infinitely, see ghosts, travel to other dimensions, and converse with otherworldly creatures. Even though she is at first frightened by the cat, Flora begins to love the cat and becomes distressed when the cat goes missing. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 dragon ball z
***NEW***
Five years after the events of Dragon Ball, the world is peaceful, and Goku has a son named Son Gohan after his grandfather. The two visit the Turtle Master and Bulma happens to be there. In another part of the world, a spacecraft crash lands and out steps a powerful being, Raditz, who immediately scans and finds Piccolo, Goku’s arch nemesis. The mysterious alien dispatches Piccolo pretty easily and continues to scan for powerful beings when he lands on Goku. There is a bit of a time jump between Dragonball and Dragon Ball Z, but there's enough to fill in the blanks that readers can jump in at this point and be fine. The bawdy humor that gives Dragonball a bad wrap has mostly subsided by this point, so Dragon Ball Z is a better series to collect for those wanting to grab this perennial favorite. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 6-12 Read the full review here: vol 1 Dragon Quest: The Adventures of Dai
Dai is the lone human inhabitant of Dermline Island, which has become a haven for monsters. Dai has befriended many of the monsters, who are mostly well-behaved wild creatures now. A few quests of adventurers find the island and try to make names for themselves or cash in on fortunes in monster bounties, but Dai thwarts them at every turn.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-9 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 THE EVIL SECRET SOCIETY OF CATS
The evil secret society of cats has one mission: to make humans fear the feline race! To that end, a motley cast of cats is here to take over the lives of unsuspecting folk and all media they consume. Under the leadership of the Feline Commander is Dr. Meow, with his fiercer creations, including Robocat, Queen, and Destroyer. Fighting to save humanity is Doggoman and his little sister who have trained under the wise Master Yorkshire.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 falling in love with a traveling cat
***NEW***
Fluffy kitty Mufosand and his cast of adorable friends prepare to go on vacation by providing tips on what to pack to have a good time. They visit an aquarium and talk about the fish one might see. They visit an amusement park and go on lots of fun rides. They also visit hot springs and enjoy a relaxing dip. Mufosand also likes food, so they dress up as the regional dishes from all over Japan and celebrate different cuisines. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 1-4 Read the full review here THE FOX AND LITTLE TANUKI
Senzou was a terribly powerful magical beast who now must serve a penance of raising a little tanuki to be a good servant of the gods. This is a classic odd-couple comedy but with cute Disney-type animals.
Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-8 Read the full reviews here: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, in the name of the mermaid princess
***NEW***
Princess Mio has grown up her whole life thinking that “unhumans” are terrible and need to be banished from her kingdom. The trouble is, she is a mermaid! Her father and chief scientists have been researching how to rid her of this terrible affliction before her wedding to the prince from the neighboring kingdom. When her tutor arrives to make her ready for her betrothed, Mio discovers that it might just be her kingdom that holds these views, and that if she embraces her mermaid side, she might have incredible powers! Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 6-10 Read the full reviews here: vol 1*, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4 KINGDOM HEARTS
Kingdom Hearts is a mash-up between two favorite universes: Disney. and Final Fantasy. Disney has repeatedly created worlds that captivate our imaginations, and there are an abundance of Final Fantasy video games with iconic characters. The manga capture the main storylines from each of the games, which has an added bonus - many of the games were console exclusives, and quite a few are on consoles that no longer exist, so some students may be able to catch up in this vast universe by reading the manga instead of tracking down the games.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability : Grades 3-12 Read the full review here THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LEGENDARY EDITIONS
This five-volume series brings the storyline of many Zelda games to manga form. While Zelda games are not always connected to one another in a congruent timeline, this is still a great way for students to catch up on previous games from decades past.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability: Grades 3-12 Read the full review here LITTLE WITCH ACADEMIA
Akko is determined to be a witch. She will follow in the footsteps of her favorite witch, Chariot, who attended Luna Nova Witchcraft Academy. The major obstacle to her attaining her hopes and dreams is that she is not magical -- yet. Going to witch school is nothing like Akko thought it would be! Classes are not as interesting as she would hope, and she hasn't mastered flying a broom. Plus, lots of other witches make fun of her for not being from a magical family.
Sara's Rating: 7/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-7 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 A MAN AND HIS CAT BY
Kanda, a widower, adopts an older, much fluffier cat, from the adoption center full of kittens. The two are a comfort and relief to one another.
Because this does deal with death and grieving, this is better suited for older audience or students who may be processing grief themselves. Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1, vol 2, minecraft
***NEW***
Ten-year-old Nico decides he's going to follow in his adventurer-father's footsteps, so he sets out to find the End of the World. Along the way, he meets Gray, a kid who has been cursed to look like a zombie. This is an adventurous and humorous manga that would be perfect for elementary library shelves. Readers don't have to have much familiarity with the Minecraft game to read this story, though it probably would help cement favoritism with characters and the story. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-7 Read the full review here: vol 1* MIRACULOUS TALES OF LADYBUG & CAT NOIR
Adapted by Koma Warita, illustrated by Riku Tsuchida
Guarding the streets of Paris is the adorable duo, Ladybug and Cat Noir, whose secret identities are teenagers Marionette and Adrien. When they’re not their superhero selves, Marionette tries to navigate being a teenager, which means babysitting, dealing with class projects with the stuck up preppy girl, and trying to confess her feelings for Adrien. Meanwhile, Adrien tries to deal with his crush on Ladybug! Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-8 Read the full review here: vol 1 MY NEIGHBOR SEKI
Seki is constantly putting elaborate games, battlescapes, or other crazy things on the top of his desk instead of paying attention in class. But Yokoi, his neighbor, is the one who gets in trouble by being distracted. Seki is always miraculously on task when the teacher calls on him, or knows the exact answer, or has all of it cleared off, just in the nick of time to not get in trouble. This is a pretty funny story, and it's interesting to see all the different things Seki gets up to.
Sara’s Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1, vol 2 NICOLA TRAVELING AROUND THE DEMONS WORLD VOL 1
Nicola is a human girl and a struggling witch, saved by the demon Simon, who now finds herself traveling incognito in the Demon World, where humans aren't allowed. The two of them make a bit of an odd couple as they travel around. Simon peddles trinkets and some possibly fraudulent pieces in his attempt to make a living in what can sometimes be a hostile world.
Sara's Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-8 Read the full review here: vol 1, vol 2 Penguin and House
Hayakawa and his pet Penguin, Pen-chan, live in a normal apartment while Hayakawa attends university classes. Pen is an amazing pet - he helps around the house, does the shopping, cooks delicious and elaborate meals, cleans the apartment and does Hayakawa's laundry, and tries to do everything he can to make Hayakawa happy.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-12 Read the full review here: vol 1 POKÉMON
Pokémon is an adventure story following "trainers" - young people who capture creatures known as Pokémon and train them to compete in various tournaments. There are several different story arcs within the Pokemon series, so buying arcs instead of the full series makes this a little less daunting. Each arc follows a different trainer, and characters from other arcs make appearances, but are not always integral to the story.
Sara's Rating: 7/10 Suitability: Grades 3-12 Read the full review here SPLATOON
Teams of inklings battle against each other to cover an arena in their color ink. This is based on a popular video game with the same premise, so the manga adds character and backstory to the inklings.
Sara's Rating: 7/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-8 Read the full review here: vol 1 SWEETNESS AND LIGHTNINg
Widower Inuzuka is very busy teaching and raising his young daughter, and he relies often on food from the Konbini (convenience store). While at a park celebrating the bloom of the Sakura trees, Inuzuka runs into a young woman who has a delicious picnic lunch from her professional chef mother. She invites the two of them to the restaurant to try the food for themselves.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 6-12 Read the full review here: vol 1 Tokyo Mew Mew
Earth is under attack from aliens who are disgusted by the way humans are destroying the planet. They infect animals with chimera properties to make monsters. A rich high schooler and a “café owner” want to protect the world from these aliens. They infuse five girls with “red data” animal DNA - DNA from endangered animals - to become warriors against the chimera animals.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 twisted wonderland
***NEW***
This is a manga adaptation of the popular mobile game that blends Japanese animation style with Disney characters. There are several series to collect and read in a particular order, as series reference events that happen in previous series: Book of Heartslabyul Book of Savanaclaw Book of Octavinelle Book of Scarabia Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 6-12 Read the full reviews here: Heartslabyul vol 1*, Savanaclaw vol 1+, Octavinelle vol 1+ unico
***NEW***
A brave and inquisitive young unicorn named Unico who befriends anyone he comes across draws the ire of the jealous goddess Venus because of his influence on humanity. She banishes him but Zephyr takes pity and hides Unico throughout time, wiping his memory to hide him from the vengeful goddess. In one such trip through time, Unico finds himself in the care of the Neighborhood Watch Cat Chloe who hopes to find herself a witch, but secretly wishes she could be human to fully fend for herself. Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-6 Read the full review here: vol 1 warriors
***NEW***
The Warriors stories follow several clans of wild cats as they try to survive the harsh conditions and against other predators. This adaptation of Erin Hunter's Warriors book series brings a perennial favorite to a new audience. With full color illustrations and reading left to right, it feels a bit more like a graphic novel than manga, but it can also be a good introductory read to comics for young readers. Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 4-6 Read the full review here: vols 1-9+ Witch hat atelier
Coco accidentally discovers magic and turns her mother into stone. Now, she's been accepted into an Atelier to hone her magical abilities, but the world of magic is not as sparkling and beautiful as she was led to believe.
In volume 9 of this series, one of the witches remembers being sexually assaulted as a child, but none of the assault is lived on the page. Everything is hinted, but it is still painful and poignant. While some of our youngest readers may experience these traumatic moments, it may be best to leave this part of the series to middle school readers who are more equipped to handle that experience and know who to seek if they feel they need to speak with a trusted adult. Up until that point, volumes 1-8 are beautiful and perfectly fine to be enjoyed by our younger readers. Sara’s Rating: 10/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3, vol 4, vol 5, vol 6, vol 7, vol 8 WONDER CAT KYUU-CHAN
One day, as Hinata walks by a free kitty in a box, he decides to adopt it and names it Kyuu-chan. Kyuu-chan turns out to be adorable and makes Hinata's life more interesting! Kyuu-chan loves playing with toys, but more than that, Kyuu-chan loves spending time with Hinata, including curling up inside his scarf. Kyuu-chan also loves snacks and getting his fur on the bottom of Hinata's pant legs. The two are always doing things for each other, including Kyuu-chan traversing half the city and the subway to bring Hinata his forgotten lunch!
Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 additional titles
These series have appeared on previous versions of this list list, but might be a bit older or not as popular with current readership. They are still fantastic titles, but if you're looking to maximize your budget dollars, consider purchasing the series above first, then moving on to these if you have leftover money.
Ascendance of a bookworm
This adorable tale follows Mine, who is actually a bookworm from another world reincarnated into a frail young girl. She has been devastatingly been born into a world where books are extremely rare and paper is expensive! But she'll do anything to make books
Sara's Rating: 9/10 Suitability Level: Grades 3-8 Read the full reviews here: vol 1, vol 2, vol 3 KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN
This school-life story follows three young students as the form a club dedicated to drawing and producing manga. They originally tried to join the already established Anime Club on campus, but they quickly found the club was not focused on creation, but consuming. The three girls have skills that perfectly complement one another.
Sara's Rating: 7/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full reviews here: vol 1 NICHIJOU
A slice-of-life school comedy following the lives of several students. One of the students is a robot desperately trying to hide she's a robot, despite the very large wind-up key protruding from her back.
Sara's Rating: 7/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full review here: vol 1 Talli, daughter of the Moon
Talli and her faithful knight escape her castle as it is sieged, and they must rely on an old merchant and his son to evade further pursuits. The four are helped along the way by true believers who recognize Talli for who she really is: a descendent from the Moon Goddess, and the last Summoner.
Sara's Rating: 8/10 Suitability Level: Grades 5-12 Read the full review here: vol 1
8 Comments
2/29/2024 09:44:54 am
Sara, thank you for curating these booklists for school librarians! They have allowed me to have the confidence and back-up to adjust our Sora access levels so that younger manga fans can choose more manga series to read. For example, in OverDrive Marketplace, NICOLA TRAVELING AROUND THE DEMONS WORLD was listed as "Adult" and had not been checked out as a result. I bet they will now!
Sara Smith
3/4/2024 07:53:22 pm
I'm so glad this was helpful, and I hope Nicola gets checked out more! It's a delightful little series!
EmilyA
11/18/2025 08:37:30 am
Thank you so much for this list! I have a lot of students who want to read Manga, so this list is helpful in finding titles that are age-appropriate!
Sara Smith
11/29/2025 10:35:10 am
I'm glad this list is helpful! Thanks for the kind words.
Lacie McCarter
3/21/2026 09:52:50 pm
Thank you for this! It is a very helpful list with great information and I'm so glad I found it. I'm new to manga, but my kids have discovered a few series they like and it is nice to find so many family friendly options in one place.
Sara
3/23/2026 09:23:28 pm
I'm so glad this is helpful! for you! Thank you, Lacie!
Vicky
6/30/2026 10:26:27 pm
Some of these are in the style of manga, but are not actually manga, like Unico. It's written and formatted in the Western style, not the Japanese style. We have it in our library. Personally I think they don't belong on this list because of that.
Sara
7/8/2026 02:00:32 pm
Hi Vicky, Leave a Reply. |
Info PostingsThis section is where I will post general information about graphic novels, lists, news, or other things I feel are relevant to the development of graphic novel sections in libraries.
About MeI've been reading Manga and comicbooks for years. Now, it's time to share my knowledge with you.
Categories
All
SEARCH THIS SITE
|
© 2026 Sara Campbell |
|
|
