by Sara Smith
​
Welcome back to another edition of My Top 15! This year, my picks are a bit darker and a bit more more mature than they have been in the past, but that may be a indictment on my mental state. I've been really intrigued by some of the more gritty and gripping stories that have been produced this year. I also served on School Library Journal's Best Manga of 2024 committee, so there's definitely going to be some overlap. As always, these are the favorite of what I've read this year, so some of these books may have been published in previous years and I just finally got around to them.

​All of these books were rated 9/10 or 10/10 -- but this is not every book I've rated that high this year! These titles had fantastic art, gripping storylines, stood out in their respective genres, or made me feel feelings. I hope you enjoy or find some of your favorites among this list, or discover some new and exciting reads!

Reviews marked with the following symbols will require premium subscriptions, or searches in your favorite library purchasing program: Booklist* or ​School Library Journal+.

by Sara Smith 
​
Welcome back to school 2024! 

​As you head back to your libraries and (hopefully) have some money to spend, check out my recommendations for some hot new titles from 2024 to purchase for your libraries that your students will (hopefully, again) enjoy! Some of these titles might just be new to me that I discovered over the last year, but others are new releases for all of us.

Some of these reviews require subscriptions to read: Booklist* or School Library Journal+​.

by Sara Smith 
​
First published - 4/18/2021
​
Not sure where to start with buying manga for your library? Don't worry, you're not alone.  This is probably the #1 question I get from school librarians.  So, to help you and many others out, here is a list of recommendations to start.

These series have stood the test of time and will hopefully make every scarce budget dollar be well worth it, but I've also linked full reviews so you can check them out for yourself and make sure they're right for your library collection.

by Sara Smith
​
This year, my reading challenge was a modest 200 books, a far cry from the heigh of 2020 where I had the goal of a book-a-day. But, this feels like a good balance between work, life, and reading! And, I still managed to find 15 great books with some honorable mentions while pumping out many reviews for Booklist  and the site, and even finding time to squeeze in School Library Journal this year. I hope you find some great books below to include in your collections!

(Note: any review marked with an * may require a Booklist​ subscription to read, or you might be able to find it among your favorite library purchasing software)

There are many associations and comic conventions that reward hard-working comics creators throughout the year for their diligence and hard work in bringing us fantastic stories for our shelves. Award nominees and winners are a good place to find beautiful stories to share with our students, just as award lists are helpful in other parts of our libraries.

Below are award winners and nominees for the year of 2023 from committees and library committees who have dedicated time to reading extensive lists of comics that are published in North America.

The awesome KC Boyd held another Boss Librarian PD to get us all pumped-up for the school year, so of course I had to share my best titles to buy for this fall! Check out my resources below:

Slide Show
bit.ly/BossSuper

​Title List
bit.ly/BossSuperGNs

This Spring, the New Jersey Association of School Librarians held a virtual mini-conference with the theme, "Hope and Healing." My presentation for this conference was "Manga that Heals the Soul." After all, there is an entire genre of manga, "iyashikei", that is meant to heal the reader. Many of these stories have something to do with animals and nature, so you'll find tons of cute animals all over my presentation. Check out my resources below:​

I'm back with another edition of "Supersize your Graphic Novel Collection", this time with some added goodies. In addition to the list of books I'd recommend from this year, I also gave attendees a list of EVERY book I've ever recommended from ANY of my various PDs! All in one place! Have fun!

by Sara Smith 
​
In 2022, I challenged myself to read 300 books, but that quickly became an unreasonable pace to keep with as I got more involved in things with my school. I re-set my sights on 250 books, and was ultimately successful.

From those 250, here are my Top 15, with 5 honorable mentions, and some shout outs to series I selected last year that kept churning out bangers in 2022.

(Note: any review marked with an * will require a Booklist​ subscription to read)