Good Manga for Elementary Libraries

5/7/2022

Finding appropriate manga for elementary readers can be difficult! Here's a quick list of all the manga I've reviewed that is appropriate for this age group and to which I gave a rating of 7/10 or more. I'll keep adding as I review more, so you might want to bookmark this page and check back to see what else I've found.

Additionally, you should definitely check out this list compiled by Ashley Hawkins, the Manga Librarian, which might have some overlap.

KINGDOM HEARTS BY SHIRO AMANo

Cover of Kingdom Hearts 1. Sora has his eyes closed and his arms outstretched.

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

NICHIJOU BY KEIICHI ARAWI

Cover of Nichijou volume 1. Several students are seated in their desks. There is a deer randomly on top of one of the desks in the back of the room.

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 reviews here: vol 1

Cardcaptor Sakura by CLAMP

Cover of Cardcaptor Sakura Collector's Edition volume 1. Sakura is dressed in a very frilly, flowy dress. She holds her staff, and Kero-san is flying in front of her.

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

CELLS AT WORK BABY BY YASUHIRO FUKUDA

Cover of Cells at Work Baby volume 1. Chibi Red blood san looks happy, holding a canister of O2. Scared White Blood Cell hides behind her. Behind both of them are other various cells.

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

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: LEGENDARY EDITIONS
BY AKIRA HIMEKAWA

Cover of The Legend of Zelda, Legendary Edition: Minish Cap & Phantom Hourglass. Link holds his sword and has the minish cap on, which looks kind of like the top half of a duck.

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

SPLATOON BY SANKICHI HINODEYA

Cover of Splatoon volume 1. The main inkling holds up his ink gun and looks to be in mid-run. He has his

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 reviews here: vol 1

FLYING WITCH BY CHIHIRO ISHIZUKA

Cover of Flying Witch volume 1. Makoto and her cat sit on the front porch of a house. She has a yellow sweater on.

Makoto and her cat move to the countryside for her to attend school and hopefully practice her magic. She often gets lost around town and meets new neighbors along the way. This is a very easy, low-stakes read that feels like a slice-of-life but with interconnected chapters.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 5-8

Read the full reviews here: vol 1

Ascendance of a bookworm by Miya kazuki

Cover of Ascendance of a Bookworm volume 1. Mine runs with a red book in her hands. She has bright blue hair and a blue dress on with a white apron.

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

POKÉMON BY HIDENORI KUSAKA

Cover of Pokemon adventures volume one. Red, the trainer, is running across the cover. he has a red jacket, black shirt, and blue pants on, with a red cap. Pikachu, a small yellow pokemon, is flying ahead of him, while a few other pokemon are running with him.

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

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES BY L. M. MONTGOMERY

Cover of Anne of Green Gables. Anne is holding on to her floppy hat. She has a yellow dress on, and behind her is a nice country house with blooming flowers.

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 reviews here

MY NEIGHBOR SEKI BY TAKUMA MORISHIGE

Cover of My Neighbor Seki volume 1. Yokoi and Seki are seated at their desks. Yokoi has out her classwork, but Seki is building a volcano on his desk.

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

KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF EIZOUKEN BY SUMITO OOWARA

Cover of Keep your hands off Eizouken volume 1. Asakusa with her survival back pack is climbing a latter up to Mizusaki and Kanamori, who are on a ledge above her

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

A MAN AND HIS CAT BY UMI SAKURAI

Cover of A man and his cat volume 1. Kanda is in a brown suit with a red tie, and he is holding his new cat, who is quite large and fluffy. He is mostly white with a brown spot on his head and brown paws. The cat is smiling up at Kanda. The rest of the cover behind them is yellow.

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

Witch hat atelier by kamome shirahama

Cover of Witch hat atelier volume 1. Coco is jumping across the cover in her teal jumper and teal hat. Behind her is a country scene with the atelier in the distance.

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.

Despite the teen rating on this series, I've read up to volume 8 and there's nothing so far that would make it inappropriate for elementary students. There are some darker parts with some of the evil witches, but nothing worse than the villains of cartoon movies.

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

THE FOX AND LITTLE TANUKI BY MI TAGAWA

Cover of The Fox and little tanuki volume 1. A fox and a much smaller tanuki are nose to nose. The fox looks really upset, while the tanuki is smiling.

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

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