I have six nieces and nephews ages 4-22 to buy for this year. Usually everyone gets "books from Aunt Lauren" (thank goodness they are all readers) and I have systematically introduced them to all of my favorite books and series over the last 10 years. It's become a tradition that we all enjoy.
This year I decided to switch up the theme from books to graphic novels/comic omnibus. There have been some great titles out there lately, and it's time to try and start them on the path of not only book readers, but comic lovers. (BTW - they don't read our blog, so hopefully my gift secrets are safe with you all!)
This year I decided to switch up the theme from books to graphic novels/comic omnibus. There have been some great titles out there lately, and it's time to try and start them on the path of not only book readers, but comic lovers. (BTW - they don't read our blog, so hopefully my gift secrets are safe with you all!)
 | My oldest 'niece' - who is actually my nephew's longtime girlfriend - is a southern country girl/tom-boy type. So for her I picked Lumberjanes Vol. 1. It includes Issues 1-4 of this well reviewed, female led comic series. Described as "It’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Gravity Falls and features five butt-kicking, rad teenage girls wailing on monsters and solving a mystery with the whole world at stake" It seemed like a perfect fit. |
| For my oldest nephew, I bought Dresden Files: War Cry. When he turned 16, I introduced him to Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series - which he devoured - and is a shared favorite for us both. With no new book out for a while, Butcher's original comic story seemed a good fit. The story takes place during the Red Court Wars when Harry is in charge of training new Warden recruits. |  |
 | My oldest niece is obsessed with superheroes. She maintains that she will someday 'marry the Hulk' - not Bruce Banner, The Hulk. She's weird. I love her to pieces. With the MCU super focused on male heros, I decided to introduce her to A-Force Vol. 0: Warzones! A series that launched this year with an entirely female team of Avengers. |
| My middle nephew is obsessed with zombies. Apparently, the family watches the TV series The Walking Dead together religiously. So it was a 'no brainer' to get him The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye - the first compendium in the classic series. Also, with 24 volumes out so far (and 25 due out next April) it will be an easy gift giving series for birthdays & holidays for many times to come! |  |
 | My youngest niece, is a budding theater nerd and straight up genius. She's creative and talented and right at the age where being different is 'bad' and body image issues are rampant. One of my favorite books this year was the gorgeous reboot of Jem and the Holograms (the comic - NOT that god-awful movie) The variety of body type and personalities of the characters, and the positive messaging of the series, I hope hits home with my favorite tween. |
| For the 4-year old, I went with a personal favorite group of characters, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. "Step into Reading" has a series of picture books for kids who are just learning to read. With the cartoon and movies out, introducing him to these classic characters seemed a slam-dunk. COWABUNGA!  |  |
 | I also may have picked up a little something for myself. It will be here Saturday - see my review next week! "Who are the Rat Queens? A pack of booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire, and they're in the business of killing all god's creatures for profit. It's also a darkly comedic sass-and-sorcery series starring Hannah the Rockabilly Elven Mage, Violet the Hipster Dwarven Fighter, Dee the Atheist Human Cleric and Betty the Hippy Smidgen Thief. This modern spin on an old school genre is a violent monster-killing epic that is like Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings world on crack! " |
