Why am I passionate about this?

In my opinion, a good adventure story does two things at once: it compels you to turn pages, while, paradoxically, also enticing you to get off the couch and go out into the beautiful, magical world, pregnant with unlimited possibilities, right outside your door, just waiting for you to notice it. I’ve hitchhiked, I’ve been lost in the jungle, I’ve sailed, I’ve run whitewater rivers, and I’ve written and drawn New Yorker cartoons and picture books. I hope these books are as hard for you to put down as they were for me, and when you do put ‘em down, it’s only to throw on your rucksack and head out in search of adventure!


I wrote

Red Scare: A Graphic Novel

By Liam Francis Walsh,

Book cover of Red Scare: A Graphic Novel

What is my book about?

Peggy is scared: She's struggling to recover from polio and needs crutches to walk, and she and her neighbors are…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Hilda and the Black Hound

Liam Francis Walsh Why did I love this book?

I wish I’d known someone like Hilda as a child. Heck, I wish I’d been Hilda! She’s adventurous, she’s kind, she’s unafraid to right wrongs. She makes mistakes – how else is one to learn and grow? – but her heart is true, and she admits her errors and becomes an even better version of herself. This book is great for making you see the magical potential in truly mundane things (like the space beneath your sofa or behind your bookshelf!). The story is beautifully illustrated. I never want to leave Hilda’s world, and I’m always eager to return.

By Luke Pearson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hilda and the Black Hound as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

The fourth in Luke Pearson's acclaimed series of magical adventures starring Hilda, our favourite blue-haired heroine.

Hilda stumbles upon Tontu, a lost house spirit. Plunged into the secret world of the Nisse, Hilda discovers hidden passages that only the house spirits can navigate. and something has been ransacking them all! Will Tontu find his true home? And could this all be linked to reports of an elusive beast haunting the city?


Book cover of This Was Our Pact

Liam Francis Walsh Why did I love this book?

This is one I just discovered (and have only read once, so far) but I immediately ordered copies for all my nieces and nephews. An important element of the kind of adventure graphic novel I love is art that conveys a carefully observed world, one which reminds us that if we slow down and pay attention marvels will reveal themselves to us. This Was Our Pact does precisely that. It starts off with kids on bikes setting off into the night, following their curiosity, and then swerves into the fairy tale territory of ancient rituals and magical creatures.

By Ryan Andrews,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked This Was Our Pact as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

It's the night of the annual Autumn Equinox Festival, when the town gathers to float paper lanterns down the river. Legend has it that after drifting out of sight, they'll soar off to the Milky Way and turn into brilliant stars. This year, Ben and his classmates are determined to find out where those lanterns really go, and they made a pact with two simple rules: No one turns for home. No one looks back.

The plan is to follow the river on their bikes for as long as it takes to learn the truth, but it isn't long before…


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Book cover of Through Any Window

Through Any Window By Deb Richardson-Moore,

Riley Masterson has moved to Greenbrier, SC, anxious to escape the chaos that has overwhelmed her life.

Questioned in a murder in Alabama, she has spent eighteen months under suspicion by a sheriff’s office, unable to make an arrest. But things in gentrifying Greenbrier are not as they seem. As…

Book cover of Tom Strong - Book 1

Liam Francis Walsh Why did I love this book?

Tom Strong is a throwback to classic pulp heroes, and the closest thing to a superhero you’ll find on my list. Tom is super strong, super smart, and super white, but that’s where comparisons to the heroes from which the author drew inspiration end! Tom’s Black wife and daughter are fully realized characters with thoughts and feelings of their own. Tom doesn’t punch out the bad guys, he doesn’t even believe in bad guys! Instead, he uses his intelligence to recognize that conflict arises not from malice, but from misunderstanding and incompatible needs and desires. With this in mind, Tom can use his super-intelligence to craft a compromise that reestablishes order. Far from preachy, eat-your-vegetables sermonizing, these stories are witty, layered, thought-provoking, and hilarious.

By Alan Moore,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tom Strong - Book 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a first volume featuring a popular physical and mental super-human, Tom battles with the Nazi super-woman Ingrid Weiss and her pre-human monster called the Pangean. A Graphic Novel. Original.


Book cover of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

Liam Francis Walsh Why did I love this book?

While not technically a graphic novel, Calvin and Hobbes consistently deliver the cleverest, funniest, most biting, and most profound adventures to be found anywhere. The adventures of Spaceman Spiff and Tracer Bullet are unforgettable. But even just Calvin’s flights of imagination, walking in the woods or playing in the yard, or even trapped in a classroom, remind us that our imaginations may be the most thrilling and exotic place there is, and adventure is only a daydream away. These stories can be enjoyed by children for the thrills and laughs alone, or by adults for their layers of trenchant commentary. Like most cartoonists I know, Calvin and Hobbes shaped my worldview, made me want to be a cartoonist, and is still my favorite strip.

By Bill Watterson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Complete Calvin and Hobbes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Calvin and Hobbesis unquestionably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. The entire body of Calvin and Hobbescartoons was originally published in hardcover as a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon in The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Available for the first time in paperback, these four full-colour volumes in a sturdy slipcase include all the Calvin and Hobbescartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the…


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Book cover of Magical Disinformation

Magical Disinformation By Lachlan Page,

This book is a spy novel with a satirical edge which will take you on a heart-pumping journey through the streets, mountains, jungles, and beaches of Colombia. Our Man in Havana meets A Clear and Present Danger.

Book cover of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Liam Francis Walsh Why did I love this book?

Almost all the Tintin books are a delight, but this one has always been my favorite. It gets the mixture of suspense and humor just exactly right. In this one, Tintin stumbles into a mystery, which starts small and grows into a terrific hunt for a lost pirate treasure. The everyman who’s pulled into adventure by coincidence or mistaken identity is something that appeals to me because it reminds me that even if we’re not private eyes or secret agents we’re constantly adventure-adjacent! The Secret of the Unicorn reminds me that adventure is largely a matter of attitude: Tintin ends up at the center of adventures because he’s always curious and game – are you?!

By Herge,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Adventures of Tintin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic graphic novel. Tintin stumbles across a model ship at the Old Street Market. Only it isn't just any model ship-it's the Unicorn, carved by one of Haddock's ancestors, and it holds a clue to finding pirate treasure!


Explore my book 😀

Red Scare: A Graphic Novel

By Liam Francis Walsh,

Book cover of Red Scare: A Graphic Novel

What is my book about?

Peggy is scared: She's struggling to recover from polio and needs crutches to walk, and she and her neighbors are worried about the rumors of Communist spies doing bad things. On top of all that, Peggy has a hard time at school and gets taunted by her classmates. When she finds a mysterious artifact that gives her the ability to fly, she thinks it's the solution to all her problems. But if Peggy wants to keep it, she'll have to overcome bullies, outsmart FBI agents, and escape from some very strange spies!

Book cover of Hilda and the Black Hound
Book cover of This Was Our Pact
Book cover of Tom Strong - Book 1

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