Here are 100 books that Baba Yaga's Assistant fans have personally recommended if you like
Baba Yaga's Assistant.
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My name is Kelly Fernández (she/her) and I’ve been making comics since 2014. I’vealways been fascinated by stories about ghosts, monsters, and witches because I grewup in a family that believes in them. While writing my graphic novel Manu,Iresearchedand spoke to Latinx friends and colleagues about their personal experiences withbrujería (the Spanish word for witchcraft) to try and learn more about it across differentcultures. I love comics because, like oral storytelling, it’s just another way for people toshare their stories with each other!
The setting, characters, and lore in Snapdragon are so refreshing, that I consider this amust-read for fantasy fans. It’s about a middle-school outcast named Snapdragon (or just “Snap”) who befriends the local witch, Jacks. Leyh’s story seamlessly bounces backbetween the present, the past, and Snap’s creepy stories about the ghost who hauntsher family: One-Eyed Tom. This is a fun book with a lot to chew on!
And when Snap's dog goes missing, the first place she looks is the witch's house. She finds her dog there, recovering from being hit by a car, in the care of a woman named Jacks. She is a crocks-wearing, internet-savvy older woman who's collects roadkill, put their spirits to rest, and cleans and sells their articulated skeletons online.
They make a deal: If Jacks teaches Snap how to take care of a crate of orphaned baby opossums that Snap rescued, Snap will assist Jacks with her work. But as Snap starts to gain an appreciation…
My name is Kelly Fernández (she/her) and I’ve been making comics since 2014. I’vealways been fascinated by stories about ghosts, monsters, and witches because I grewup in a family that believes in them. While writing my graphic novel Manu,Iresearchedand spoke to Latinx friends and colleagues about their personal experiences withbrujería (the Spanish word for witchcraft) to try and learn more about it across differentcultures. I love comics because, like oral storytelling, it’s just another way for people toshare their stories with each other!
This is a funny and beautifully drawn love story about two preteen witches– What elsecan you ask for? Beetle is a goblin living in a magical world and studying sorcery underher grandmother. The fast-paced plot revolves around her and her childhood BFF Kattrying to free Blob Ghost, who is spiritually bound to a local mall that is about to bedemolished. Beetle and Kat sweetly and awkwardly fumble around as they try to solvethe mystery behind Blob Ghost, and watching them navigate their feelings and workthrough their insecurities is the highlight of this book.
An enchanting, riotous, and playfully illustrated debut graphic novel following a young goblin trying to save her best friend from the haunted mall—perfect for fans of Steven Universe and Adventure Time.
In the eerie town of ‘Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity.
Then there’s twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who’s caught in between. She’d rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost. But the mall is getting boring, and B.G. is cursed to haunt it, tethered…
I loved graphic novels even before I became an author/illustrator. But because I create for young readers, I also read a lot of graphic novels aimed at them. I am also a big believer that books with female protagonists are important for all readers: male, female, and non-binary. All of the books I’ve recommended are books I plucked off my own bookshelf, and that I’ve read several times and I think are exceptional in some way.
For the teen reader who likes a bit of a scare, Anya’s Ghost tells the story of Anya, a teenager of Russian descent who wants nothing more than to fit in at her American high school.
Ah, to be blonde and popular! While walking home through the park, Anya falls into a deep hole and discovers a set of bones. Freaky! And a ghost. Double Freaky!
The ghost seems nice enough but Anya doesn’t want to set off on some quest to find a murderer or anything. She just wants to go home, get a hot shower, and be normal. The ghost tags along when Anya is rescued and tries to help Anya fit in.
It’s good – until it’s not, and Anya does have to solve some mysteries to get rid of the ghost and save the people around her. Anya’s Ghost is just scary and spooky enough to…
Anya could really use a friend. But her new BFF isn't kidding about the "Forever" part . . .
Of all the things Anya expected to find at the bottom of an old well, a new friend was not one of them. Especially not a new friend who's been dead for a century.
Falling down a well is bad enough, but Anya's normal life might actually be worse. She's embarrassed by her family, self-conscious about her body, and she's pretty much given up on fitting in at school. A new friend―even a ghost―is just what she needs.
My name is Kelly Fernández (she/her) and I’ve been making comics since 2014. I’vealways been fascinated by stories about ghosts, monsters, and witches because I grewup in a family that believes in them. While writing my graphic novel Manu,Iresearchedand spoke to Latinx friends and colleagues about their personal experiences withbrujería (the Spanish word for witchcraft) to try and learn more about it across differentcultures. I love comics because, like oral storytelling, it’s just another way for people toshare their stories with each other!
Ireally enjoy McGrane’s sense of humor in both her illustrations and storytelling. Idefinitely wasn’t expecting to cry at the end, but I did! I truly felt for Dragoslav, who is avampire child struggling with friendships, fears, and trusting people (especially the adultsin their life). Not to worry: There are plenty of laughs, cool imagery, and lots of heart. Ihighly recommend this to fans of horror, humor, or both.
A spooky and funny graphic novel perfect for fans of The Witch Boy and Real Friends
Dragoslava is a vampire kid. It has its perks, but sometimes being stuck as a kid forever can be a pain in the neck. And that’s not even the worst part. A few centuries ago, Drago was cursed by a witch. If they don’t complete every task she sets, they will be turned into worms.
When the witch wants a spellbook from Baneberry Falls, Drago sets off with their immortal friends. But mysteries await in this sleepy Midwestern…
When I was growing up, there were no stories for me. A queer kid in a very conservative Catholic household, I knew I was different, but I had no way to articulate that difference, and no way to imagine a horizon of happiness, of dignity, or of joy. In the worlds people imagined for young people, we were simply written out. I have since spent a lifetime studying and telling stories – as an English professor, as a bartender at a queer bookstore and drag bar, and now as a writer. And what matters to me most is seeing queer lives lived in abundance. These are the stories I wish I had.
Boys are one way; girls are another; that’s the way it has always been. But when Aster finds himself ineluctably drawn to the magic that should only be the province of the women in his family, he begins to realize some rules are not only antiquated, they can do material harm to the soul. Ostertag deftly uses the supernatural as a simple and elegant metaphor for the thousand indignities we can heap upon the queer and gender nonconforming, with an art style that simultaneously insists upon and celebrates the multiplicity of bodies and expressions that are our lived experience and belie these closed and closeting norms. An ingenious allegory, smartly and briskly told with charm and generosity.
From the illustrator of the web comic Strong Female Protagonist comes a debut middle-grade graphic novel about family, identity, courage -- and magic.
In thirteen-year-old Aster's family, all the girls are raised to be witches, while boys grow up to be shapeshifters. Anyone who dares cross those lines is exiled. Unfortunately for Aster, he still hasn't shifted . . . and he's still fascinated by witchery, no matter how forbidden it might be.When a mysterious danger threatens the other boys, Aster knows he can help -- as a witch. It will take the encouragement of a new friend, the non-magical…
I’m qualified to talk about Hermione Granger because she’s a bold rip-off of my own experience at boarding school. My family didn’t have a lot of money. However, I was always the smartest, most original, hardest-working kid at school. Then I got a fat scholarship to an exclusive and fabulously wealthy boarding school 3,000 miles from home. I arrived as a poor, immigrant, POC, gay, transfer student into the eleventh grade. I was the muggle-born kid plopped into a world of privilege and power with something to prove, just like Hermione. But because the author did such a good job of capturing my life, I won’t sue.
Like Hermione, Courtney comes from a non-magical background and discovers her own magical heritage. Her stubborn curiosity propels her into a fantastical world operating under our own. She also has a sense of justice and would deffo have allied with Hermione in S.P.E.W. Unlike Hermione, Courtney isn’t studious or diligent. She’s a bit of a slacker and a grump. What I love about this series is the prickly heroine and the treatment of the fantastical world. Like the Wizarding World, the fantastical worldbuilding in this series is built on familiar Western fantasy creatures and tropes. What’s special about it is the stylish Goth-chic interpretation through the author/artist’s artwork and the examination of the ethical conundrums latent in fantasy since fantasy is often about power.
Get the first volume of this critically acclaimed series for only $10 as part of Oni's Square One program!
Courtney Crumrin grumbles about everything, but now she's really got something to grumble over. Having run out of credit cards, her parents are moving to the wealthy suburb of Hillsborough, to live rent-free with their creepy old uncle Aloysius. Courtney is now an outcast among her rich, snobby classmates. And if that weren't bad enough, the musty, decrepit old mansion that she now calls home is occupied by stranger creatures than just her parents or Uncle Aloysius.
Fantasy has long been a favorite genre of mine for the way you can explore so many different concepts and ideas, and the freedom it gives you as a storyteller. If you feel like you’ve been transported to that world as the story unfolds, I see that as a successful story. Creating vibrant, diverse, new worlds and real, flawed characters for readers is something I strive towards with every project. As a queer author, I find it especially important to give queer characters the hero roles they deserve. The best thing about fantasy is it can be anything, and anyone, from any background, can be the main character.
I was introduced to CLAMP’s work through one of their most popular works, Card Captor Sakura when I was seven or eight, but I really grew to love their darker, more surreal projects such as xxxHolic. Not only is the artwork throughout the manga series gorgeous, but the story also introduces you to all sorts of Japanese folklore, explores time loops, and the thin barrier between the human world and spirits. xxxHolic has been at the top of my recommendation list for manga lovers and newbies to the medium for years. Any fan of dramatic twists and turns, the supernatural, and snarky, snappy dialogue will certainly love this series as much as I do.
Kimihiro Watanuki is haunted by visions of ghosts and spirits. He seeks help from a mysterious woman named Yuko, who claims she can help. However, Watanuki must work for Yuko in order to pay for her aid. Soon Watanuki finds himself employed in Yuko's shop where he sees things and meets customers that are stranger than anything he could have ever imagined! Watanuki is Yuko's unwilling assistant, but even he is compelled by the fascinating adventures he's having since he started working for the 'space-time witch.'
I’m a public health professional, author, and reader. During part of my childhood and my subsequent career in international public health, I lived in Côte d’Ivoire and the Central African Republic; I’ve also worked throughout West and Central Africa, primarily in Francophone African countries. My experiences in these parts of the continent have not only influenced my fiction writing, but also what I read. While there are plenty of books by Anglophone African authors, few of their Francophone counterparts see their work translated into English. As a result, stories from French-speaking Africa are underrepresented in the literature available to English-speaking audiences. This list is an attempt to make a dent in this disparity.
I’ve added this graphic novel to my list in part for nostalgic reasons. Although the book and its two sequels were published in the 2000s, they are all set in 1970s Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, when I had the good fortune to live there. Aya is an adolescent girl living in the vibrant neighborhood of Yopougon, where everyone knows each other’s business. While she just wants to focus on her studies, she keeps getting distracted by the drama of those around her—from the boy-chasing machinations of her girlfriends to the foolish missteps of her parent's generation.
"Aya is an irresistible comedy, a couple of love stories and a tale for becoming African. It's essential reading." -Joann Sfar, cartoonist of The Rabbi's Cat
Ivory Coast, 1978. It's a golden time, and the nation, too-an oasis of affluence and stability in West Africa-seems fueled by something wondrous. Aya is loosely based upon Marguerite Abouet's youth in Yop City. It is the story of the studious and clear-sighted nineteen-year-old Aya, her easygoing friends Adjoua and Bintou, and their meddling relatives and neighbors. It's a wryly funny, breezy account of the simple pleasures and private troubles of everyday life in…
Environmental storytelling in comics is something that I’ve always admired and want to be better at. As a cartoonist I’m always thinking of better ways to tell visual stories, because it’s fun.
Mushishi is possibly my favorite comic of all time. It doesn’t just use the environment as storyteller, but tells stories about environments in a way you wouldn’t expect. Though it’s a series of stories about people and their relationships, neither are divorced from the world itself. I cannot recommend this series enough and it is a huge influence on my own work.
Some live in the deep darkness behind your eyelids. Some eat silence. Some thoughtlessly kill. Some simply drive men mad. Shortly after life emerged from the primordial ooze, these deadly creatures, mushi, came into terrifying being. And they still exist and wreak havoc in the world today. Ginko, a young man with a sardonic smile, has the knowledge and skill to save those plagued by mushi . . . perhaps.
I am a professional dabbler who has tried things from beekeeping, duck herding, race car driving, coding, and filmmaking. But I am famously known as the author and illustrator of imaginative and fun children’s books and comics. My latest book is the hilarious supervillain graphic novel Mischief and Mayhem. It’s a story about Missy who gets kicked out of superhero boot camp and ends up as a supervillain (a nice and friendly one). I’ve always enjoyed reading about unexpected heroes and characters who flip the script. We all have challenges in our lives and when we face them head-on is when we truly find the heroes in ourselves.
The place you least expect for a hero to turn up is the lunchroom and that’s exactly what we get here. In this issue of a long-running series Lunch Lady and Betty, her assistant, investigate the strange case of a missing teacher, a creepy substitute, and how this all connects with the Teacher of the Year award. Scenes in the story revolve around the school which will make it relatable to school-going readers. Kids will have a new respect for people around them as they identify who could potentially be a hero in their own small way.
From the author of National Book Award finalist Hey, Kiddo.
Serving justice . . . and lunch!
Hector, Terrence, and Dee have always wondered about their school lunch lady. What does she do when she isn’t dishing out the daily special? Where does she live? Does she have a lot of cats at home? Little do they know, Lunch Lady doesn’t just serve sloppy joes—she serves justice! Whatever danger lies ahead, it’s no match for LUNCH LADY!
