Young Readers: A Special Look at the 2016 Eisner Awards

On this special episode of the Young Readers edition of The Comics Alternative, Gwen and Andy take a look at the 2016 Eisner Award nominees and winners in each of the three young readers categories. The Two People with PhDs discuss not only the books and their creators, but also the categories themselves, the changes they’ve seen in those categories over the years, and changes they’d like to see in the future. Gwen and Andy know you’ll find some great books here and hope you’ll share your thoughts with them once you’ve read them. (You can find a complete list of all the Eisner Award winners here as well as the complete list of nominees here.) In the lists below, the winner of the category is in bold face type. Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8) • Anna Banana and the Chocolate Explosion, by Dominque Roques and Alexis Dormal (First Second) • Little Robot, by Ben Hatke (First Second) • The Only Child, by Guojing (Schwartz & Wade) • SheHeWe, by Lee Nordling and Meritxell Bosch (Lerner Graphic Universe) • Written and Drawn by Henrietta, by Liniers (Ricardo Siri Linders, an Argentine creator) (TOON Books) Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12) • Baba Yaga’s Assistant, by Marika McCoola and Emily Carroll (Candlewick) • Child Soldier: When Boys and Girls Are Used in War, by Jessica Dee Humphreys, Michel Chikwanine, and Claudia Devila (Kids Can Press) • Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales: The Underground Abductor, by Nathan Hale (Abrams Amulet) • Over the Garden Wall, by Pat McHale, Amalia Levari, and Jim Campbell (BOOM! Studios/KaBOOM!) • Roller Girl, by Victoria Jamieson (Dial Books) • Sunny Side Up, by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm (Scholastic Graphix) Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17) • Awkward, by Svetlana Chmakova (Yen Press) • Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans, by Don Brown (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) • March: Book Two, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf/IDW) • Moose, by Max de Radiguès (Conundrum) • Oyster War, by Ben Towle (Oni) • SuperMutant Magic Academy, by Jillian Tamaki (Drawn & Quarterly)