Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales

The list of books nominated for the Bluebonnet award is always a crapshoot. This isn't to say there aren't wonderful books, but sometimes the books seem random or inappropriate for younger readers. This year, we are having issues with a lot of the books being more appropriate for teenagers rather than 3rd or 4th graders.

One of the best choices this year I've found is Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: One Dead Spy. This graphic novel series is written by Nathan Hale (not that one) with Nathan Hale (yes, the historical one) as the narrator of historical events. The first book actually covers much of the American revolution, while subsequent titles have followed the Donner party (Donner Dinner Party) and World War I (Treaties, Trenches, Mud and Blood).

Right now, I'm in the middle of reading Donner Dinner Party. Let me tell you, it is one of the funniest, most clever books I have read in a while. The first book, One Dead Spy, has certainly been attractive to those kids who love graphic novels. But the kids who just don't "get" graphic novels? The ones who are just wanting something...different? This series is absolutely perfect. I've seen all different types of kids, all different styles of readers and learners read that book and absolutely love it.

I was browsing Nathan Hale's website to check on the release date of the newest book. I keep looking through older posts and found something awesome from March 31, 2014:

Credit: Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales, hazardoustales.blogspot.com

How awesome is that? A children's non-fiction BOOK, let alone GRAPHIC NOVEL, was #3 on the New York Times Bestseller List! I think its absolutely great. It proves that history can be fascinating, depending on the medium used to tell the story. I cannot wait for the rest of his books to come out!

If you haven't checked them out, head on over to Nathan Hale's blog to see all the cool things he's doing.