Graphic Novel Health and Wellbeing Booklist
Our Inclusivity Resources has a new addition from the CBC Graphic Novel Committee: a list of new and backlist graphic novels that address the topics of health and wellbeing.
In our world today, keeping ourselves happy and healthy can be a challenge. The pandemic brought many hardships to our lives and as we strive to get back to a new normal, our lives have still been drastically changed by this major life event.
As many of us know, books can be a great resource and a wonderful escape from reality. Some of us may find ourselves ensnared in a world of fantasy and adventure with issues that feel similar to our problems at school or home. Did our favorite character have anxieties about school too? Did they have a home life similar to ours? “How did they do it?” is the big question asked when reading that keeps us wanting more from the story, but it also can give us answers to navigating the obstacles in our lives.
The CBC Graphic Novel Committee wanted to tackle these questions with our own medium and organized a list of graphic novels and comics that encourage or guide social, psychological, or physical wellness. Whether the protagonist is trying to balance a secret undercover spy life with school or handling the pressures of an expectation-driven home life, these books promote healthy living and choices inside and out.
The Graphic Novel Health and Wellbeing Booklist is a full list that goes over many issues:
Looking for a graphic novel on the topic of anxiety and depression?
Mel Tregonning’s Small Things is “about a young boy who feels alone with his anxiety. He isn’t fitting in well at school. His grades are slipping. He’s even lashing out at those who love him.”
What about a graphic novel about feeling like you’re wearing a mask?
Sid Sharp’s The Wolf Suit touches on “the pressures of conformity and conquering fear by finding community is the perfect contemporary folktale to press into the hands of anyone who has felt they need to pretend to be someone else.”
Want a story about self-esteem?
Jamar Nicholas’s Leon the Extraordinary: A Graphic Novel is about “how an ordinary kid like Leon, who has no superpowers himself, can become the superhero he wants to be. When all his classmates suddenly become obsessed with a new phone app that turns them into zombies, Leon gets his chance to prove that using his brain and following his heart can save the day.”
We’ve gathered a comprehensive list of over 75 graphic novels that cover many topics and we hope you’ll find one or two to help you through these times and to know you’re not alone. See the full list: Graphic Novel Health and Wellbeing Booklist!
Learn more about the CBC Graphic Novel Committee.
Check out more resources and book lists on our Inclusivity Resources page.
