Every year on January 27th, International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemorates the 1945 liberation of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. This year marks the 80th anniversary. Share these graphic novels with young readers leading up to the day and all year long.

Run and Hide: How Jewish Youth Escaped the Holocaust by Don Brown. illus. by author. HarperCollins/Clarion. ISBN 9780358538165.
Gr 8 Up–Devastating. With illustrations that are at times tender and other times gruesome, Brown has found a way to convey the destruction of the Holocaust to young readers. VERDICT Add this graphic novel to your list of resources for teaching and learning about the Holocaust.

Maurice and His Dictionary by Cary Fagan. illus. by Enzo Lord Mariano. Owlkids. ISBN 9781771473231. 
Gr 4-8–A Jewish refugee pursues an education as his family escapes German-occupied Europe in this brief graphic novel that opens in 1940 Belgium. As the blitzkrieg advances, 12-year-old Maurice and his family flee their homeland. Intent on becoming a lawyer, Maurice snatches up schooling in dribs and drabs across Europe. VERDICT Succinct and sincere; another accessible middle grade window into World War II.

Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Anne Frank. adapt. by Ari Folman. illus. by David Polonsky. Pantheon. ISBN 9781101871799. 
Gr 8 Up–Authorized by the Anne Frank Foundation, this volume beautifully brings to life the inhabitants of the Secret Annex. Although this account has not been adapted verbatim, owing to length, Folman and Polonsky effectively convey the material, and the visuals capture the heartbreak of families in prolonged hiding. VERDICT A necessary addition for graphic novel collections.

The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel by Antonio Iturbe. adapt. by Salva Rubio. illus. by Loreto Aroca. Holt. ISBN 9781250842992. 
Gr 9 Up–Based on Iturbe’s novelization of Dita Kraus’s experiences during World War II, this graphic novel details Kraus’s early life in Czechoslovakia, her love of reading, and the unusual existence of a family camp and classroom (of sorts) for children within Auschwitz-Birkenau, where Kraus and her family arrived in 1942. VERDICT Along with memoirs or nonfiction histories, this book may serve Holocaust units, and discussions about the history of restricting access to books, especially where differentiated materials are needed.

[Read: Remember: 10 Titles to Read for Holocaust Remembrance Day]

The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival by Estelle Nadel & Bethany Strout. illus. by Sammy Savos. Roaring Brook. ISBN 9781250247773. 
Gr 7 Up–A powerful story of survival where readers are given the privilege of following Enia’s life before, during, and after surviving the Holocaus; in some ways, survival signaled only the beginning of Enia’s struggles. VERDICT A must-have. The graphic novel format will appeal to those whose first choice might not be history or biography, and all others will be invited to consider the full-life experiences of Holocaust survivors.

Hour of Need: The Daring Escape of the Danish Jews During World War II by Ralph Shayne. illus. by Tatiana Goldberg. little bee/Yellow Jacket. ISBN 9781499813579.
Gr 6 Up–This graphic historical fiction of the Nazi Resistance in Denmark during World War II begins in present-day as Mette visits Denmark with her grandchildren, and alternates with the daring story of the Danish people who saved the lives of its Jewish community through heroic resistance. VERDICT Recommended purchase for libraries looking for stories of bold acts by everyday citizens, less-than-well-known stories of resistance to Nazi Germany, and the saving of a majority of the Danish Jewish population.

Courage to Dream: Tales of Hope in the Holocaust by Neal Shusterman. illus. by Andrés Vera Martínez. Scholastic/Graphix. ISBN 9780545313476.
Gr 7 Up–This work of graphic fiction uses an anthology of fantastic tales to explore the horrors of the Holocaust. Shusterman creates stories that engage and educate young readers about Nazi persecution of the Jewish people. VERDICT A nice addition to any teen graphic fiction collection.

The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman. illus. by author. Knopf/Pantheon. ISBN 9780679406419. 
Gr 8 Up–Still the only graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize, this work tells the story of author Spiegelman’s father and his experience as a Polish Jew in World War II. Spiegelman renders the horrors of the Holocaust in stark black-and-white art with Jews depicted as mice and Nazis as cats. VERDICT A must-read for students interested in learning more about WWII.

Song of a ­Blackbird by Maria van Lieshout. First Second. ISBN 9781250869814. 
Gr 10 Up–­Readers get two alternating yet intertwined storylines: Annick in Amsterdam, 2011, and Emma in Amsterdam, 1943. VERDICT Though not for the faint of heart, this touching, gripping, and heartbreaking historical graphic novel doesn’t shy away from the dark sides of the true events it’s based on, while still offering a ray of hope for the genuine good out there.