New Releases by Frank Cammuso

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best List 2025 This graphic novel for young readers ages 5 to 7 updates the story of an ugly duckling becoming a beautiful swan—but the odd duck out is actually a dragon! It’s the classic ugly duckling tale—but this time around, the little one turns out not to be a swan, but a dragon. And when their duckling siblings find themselves in trouble, it's our little fire-breathing friend who saves the day. Whereas Hans Christian Andersen's original is synonymous with inner beauty, Frank Cammuso’s loving update turns it into a parable of inner strength.

Join Salem Hyde, the spunky young witch with a knack for getting into magical mischief, in this delightful ebook collection of all five young graphic novels by Frank Cammuso. Perfect for early readers who love humor, adventure, and a touch of magic, this series is sure to enchant and entertain. Book 1: Spelling Trouble: Salem Hyde is not your average fourth grader—she's a witch! But her spells often go hilariously wrong. With the help of her talking cat, Whammy, Salem tries to navigate school, friendships, and her unpredictable magic. Book 2: Big Birthday Bash: Salem's birthday is coming up, and she wants it to be perfect. But when her magic gets out of control, she learns that sometimes the best celebrations are the ones that don't go as planned. Book 3: Cookie Catastrophe: When Salem decides to enter a baking contest, her magical mishaps lead to a series of comical disasters. Can she whip up a winning recipe without turning the kitchen into a magical mess? Book 4: Dinosaur Dilemma: A school field trip to the museum takes a wild turn when Salem accidentally brings a dinosaur skeleton to life. It's up to Salem and Whammy to fix the chaos before it's too late. Book 5: Camp Scare: Salem heads to summer camp, where her magical abilities cause all sorts of spooky and funny situations. With new friends and unexpected challenges, Salem learns valuable lessons about bravery and friendship. This collection is a must-have for fans of magical adventures and laugh-out-loud moments. Follow Salem Hyde as she grows, learns, and casts her way through a series of unforgettable escapades.

Who you gonna call? Creature Seekers! Edison Beaker heads back through the Night Door to help his creature friends and thwart his creature foes in another romp of a middle-grade graphic novel from Eisner-nominee Frank Cammuso. After escaping evil Baron Umbra, the sticky Underlings, and other creepy creatures of the Underwhere, Edison Beaker and his young sister, Tesla, are safe at home. And then their creature friend Knox comes calling. She needs help--back on the other side of the Night Door. Edison desperately wants to follow family tradition and become a true Creature Seeker, protecting the world from monsters and mayhem. So what else can he do but follow Knox? (With pesky Tesla and her escape-prone hamster Scuttlebutt in tow, of course!) Edison and crew stumble into a mysterious city that's sinking into darkness. Edison could be a hero and help restore light to the city and its inhabitants who are crushed by gloom. But who can he trust to help him? His old friend Knox, who is acting a little cagey? A new friend, Smudge, who's a dreaded Underling, but seems pretty helpful? And, oh no! Now Baron Umbra is back and wants vengeance! Edison Beaker is about to find out if he has what it takes to be a Creature Seeker! The second book in the middle-school graphic novel series that features a funny, smart, likable, reluctant hero and his wisecracking younger sister, whose adventures are sure to appeal to readers of Lunch Lady, Hilo, and Caveboy Dave.

After escaping evil Baron Umbra and other creatures of the Underwhere, Edison Beaker and his young sister, Tesla, are safe at home. But when their friend Knox needs help on the other side of the Night Door to help a city sinking into darkness, Edison Beaker is about to find out if he has what it takes to be a Creature Seeker! In graphic novel format.

In this hilarious graphic novel, Edison Beaker is about to find out what services the family business, Creature Seekers Pest Control, really offer. (Hint: forget about rat and roach removal . . . think monster hunting!) Edison Beaker and his young sister Tesla are staying with their uncle Earl, manager of the family pest control company, when an alarm sounds and he has no choice but to drag them along on a service call. They should have listened when he warned them, "stay in the van." Monster-sized mayhem ensues when the kids chase their escaped hamster into a mysterious warehouse--and suddenly they are the ones being chased as all sorts of creepy creatures scurry, slink, and stomp through a secret Night Door. The first of two new middle-school graphic novels that introduce a funny, smart, likable, reluctant hero and his wisecracking younger sister, whose adventures are sure to appeal to readers of Lunch Lady, Hilo, and Caveboy Dave.

After selling enough cookies to earn her troop a camping trip, Salem discovers that the rest of the girls don't enjoy camping, so she and her cat, Whammy end up in the wilderness alone, with only magical mishaps for company.

Someone stole Otto's birthday! To get his presents back, Otto needs to solve a slew of puzzles—but his greatest challenge comes at his journey's end. Kirkus Reviews declares this book "a snappy follow-up to Otto's Orange Day."

In this funny new series from Eisner Award nominee Frank Cammuso, the Arthurian legend is reborn--in a funny, average-joe, middle-school boy and his pals. Artie King just wants to ease into life at Camelot Middle School. He's got new lunch buddies, Percy and Wayne, and his science teacher, Mr. Merlyn, is pretty cool. But then there's scary Principal Dagger and big bad Joe and The Horde, a bunch of brawny bullies who rule the school.

The Knights seek fame and fortune by entering a talent show! A battle is looming at Camelot Middle School--a battle of the bands, that is! Artie, Wayne, and Percy enter the talent show seeking fame and fortune. But only one of them plays an instrument: Percy. And he plays the tuba. Their only hope of winning is finding the long-lost "Singing Sword," the fabled instrument of awesome power. But how can Artie find time to rock when he's been assigned a new lab partner, Melody Claymore? Melody is a klutz and a goof, and she harbors a not-so-secret crush on Artie. Is Melody his worst nightmare or secretly the answer to his prayers?

Award-winning artist Frank Cammuso's hilarious graphic novel sequel to THE DODGEBALL CHRONICLES. Artie King, the uncrowned good guy of Camelot Middle School, is back with his pals Percy and Wayne in tow as he tries to evade evil Principal Dagger, avoid the school bully Joe and his Horde, and unravel the secret of a pack of mysterious magic cards he finds in his locker. Frank Cammuso's action-packed art and comic dialogue is sure to appeal to graphic novel fans and bring new readers to the format. It's knights, knaves, and nonstop fun!

After a genie fulfills Otto the cat's wish by turning the whole world orange, Otto realizes that his favorite color is not the best color for everything.

Fairytale detective Max Hamm travels the alleys of Storybook Land to help uncover Snow White's dirty little secret and help Bo Peep find what she lost.

From the pages of The New Yorker, The New York Times, and Slate stagger Frank Cammuso and Hart Seely, restoring a cheerful sanity to our deranged lives and times. Every now and then, funny writing somehow manages to retain full possession of literary quality. Please see Twain, Heller, Benchley, Parker, Frazier, Geng. And now please see Cammuso and Seely. If you're not some famous person in our hyped, commodified, three-screen (movie, TV, computer), celeb-ridden society, count your blessings. Because if you are, Cammuso and Seely will probably get you sooner or later. They got Martha Stewart--they have her planning gracious plans for her version of the Son of God's final repast: "Jesus has indicated--against my better wishes--that He intends to gird Himself with a towel and wash everybody's feet. So be it. But beforehand, I'll run his terry cloth for five minutes in the dryer, making it toasty and soft." They (fondly) postu-late how Phil Rizzuto might have written a characteristically fractionated version of "Casey at the Bat": "'Fraud!' cried the maddened thousands, and the echo murmured 'Fraud.' / Hey, Murcer! Look! Bea Arthur! Didn't she play Maude?" The Flintstones become the Clintstones, Quentin Tarantino directs The Three Little Pigs, and Dr. Seuss collaborates poetically with Rod Serling. Even when the targets of these pieces are of the moment, Cammuso and Seely's humor will endure. What's more evanescent than pop-music stardom? Sex, maybe, but not much else. But who won't laugh, even years from now, as Cammuso and Seely--in "Six Degrees of Chuck Berry"--introduce some of the record industry's often interchangeable personages to each other: "Tanya, Enya. Enya, Shania. Shania, Mariah. Mariah, Wynonna. Wynonna, Fiona . . . " Nobody.