Bookshelf Must-Have:
5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior

by the Brightly Editors

Illustration: popmarleo, iStock

Action-packed storytelling, amazing artwork, adventure, and magic combine in our latest Bookshelf Must-Have pick, an out-of-this-world graphic novel for tweens. With its highly readable format and compelling characters, it’s one young readers will have a hard time putting down.

  • Why You Need: 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior

  • 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior

    by Mark Siegel and Alexis Siegel; illustrated by Xanthe Bouma, Matt Rockefeller, and Boya Sun

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    Graphic novels are great fun for all kinds of readers. Brimming with highly imaginative fantasy elements, a fast-paced plot, beautiful illustrations, and great characters, 5 Worlds: The Sand Warrior is a standout in the genre. The story centers on three unlikely heroes brought together to try to save the Five Worlds from extinction. To do that, they'll have to uncover the mysteries of their realm and each other. With war erupting and the citizens of the Five Worlds turning against each other, the stakes are high and there's little time to waste. Tween readers will love racing through the pages of this adventure tale — though there's much to see and savor in the artwork. Close readers, as well as parents and educators, will notice timely themes of war and peace, the environment, and prejudice that give the story an additional resonance. As the first installment in a planned 5 Worlds series, The Sand Warrior hints at lots more great reading.

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