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ALA Lists Manga Among 2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children, Adults; on 2026 'Rainbow Book List'

The American Library Association (ALA) announced its "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Adults" and "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children" lists on Thursday. Additionally, the ALA announced the "2026 Rainbow Book List" on Tuesday, which "proudly presents a curated selection of books that celebrate the lives, experiences, and families of LGBTQIA+ youth."

The "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Adults" and "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children" lists feature works published in late 2024 through 2025. The "2026 Rainbow Book List" features works published between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025.

The "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children" list included one manga. Mai Matsuda's Hikaru in the Light! volume 1 made the list for Fiction for Middle Readers (3rd-4th Grade, Ages 8-10). In the Non-Fiction list for the same age range, the English translation of the Korean comic Whose Poo Is This?: The Golden Poo written by Song-eui Park and with art by Duck-Young Kim made the list.

The "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Adults" list contained several manga, both in the top 10 and on the general list. The top 10 list includes Kaiji Kawaguchi and Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Confession and Kaori Ozaki's Dogs and Punching Bags. The top 10 list additionally includes Tom Scioli's Godzilla's Monsterpiece Theatre comic.

The overall "2025 Best Graphic Novels for Adults" list also included the following manga:

• Takashi Ushiroyato and Kanata Abiko's Before You Go Extinct
• Yumeji's Eden of Witches volume 1
• KENT's GAEA-TIMA the Gigantis volume 1
• Gou Tanabe's H.P. Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu
• Shōgo Imamura and TATSUZ's (Katsumi Tatsuzawa) Last Samurai Standing volume 1
• Akihito Sakaue's Neighborhood Craftsmen: Stories From Kanda’s Gokura-chou
• Kotteri's Veil volume 1

The 2026 Rainbow Book List included the following manga titles in the "Young Adult Titles" section:

• Makoto Taji's Let's Eat Together, Aki and Haru volume 1
• Umi Takase's I Wanna Be Your Girl volume 1

Additionally, Moosopp's Daybreak webcomic, first serialized on WEBTOON, made the list for Young Adult Titles via Penguin Random House's print release.

Source: American Library Association (link 2, link 3)