My friend Julie tipped me off on these Ariol books a year or so ago and I have been really enjoying them. They are originally from France, but there are translated English versions of at least the first 10 books. 

I really, really love the drawing style of these graphic novels. It is loose and scribbly, but with a lot of texture and detail. Really beautiful. So enjoy all of Marc Boutavant's work. 

Did I mention these are for kids? 

The stories are loose vignettes, I can't tell if they are meant to be in the present time or somewhere in the 70ies or 80ies (just read another book and yes, there are cell phones), and they feel very real. 

For example, the parents get annoyed with one another, the teachers are boring, the kids are mean to each other and rude to the adults most of the time. There is no attempt to model ideal behaviour or impress morality on to unsuspecting readers. I appreciate that. 

I just saw when researching this post that there is an animation of Ariol! I think it is mostly in French but heard rumours of two English dub versions...

♡