The Benefts of Comics and Graphic Novels Celebrating Babymouse and the graphic novelsection in my school libraryThanks to an invitation from my building librarian, I presented to a parent book club in my school on Thursday morning. My first talk was on comics and graphic novels. I also shared thoughts and recommendations about Science Fiction. While several parents were nodding in agreement with everything I said, several others are still not sold on the value of this format. Im sharing my thoughts with the world here, in the hopes that we can make a few more converts. The !re"i I used is embedded below, and includes title recommendations in several categories. Tomorrow my librarian #aka $%eader%oberts& is guest posting here about the overall e'perience of the !arent (ook )lub. Stories told using sequential art - otherwise known as comics- have had a rocky history. For many years, they were considered the junk ood o the reading world. !n the past ew years, therehas been such ama"ing growth in the publication o this ormat that !#m sure your students and children have all started clamouring or their own comics and graphic novels. First, let me clear up one point. $raphic novels are not a separate genre. %hey are just a ormat - a visual way o telling any type o story or sharing any type o inormation. &y graphic novel shel includes superhero, science iction, realistic iction, historical iction, history noniction, science noniction, and more. 'hile !#m relatively new to the ormat mysel, !#ve spent the past two years learning to appreciate comics or what my students can learn rom them as well as or their own intrinsic artistic value. ! teach students who are, generally, already strong readers. So why would ! allow, let alone encourage my students to pick up comics and graphic novels()ere are some o my thoughts, interspersed with some o my ourth grader#s relections on the question *'hy should graphic novels be respected as *real literature+.Getting Started: Clearing up the LingoSome monthly issues and a great new graphic novelabout women who study primates.'hile many people seem to use the term *graphic novel+ in an attempt to class up the joint, graphic novels and comics are both orms o storytelling that use sequential art in combination with captions and,or dialogue to tell their tale. -ten people in the ield dierentiate between the terms this way.*comic+ - usually a monthly installment in a story.*trade+ or *trade paperback+ - a collection o monthly comics into one book. !t usually collects the /-0 months that make up a story arc. Sometimes people call these *graphic novels+, but usually...*graphic novel+ a ull story told in one publishing, not broken down into monthly installments.A word of caution&any o today#s monthly comics are targeted to the adult market. ! you are looking to buy a subscription to a comic, or are interested in creating a *pull list+ or your children, take some time to research the ield. %here are some wonderul oerings out there or all ages, but you do need to do your research to be sure that the comics you have chosen will it with your child#s readiness levels. %hankully, there are some great resources out there to help you ind great graphic novels and monthly comics or you and your children.%he School 1ibrary 2ournal runs requent posts reviewing great titles. http.,,blogs.slj.com,goodcomicsorkids,%his site is an e3cellent source o recommendations4http.,,comicsaregreat.com,&y own pinboardhttp.,,pinterest.com,lleullin,comics-graphic-novels-or-kids-ya,The Value of Comics and Graphic Novels:!ntroducing new genres and cultures Genres: Sometimes kids get into a rut in a genre. %hey may not be willing to invest their mental energy diving into a huge novel in a new genre, but will happily grab a graphic novel rom the shel to give it a try. *There is a girl in my class that +,T-S history. She thinks it is the most boring sub.ect. Then sheread /ne 0ead Spy, a historical graphic novel, and she 1/2-0 it.3 4 Fourth 5rader Cultures: &y students are immersed in western civili"ation. 'e study 5merican history to death, but they oten have no understanding that there are people out there who have completely dierent lives and belies. 6ven studying ancient peoples, and helping them take on that alternate point o view,is challenging. So when ! can ind graphic novels that give them a glimpse into another world, ! jump on it. Building reading comprehension strategies 6graphic novels can have big, comple' words, but the images help you visuali"e the story6 4 Fourth 5rader Visualization:'e know that strong readers have mental movies that help them understand and remember what they read. &any kids don7t know how to build those visuali"ation strategies, though. Comics are a great way to introduce and,or reinorce this skill. -nce students know how comics are structured, they can use that same ormat to as a way to share their own understanding o the te3t.Vocabular:5s my student describes above, graphic novels are a great way to build vocabulary. Since there are images to all back on, students can learn new words through the story.!ultiple readings:8e-reading te3t is another important skill, but many students are reluctant to reread longer novels. Comics can help them tackle this technique, and students can discover new aspects o thestory and art each time.Art Appreciation:5rt is just as important as story. Comics deserve a place in any art history course, and can be used to teach students about color, white space, perspective, and more.!ntroducing classics &any classics in literature have been adapted or the graphic novel ormat. Sometimes this can help students access a story they aren#t ready to read in ull novel orm yet. Sometimes it may help give them the ramework or the story, so that they can then successully read and comprehend the ull novel. %here is also value in students just reading the adaptation, so they have the cultural literacy to help them understand allusions to those te3ts in other books and movies. &otivated, 1ielong 8eadersComics and graphic novels are wonderul part o any healthy reading diet. 9ive in4