Temp: 52.0F
More info

 Email  Print

Bookshelf

Every Picture Tells a Story

Young Readers Find Graphic Novels Delightful

     Action! Silliness! Pictures galore! It’s no wonder that comic books and graphic novels are a big hit with kids. Kids are drawn to comics because the pictures are full of details and flesh out the stories in their imaginations. But comics and graphic novels support children’s reading development in meaningful ways. They invite repeated readings, bringing children into the full details of multi-layered stories. Even more so, with the support of detailed pictures, graphic novels allow children to read more complex stories with rich vocabulary. These stories are rich and rewarding; comics are a medium that involves kids and taps into their imaginations. Best of all, it helps them see that stories are really a movie that runs in our heads and in our own imaginations, one that we can enjoy time and time again.

Preschool and Early Elementary: Graphic Novels Specially Made for Young Children

     Little Mouse Gets Ready, by Jeff Smith (Toon Books; 32 pages; $12.95; ages 3–5). This graphic novel is for preschoolers and for early readers in kindergarten and first grade. It’s a sweet and funny story about a little mouse who must get dressed before he can go to the barn. Each step takes careful work, from putting his underwear on and making sure the tag is in the back, to buttoning a shirt. The gentle humor will remind little kids of all that they have to do. The text is very simple and easy to follow. “I’m going to the barn with your brothers and sisters. Are you ready to go?” says Little Mouse’s mother. “Almost, Mama.” Smith does a wonderful job of creating a graphic novel that is perfectly toned for young readers, focused and simple, and yet lighthearted and touching at the same time. The Toon Books are available to read with your child in an interactive online format that I highly recommend. See the Toon Book Reader at www.professorgarfield.org/toon_book_reader/index.html.

     Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!, by Geoffrey Hayes (Toon Books; 32 pages; $12.95; ages 4–7). Benny and Penny are two squabbling siblings playing together in their backyard. When they discover that a neighbor has moved in next door, they become convinced that this new neighbor must have stolen Benny’s missing pail. Curiosity leads them into a big no-no: climbing the fence to check the neighbor’s yard. They end up meeting their new neighbor and discovering the trouble when you make an assumption. This book is more complex than Little Mouse, with multiple panels per page. The story is inventive and the characters’ thoughts and dynamic expressions make it come to life. My daughter immediately asked for me to read this again, and then again the next night. She loved the visual details, the humor and the way the characters learn the lesson of being open to a new friend. Winner of the 2010 Theodore Seuss Geisel Award for beginning readers, there are two other Benny and Penny books in the same series.
     Other graphic novels for young readers: Owly, My First Graphic Novel series and Johnny Boo.

Middle-Grade Readers: Slapstick Humor and Great Stories Without Cluttered Pages

     Kids in second and third grade enjoy graphic novels that are like the chapter books they are exploring: lots of humor, short chapters and pages that still are not too cluttered. Check out these very popular series.

     Lunch Lady and the Cyborg Substitute, by Jarrett K. Krosoczka (Knopf; 96 pages; $6.95; ages 7–10). This series appeals to kids who love slapstick humor, crazy inventions and action-packed superhero stories. Hector, Dee and Terrence, three friends who make up the Breakfast Bunch, start wondering about what the Lunch Lady does when she isn’t serving lunch. “I’m telling you, they probably lead very boring lives!” Dee says. Meanwhile, Lunch Lady and her faithful assistant, Betty, suspect that there is something fishy going on with the new substitute. As Betty distracts the new substitute with freshly baked cookies, Lunch Lady brings her lunch-tray laptop to his room to investigate. A crazy chase ensues, with our superheroes. Lunch Lady and Betty chasing the mysterious substitute back to his maker’s lab, and the kids following the Lunch Lady and Betty, where they all find an army of cyborg robots. This is a tongue-in-cheek series that kids love for the humor, mystery and action. Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown, the fourth in the series, was released this summer.

     Babymouse: Queen of the World!, by Jennifer Holm, illustrated by Matthew Holm (Random House; 96 pages; $6.99; ages 7–10). This energetic series by the sister-brother team grabs kids with their bright pink cover and wise-cracking, eternally optimistic main character. In this series opener, Babymouse strives to win popular Felicia’s attention and get an invitation to her slumber party. She finally gets an invitation, but compromises much along the way, and realizes the true price of friendship. Babymouse’s smart, sassy character brings lots of laughs, as the Holms have created a character with a distinctive voice. The black-and-white drawings, splashed with pink accents, are full of action, humor and genuine feeling. Kids enjoy the familiar school and friendship dilemmas along with Babymouse’s active imagination. Babymouse No. 13: Cupcake Tycoon has just been published, which kids are
eating up.
     Other series to check out for second- and third-graders: Fashion Kitty, Daniel Boom, Korgi, Knights of the Lunch Table and Calvin & Hobbs.

Upper Elementary: Complex and Compelling Stories With Vibrant Illustrations

     Meanwhile, by Jason Shiga (Amulet; 80 pages; $15.95; ages 10 and up). A comic book that is like no other I’ve seen is Meanwhile, by Oakland cartoonist Jason Shiga. If you like puzzles, choose-your-own adventures and linear thinking that twists and turns in different directions, this is a book you’ll love looking at over and over again. It is certainly funny, in its own way — a bit dark, a bit twisted, but one that many kids and adults find fascinating. One day, Jimmy walks into an ice cream store, and you the reader have to decide: will it be chocolate or vanilla? The choice you make will affect the course of the story. Choose vanilla, and Jimmy has a quiet day, going home. But choose chocolate and it’s a whole different story. Each time you, the reader, make a choice, you follow tubes between the panels in the story. These tubes will lead you to the edge of the page, to tabs on different pages. Turn to that page and follow the tubes to follow Jimmy’s story. We all have to make hundreds of choices every day. Jason Shiga wonders how we can explore those choices in the comics we read. He’s fascinated by interactive comics, where the choices you make change the course of the story.

     Smile, by Raina Telgemeier (Graphix; 224 pages; $10.99; ages 9 to 12). Smile is a brilliant story that speaks to tweens on the brink of adolescence and is a graphic novel that has wonderful characters, a rich story and all the details I’d hope for in a novel. One night after Girl Scouts, Raina trips and falls flat on her face, severely injuring her two front teeth. Her sixth-grade year has just turned into Dental Drama. What follows is a long and frustrating journey with braces, dental surgery, embarrassing headgear and even a retainer with fake teeth attached. Definitely not the recipe for fitting into middle school! On top of all this, Raina deals with friends who turn out to be not-so-friendly, boys and crushes and a major earthquake. This coming-of-age true story is sure to resonate with tweens and teens who are trying to figure things out for themselves. Author/illustrator Raina Telgemeier does a wonderful job of capturing the emotions of a young tween/teenager — the joy, the angst, the pain, the drama. Yes, this is a real story, based on all the dental drama that Raina really went through.

     The Unsinkable Walker Bean, by Aaron Renier (First Second; 192 pages; $13.99; ages 9–12). Nonstop action, fearsome pirates and a cursed skull — it’s a perfect recipe. Add into this exciting story exciting artwork that pulls readers right in and you have an instant hit. Walker Bean adores his grandfather, listening to his stories of adventure and working together to create new inventions. But now his grandfather is on his deathbed and he has a special request for Walker: to return a cursed skull to the depths of the ocean floor. Unbeknownst to Walker, the skull was stolen from a pair of wicked lobster mer-witches who will stop at nothing to get the skull back. Walker takes the skull from his grandfather and is immediately chased by a mysterious “doctor.” Along with a few new friends, Walker keeps dodging the forces that are out to get the skull for themselves. I particularly loved Walker’s inventions, such as using an enormous black canvas to recreate the night sky to fool his captors and subvert the navigation of the ship. This is a perfect graphic novel for kids who love mythology and fantasy, swashbuckling adventure, cliffhangers and complex, inventive stories.

     Other graphic novels to check out for older elementary readers: Foiled, Bone series, Mission Mouse, Into the Volcano, Amulet series and Rapunzel’s Revenge.

     Mary Ann Scheuer is a librarian, teacher and mom of three children. She is the librarian at Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley. She is passionate about helping children and families find books that make them excited about reading. Find more great ideas for reading on her blog, Great Kid Books, www.greatkidbooks.blogspot.com.