Keep Your Eyes on the Prize!

There are publishers with increasingly large collections of graphic novels for grades 1-5. The trick is to identify the good books and the ones that are just written to hop on the band wagon. As with all books some are good and some are terrible. How do we define a good graphic novel/comic for elementary students? It starts with identifying the purpose for using graphic novels. Are teachers using them to bring the reluctant reader into the circle of readers or is it to emphasis literary terms and techniques, for example, foreshadowing, in a visual medium leading to the development of critical literacy? Are teachers using them as a curriculum connection? Are teachers using them for those students who can read but just don't want to because they feel mainstream reading has no connection to the pop culture around them? All of these reasons are valid.

In grades 1-5 there are many reluctant readers, the purpose of using graphic novels/comics is usually to encourage students to read. Students have to be engaged to become good readers. At this stage it does not matter if they are reading Superhero or Pokemon. I dislike Pokemon (just a personal non preference), but my job is to give students something they will read. While they read they learn to visualize what they read and enjoy the reading experience. Often reluctant readers have a problem with reading because they cannot visualize. A picture is worth a thousand words. A good book engages the student with text and visuals. The next post will examine the characteristics of what I see as a good graphic novel. This is just my opinion.

Some publishers have jumped on the character education band wagon with graphic novels tagged as character education, such as Stone Arch Books, Tiger Moth series and others. These are definitely not the most popular comic/graphic novel in the library, but the younger students, boys usually, (grades 1, 2, & 3) will check them out, and they feel satisfied. However, Stone Arch also has the classics such as Treasure Island or Robin Hood. The publishers also have them tagged for character education, but these are classic tales with important curriculum connections that the reluctant reader would never pick up and read unless it was in graphic novel format. In the last few years many more biographies and history books are being made into graphic novels. Moby Dick has long been a mainstay in literature for high school. The graphic novel version by Will Eisner is another way of looking at this classic. For me the goal is always to get the student to read.