Classic Fairy Tales in Comic Format

The classic tales have been told in a charming and bit unusual format by the publisher Stone Arch Books in the Graphic Spin collection. The interest level is age 3 to 8 and the reading level is grade 1-3 with 40 pages. Most the goodies that teachers have often used in the classroom are here. Rapunzel, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty, Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, and my two favorite tales, Rumpelstiltskin and Jack and the Beanstalk are in the first collection. They are a little dark in the "Grimm" style, but the main characters stand out. The art work is highly stylized, but appealing. Recently they have come out with the Emperor's New Clothes, The Ugly Duckling, and a couple of others. The art work seems a little lighter in the new additions. All the tales have a lexile score ranging from the early 300's to about 410 and are all available in library bound editions.

In many schools where students have emmigrated from South America, East Indian, Asian, or African countries these Germanic tales may be new to the students. Teachers often use the classic tales to build a commonality in the the classroom community as the ideas may be used to reflect the common good within the classroom, the school, and the community. Today that would be considered character education. Actually each of these have a character education theme. Red Riding Hood is "Trustworthiness" and Hansel and Gretel is "Caring". I do not necessarily agree with the theme assigned to the books by Stone Arch, but the students can decide for themselves as the story unfolds.

Teachers or home schoolers may read and explore five classic versions of Jack and the Beanstalk, so you may want to save these fairy tale graphic novels for students to explore on their own. By the time the boys are in second grade they often balk at Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty as they are considered these to be "girl" books. However, they would enjoy Rumpelstiltskin or get a good laugh at the stylized wolf in the Three Pigs. Librarians, even with the budget cuts in libraries, I would still take a chance on a few of these and see if the students, especially those reluctant readers, embrace them.

The Charm of Owly for the Pre-Reader

If you are are interested in the comic format for the youngest pre-reader, ages 4-6, take at look at Owly by Andy Runton. On his website you can see limited previews of some of the books. The first Owly book came out in about 2004. The Owly series is almost wordless, but can be used to introduce visual literacy, oral language, and directionality to the youngest of readers.
Use shared reading between a parent, older sibling, or preschool teacher and the child. The Owly series are snuggle up and read together books. Share your thoughts aloud with the child and have the child do the same as you go through each panel. Shared reading helps develop phonology, fluency, content, and comprehension. Shared reading is also great for learners with diverse backgrounds. Owly was the winner of the 2006 Eisner Award for "Best Publication For A Younger Audience".

The characters could be described as "sweet" with human characteristics. The theme is often friendship, love, or overcoming obstacles. The series is published by Top Shelf and is available in hardbound or paperback but not library bound. The books are in black and white and usually have about 160 pages which is a lot for a pre-reader. For those youngsters with a limited attention span, it would be best to read the series in stages. The fifth book in the series was published in 2009 and is Owly Tiny Tales.

Amulet

Amulet is a new series by Kazu Kibuishi. Kibuishi has credentials as his book Daisy Kutter: The Last Train won the American Library Associations Best Book Award for Young Adults. He continues in the tradition with Amulet: The Stonekeeper and now just released in September 2009, book 2, The Stonekeepers Curse. However the Amulet books are for young readers ages 8 and up. The main characters are a brother, sister, and mom along with the robot rabbit who join the struggle between good and evil. Amulet: The Stonekeeper was nominated for a 2009 Eisner Award for Best Kids Publication. The Eisner award is considered to be the Oscar of the comic world.

The books are in the comic format somewhat in the manga style, but with Lemony Snicket overtones in the story. The art is in color and read from front to back. The first book started immediately with the death of the children's father which may be a little harsh for younger readers. They find a spooky place to live and the adventures begin. There is a future book 3 in the planning stage. Amulet is published by Graphix which is an imprint of Scholastic. These are available in paperback and hardbound, but not library bound. Scholastic is known by librarians for poor quality binding on their hardbound books, Harry Potter, being the utmost example. If you are interested, you would be just as well to try paperback. Surprisingly, the Bone series also by Graphix is produced in fairly sturdy form in paperback.

Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid: Great Crossover Books

On October 12th the 4th in the Wimpy Kid series came out, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Dog Days. These books are a series of cartoons and writing which make them a great crossover book for kids who are not ready to give up the comic format or the older reluctant reader. The stories are funny and the hero is a somewhat typical kid. This book is already on the best seller list. The series is best for 3rd graders and up. Amulet books has a website for parents, teachers, or librarians with more information.

Kinney's first book Diary of a Wimpy Kid was published in 2007 with a Lexile score of 950L. The books are published by Amulet an imprint of Abramsbooks. They are available in hardbound format and have 224 pages. The first two in the series are available from Bound to Stay Bound. These books will never stay on the shelves so take advantage of being able to get them library bound from BTSB. For $16.95 the American Library Association has a poster of the Wimpy Kid to encourage reading.

The Father of Manga: Astro Boy

Be prepared for more of a push for comic reading by students as Astro Boy hits the silver screen on Oct 23rd. Astro Boy was originally published in 1952 in Japan by Osamu Tezuka. In Japan Astro Boy is called Mighty Atom. He was very popular in Japan and became more popular as he was seen later on in the 1980's on TV in the states. To my knowledge this is the first Astro Boy movie in the states. For more information look in the categories on this blog under Astro Boy.

For information on the books including the history see Rocketing Back to Fame: Astro Boy in the School Library Journal. This article discusses the unique history and availability of the books. All the books however are in paperback. The original Astro Boy was in black and white.

Comic Format for Emerging Readers

More publishers are coming out with books in comic format for those readers from age 4 to 8. Art Spiegleman has come out with Jack in the Box from Toon. Toon is an imprint of Raw Junior LLC. In 1992 Art Spiegleman won a Pulitzer Prize Special Award for Maus: a Survivors Story. Maus is often used in high schools to study the Holocaust, but Maus is an example of the quality of the Toon books. Stinky by Eleanor Davis is a 2009 Theodor Seuss Geisel honor award book from Toon. The Geisel Award is given annually by the American Library Association to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year. Of course, the reviews for Stinky are top notch for both the story and art work. The toon books are on the online reader and the website has lesson plans. Students can be read to or they can read it themselves. The books can be purchased as hardbound or paperback, but not library bound. Jack in the Box had mixed reviews, so use the online reader to take a look before you buy.

Ninja Baseball

Manga for those from 7 to 12 is the goal of Udon Kids publishing. They started publishing in 2009. Basically they have four genres: Adventure, Sports (Baseball), Fantasy, and Science Fiction. Three of the series seem to be directly aimed at girls. They have a preview of each of the series on their website. The stories are in black and white and must be read from back to front as traditional Manga. These are translated from Japanese titles, so they have 200 pages. Characters have the traditional big eyes and typical manga energy. These are all in paperback which makes them a challenge for use in libraries, but not impossible.

The Big Cheese: Geronimo Stilton

Papercutz, an imprint of Macmillan Publishing for tweens 8-14, launched in the Spring of 2005 with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew graphic novels is now coming out with graphic novels of Geronimo Stilton. These can be hardbound, but they are not library bound as of yet. There are three of these available: #1, the Discovery of America; #2 the Secret of the Sphinx, and #3 the Coliseum Con. If you are not sure you are interested, checkout this preview of the Secret of the Sphinx. By the way Spotlight is still publishing some of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew in library editions, but they do not have all produced by Papercutz.

The original Geronimo Stilton books are chapter books. Attack of the Bandit Cats has a Lexile score of 570L. You can search for the score for each book. They were originally published in Italy and have been translated into 35 languages. In 2004 they finally became available in the United States. Each book is a fast, good read and is an excellent crossover adventure book for students ready to jump from graphic novels to chapter books. Many pages have a comic on it making the book feel familiar to those not yet used to reading chapter books. Geronimo Stilton is the main character who is the editor of a newspaper and time traveler who has to keep his arch enemy (a cat of course) from changing history. Bound to Stay bound has 35 volumes of Geronimo Stilton books available. It's best to get these in library bound (BSTB) as these books will be taking a lot of wear and tear. Read some chapters aloud and the books will fly off the shelves. There are many cheese jokes in these so a cheese tasting would be a great introduction.

In Italy the classic tales such as Robin Hood are included in the collection. However, they have not yet been translated into English as of this date.

Bulking Up Little Mickey

Walt Disney bought Marvel Comics for $4 billion. It means more big bucks for Disney as they produce megahit movies with these characters. What does this mean for Marvel's stable of comic characters, Ironman, Captain America, Spiderman, Wolverine, and Spiderwoman? What does this mean for publishers like ABDO Publishing who publish the comics in Spotlight one of their imprints? These are hardbound with library binding. What does this mean to inner city libraries and the young people who cannot afford to buy comics, so they use the local library as their source?

Will Spidey be bringing the glass slipper to Cinderella? Will Mickey Mouse have to bulk up his petite frame, so he can marry one of the wicked stepsisters? Will Captain America knock off the wicked witch of Sleeping Beauty? Of course, Captain America doesn't have a weapon except his shield, so he will have to use a judo toss as a method of disposal.

It doesn't have to be negative. It can be a win-win for both companies and for libraries. Time Warner has owned DC (Detective Comics) since 1969. If anything, the movies produced have added to the mystic of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Comics are more popular than ever. If you don't believe it, just checkout the growing graphic novel sections in your local bookstore. Five years ago these sections were slim pickings. In 2003 most city libraries did not even have a graphic novel section. Now they do. A student looks forward to a movie coming out. They go to see it, and they want more. This merger will mean an upswing in books kids want to read. That is the core value. There need to be books kids want to read to propel them to proficiency in reading. Hopefully, more books will be produced and many of those books will be in library binding.

DC Comics: New Titles

Stone Arch books has come out with 12 new superhero titles to go with their other DC Comic titles. The addition of these new titles make a 24 volume series of DC comics available to students. Some of the titles will not come out until 2010. All are full color crossover chapter books for those who enjoy the DC graphic novels. Reading level is grades 2-3. Interest level is grade 3-6. They have 56 pages and a character education theme. If the comic features are not too watered down, these may make a welcome hook for the reluctant reader. All are in library binding. Superman, Batman, Robin all make a great addition to any elementary school collection. Stone Arch is an imprint of Capstone Publishers.

The World of Shredderman

Students who are ready to crossover from graphic novels to chapter books should take a look at the Shredderman series by Wendelin Van Draanen. Shedderman is a cyber superhero for ages 7 to 10. The series includes four titles, Secret Identity, Attack of the Tagger, Meet the Gecho, and Enemy Spy. There are a few graphics in black and white which give off similar vibes as graphic novels, but these are definitely chapter books. The series is published by Random House and has a very cool website for introducing the characters. The website also includes resources and activities for teachers.

Flying High with "Fly Guy"

Tedd Arnold's kindergarten to 2nd grade Hi! Fly Guy has won the 2006 Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Award from the American Library Association. It sells in the Bound to Stay Bound version for $9.79. Shoo, Fly Guy and Super Fly Guy are both $10.25 in BTSB. The originals are all published by Scholastic. The BTSB versions will stand up to a lot usage by children. All are easy to read but still a fun graphic novel for the little ones.

His newest book Hooray for Fly Guy will be out in September 2009. In this book Fly Guy plays football. Fly High! Fly Guy was published in 2008. In this version Fly Guy takes a road trip. Arnold also has There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy which is an interesting concept for a super hero fly. Arnold is the author of one of my favorite picture books, Green Wilma. Wilma is another creature with big eyes. For a comprehensive list of Tedd Arnold books visit his booklist

Spotlight Beefed Up the Comic Classics

Spotlight has added many new additions to their graphic Marvel collections such as Ironman and Captain America. Ironman should be popular due to the movie which came out last year. They have also added to their Hulk and Spiderman series. X-Men: First Class and and X-Men Power Pack complete their previous selections in this series. These will be a big hit with students due to the popularity of the X-Men:Wolverine movie. Keep in mind the ever popular Thor is now out also.

Spotlight is a division of Abdopublishing. Spotlight has high quality library editions which can take a lot of wear and tear. Don't forget that Spotlight also has the beloved Archie series with Jughead, Betty, and Veronica. This series is in their graphic novel collection and is a big hit with fourth and fifth grade girls.

Explosion in Graphic Novels

Wow! There is an amazing amount of graphic novels coming out. At last publishers are producing many titles for grades 1-5. The Magic Wagon division of ABDO publishing has increased it's titles dramatically. They have Katherine the Almost Great series and Fiona and Freida's Fairy-tale Adventures for grades 2-5. Graphic Classics for grades 3-6 such as Moby Dick, White Fang, and Robin Hood are also available. I would want to see these before buying to check the quality of the stories. Now that everyone has jumped on the graphic novel bandwagon, librarians have to be sure the books they purchase are still worthy of being in a school collection especially in these times with limited funding.

Most interesting is the set of 6 of the series Boxcar Children. Although the Magic Wagon is not listed as a division with library editions, the Boxcar Children has reinforced library binding, so they should be able to stand some wear and tear. They have full color pages. However, the books are only 32 pages which makes me wonder if the content of the story is still in tact. Experienced teachers have for many years used the Boxcar children as the bridge to reading chapter books for grades 2 and 3. Those readers with less experience would be still be able to feel on par with their peers by reading the graphic novel Boxcar children.

The Last Airbenders

Just received the series of six of The Last Airbender from Perma-Bound. Now I find the famous director M. Night Shyamalan is releasing the movie in July 2010. I wish had access to more. Movies always spark students interest. Students are certainly going to be wanting more of the series. This series is based on the original Japanese Anime series.

The Avatar is the master of all four elements, water, earth, fire, and air, which are involved in continued warfare. Only the Avatar can stop the Fire Nation from conquering the world.

Kids are now coming to school with the Airbender hair cut. It's not from reading the book. It's from watching the series on TV. They have a shaved head with just the arrow showing in hair. Will wonders never cease?