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.
Non Fiction
11 years ago
