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.

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.

Publishers

A serious issue in obtaining library books for young students is the quality of the binding and the paper quality. Graphic novels/comics get a tremendous amount of wear. They do not sit on the shelves. They fly out the door just like the heros in the books. With American comics it is not a problem if you know where to get library bound books. Jeff Smith's Bone by Scholastic is one of the few paperbacks that is built with good quality paper. Most quality manga's are all ordinary quality paperback. Although in 2008 Perma-Bound has come out with a few elementary mangas. Paperbacks don't survive well. After about ten checkouts they are going downhill. I put more money on the American graphic/novels because they can be bought in library binding. When I have the money I invest in a few good manga's for the older students.

Spotlight is popular fiction in quality library editions. They are reinforced side-sewn editions. Spotlight is an imprint of ABDO Publishing. They have a few picture books, Dora the explorer, and a few Henry and and Mudge, but they really excel in their graphic novels/comic selections. They have Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Fantastic Four, The Hulk and Sentinel, Spiderman Team Up, Spiderman, Spidergirl, X-men, Archie, Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. I have these books and they hold up amazingly well.

Using various publishers Bound To Stay Bound Books have an increasing selection of graphic novels. They have Capstone's graphic history library such as the Boston tea Party and Rosa Parks. World Almanac Library's California Gold Rush and the First Moon Landing are part of this collection. The infamous Captain Underpants, Babymouse, and Scholastic's Bone series are in BTSB. They have Creating the X-men, Kristy's Great Idea (Babysitters), the Story of Spiderman, Wolves in the Wall, and many more high quality graphic novels. These are all hard bound with a good looking sturdy cover. For the very young students they have the Stone arch series books Tiger Moth and Robot Rampage .