I volunteered.
I'm gonna lay it out on the table (I believe I've already done that once or twice) - I don't like graphic novels. Through grit teeth, yes, they get kids reading and for a kid to read ANYTHING is a great start to a lifetime love of reading. I just don't like graphic novels for reasons I thought AND for reasons I later found out when I started reading them for a challenge. Let me share a few with you.
What I Knew:
- They are just weird. They have weird subjects and weird ways of relaying information. They have weird things written in them. Even while reading them for the challenge, I would be cruising along and even kinda enjoying what I was reading when all of a sudden - WEIRDNESS!! Something weird would be said and I'm guessing it was all a matter of time. That's a graphic novel for ya! Is that part of the graphic novel criteria? Do you have to include some off-the-wall strange line or idea to make it a "true" graphic novel. Examples?
- Little White Duck - They stuck firecrackers up the bums of rats
- Hidden - The little boy had to stand on a desk in his classroom and show the class his little boy parts so they could see a Jewish circumcision.
- El Deafo - One little girl tells the other to look down her shirt and spell "attic" (it took me a while, but the rest of my family picked right up on it)
- I was expecting a lack of depth because you just don't get the amount of detail as you would in a novel.
- I found out that I was right on the weirdness, BUT it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I really expected a lot worse.
- Yes, there was a great deal lacking in depth, but that part was worse that I expected. The books were harder to follow and less memorable because you didn't really invest any real time with characters or story lines. They almost seemed to be abbreviated or abridged stories.
- The pictures were right there for you so you didn't have to create them yourself which saddened me. When I read, and I don't know if this true for everyone, but the whole book gets played in my mind like a movie. I think this why I have such high retention because I don't just READ the book, I SEE the book.
- The good part was that it was really easy to get through a book. This may not mean much to many folks, but it is such a GOOD feeling to finish a book! I think that this is really encouraging for kids and I also think (I hope) that continually finishing books will encourage them to reach out an try some longer books.
I think that they are good because they get kids reading especially boys. I really encourage parents to read the books first or look them over because they do have some strange things in them that may confuse some kids at different levels of development. I highly encourage conversations about these things too. I would caution in spending money on them or maybe get a group together to swap the books. These books can be read in a day and sometimes just a few hours. I don't know about you, but if I'm spending $18 on a book, then I want it to last for more than a day. The library is an excellent source for graphic novels AND they are coming out with more and more every day. Graphic novels are not really new, but they are steadily gaining in popularity and becoming more mainstream. I think library's are having a rough time catching up to the demand. I know our library has more than doubled our number of graphic novels. I HIGHLY encourage parents to read some of these books. I HIGHLY encourage parents to read many of the books their kids are reading. Books are knowledge and knowledge is power. Books can be just as influential as the company your kids keep and you should be in the know.
HAPPY GRAPHIC READING!!
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