Graphic Novels

Feiffer, Jules
Meanwhile
HarperCollins Publisher
1997
3rd-5th

Summary: A boy creates MEANWHILES to travel through various stories in order to get out of messy situations.

Strengths: Children would enjoy this story. It is silly and interesting and children can relate to the boy who wishes to create MEANWHILE so he doesn't have to answer his mom.

Concerns:It might be good if the story was a bit longer to elaborate on events. It doesn't teach children a good lesson of creating a way to get out of doing what they are told. There is mild violence for example when the boy takes his toenail to write on the inside of mountain lion's tummy after he is eaten.

Classroom Use: Can be used as an example of an interesting way a story can be told in comic book form.

Hartman, Rachel
Amy Unbounded: Belondweg Blossoming
Pug House Press
2002
4th-6th

Summary: The story of one of Amy's adventures with her family and a few friends when she encounters Mr. Olpheist.

Strengths: The storyline is a bit confusing to follow at first but once it takes hold of the reader it keeps the audience entertained.

Concerns: Like I said, the storyline can be a little hard to keep up with and sometimes recognizing the characters can be difficult since they tend to look alike. I think adding color would have added an extra positive element, at present the book looks incomplete.

Classroom Use: For an older class, students might enjoy reading this creative story in comic strip form.


Multicultural

Williams, Marcia
Sinbad the Sailor
Candlewick Press
1994
3rd-4th

Summary: Uses a comic strip format to present the seven voyages of Sinbad, in which he encounters a colossal giant, a sea monster, and other dangers.

Strengths: Some of Sinbad's voyages were interesting. The size of the book leaves plenty of room for lots of text and pictures. The dialogue is very humorous at times.

Concerns: Sometimes the voyages droan on and on. I think there should have been more dialogue involved to make the children more interested in it.

Classroom Use: Reading the entire story would be too much for students to take in but reading one of the voyages to the class might be a good start to an activity where students create their own comic strip story.

Capital Choice
Tan, Shaun
The Arrival
Arthur A. Levine Books
2006
4th-6th

Summary: In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new life for himself and his family.

Strengths: The book contains many beautiful interesting pictures throughout. Tan does a nice job of conveying emotion in the people's faces and illustrating certain scenes such as the man in the window of the ship getting further and further away.

Concerns: I think the book kind of leaves the reader standing. The beginning of the book is understandable but the part where the creatures come in is confusing and is not really made clear. Young boys and girls might have a hard time understanding the storyline.

Classroom Use: For an upper elementary classroom, a teacher could explain that this is a certain way one could look at immigration and emigration with pieces that are made figuratively.



Torres, J.Days Like This
Oni Press
2003
3rd-4th

Summary: The graphic novel showcases several young people's determination to make it in showbiz during the 1950s/60s.

Strengths: The story is entertaing and pulls the reader along to finish the book quickly. It is also not very common to read a graphic novel on the 1950s or 1960s.

Concerns: sometimes I felt as if the time periosd was not really set during the mid 20th Century especially witht the character Anna Solamon.

Classroom Use: This graphic novel might inspire students to create their own comic strip book about a time period in the past.