Parent Guide to Book Genres: Graphic Novels
These hybrids combine old-fashioned storytelling with up-to-the-minute visuals. No wonder kids are hooked.
In a TV- and video game-filled world, today's children are increasingly drawn to the visual, and to tales filled with the zap-pow-bam excitement of superheroes, both real and fictional. Graphic novels don't all have superheroes, but those that do often tell a different side of the story. Regardless of the hero, the pictures draw children in, while the complex and unique stories keep them reading. Even voracious readers of traditional novels enjoy taking a break from words, words, words to take in a more visual landscape of storytelling. Here's your guide to this hot genre.
Why They're Worthwhile
Beyond the Books
Top Titles to Try
Why They're Worthwhile
Graphic novels encourage reading for pleasure and are a superb way to get reluctant readers interested in books. If your child watches cartoons or loves superheroes, these books hold a natural appeal. At the same time, graphic novels introduce complex themes, plots, and structures, making them interesting for advanced readers as well. Finally, the graphical nature of the narratives helps introduce vocabulary through contextual clues and fosters independent reading and learning.
These novels can also be a wonderful way to open discussion on difficult topics, without being heavy-handed or overly serious. Many touch on everyday issues such as friendship, difficulty in school, and not fitting in. To spark a revealing conversation, try asking your child questions about what he thinks the characters are feeling or thinking, or what he would do in a similar situation (and why). It's terrific, too, to talk about the artwork itself and how it contributes to the stories and characters, and discover what styles of art your child is drawn to. You can also find great opportunities to discuss words and vocabulary and how they're drawn, as many graphic novels use different fonts for different characters, emphasis, or situation. If your child has trouble following traditional novels, show him how the illustrations can guide him through the story by offering contextual clues.
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Beyond the Books
To inspire your reader, try these activities:
- Go to a comic book store or, even better, attend a comic convention, and talk with other people passionate about the form. At conventions, many authors and illustrators are available to answer questions, plus there's the fun of the costumed characters walking around among us mortal folk.
- Have your child create a graphic novel of her own, using a computer graphics or drawing program or by hand. If she has trouble coming up with an original idea, have her imagine what happens after the final frame of her favorite title, or what might happen if two different characters from different books met.
- Encourage him to take on the identity of his favorite character for a day, including clothes, mannerisms, and speech. This will push him to use his imagination as well as get a deeper understanding of the character . . . and have fun!
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Top Titles to Try
While the picture-filled format may seem suitable for all ages, many graphic novels deal with dark and complex themes, so we've compiled picks for both younger and older readers.
For Ages 8 to 12
The Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey
No matter which of Pilkey's joke-filled journeys you pick up, prepare for an overflow of potty humor. Two trouble-making 4th-graders, George and Harold, create the toughest tighty-whitey-wearing superhero of all time, who leaps off the page to save the school from talking toilets, bionic booger boys, a wicked wedgie woman, and even naughty cafeteria ladies from outer space.
It Was a Dark and Silly Night edited by Art Spiegelman
Each story in this "Little Lit" collection begins with the phrase, "It was a dark and silly night . . ." and then takes off with the silly, twisted, and crazy imaginations of some of children's most beloved authors, from Lemony Snicket to J. Otto Seibold, as well as noted graphic novelist Neil Gaiman. A great introduction to a wide variety of styles, this will provide a leaping-off point to discover what interests and inspires your child to read - as well as what makes him laugh.
The Bone series by Jeff Smith
Join the adventures of three cousins — warm-hearted Fone Bone, money-hungry Phony Bone, and goofy Smiley Bone — as they leave Boneville on adventures to match "The Lord of the Rings." The lively Bones fight evil, lose each other, are reunited, meet royalty and more, all drawn with humor and style that makes the books breathless page-turners.
Goodbye Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson
Unusual animals fill the journey of Chunky Rice, a small turtle, who leaves behind his best friend, Dandele, her big mouse eyes filled with sadness. Black-and-white panels move and tilt into one another along Chunky's rocky passage in a run-down ship, and make the past and present ebb and flow throughout this charming and bittersweet tale of loneliness, loss, and enduring friendship.
For Ages 12 and Up
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
What if Batman retired? And what if 10 years later, Gotham needed him again? Miller's haunting work opens on a city rampant with crime and visibly decaying. When Bruce Wayne does find a new Robin, this one a girl, and dons his costume, readers wonder if he is too late to battle the enemies made more evil and deadly by their years in Arkham Asylum. Other aging superheroes step into Miller's haunting panes and show that time affects even the mightiest — and that some passions never change.
Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman
Gaiman is best known for his "Sandman" graphic novels for adults, but his captivating take on what would happen if superheroes appeared in the 17th century introduces his sometimes dark and difficult style in a more accessible manner. Familiar characters such as X-Men's leader Charles Xavier, Spider-Man, and Nick Fury appear in the Elizabethan period and must face the issues of the time, from prejudice to the Spanish Inquisition; and of course they must foil the evil plans of King James of Scotland and save the world, too.
Maus by Art Spiegelman
Spiegelman's interviews with his father, Vladek, a Holocaust survivor, form this difficult yet compelling look at the Holocaust and its effects on survivors and their offspring. In Spiegelman's drawings, the Nazis are cats, the Jews are mice, the Polish are pigs, Americans are dogs, and the French are frogs, adding visual clues to the characters in a story that becomes increasingly uneasy. While it's obviously a difficult subject, this Pulitzer Prize–winning story is powerful, suspenseful, and well worth reading.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Satrapi's autobiography recounts her life as a girl in Iran, from when fundamentalist rebels started the Islamic revolution in 1979 until the beginning of the Iran-Iraq war, when her family is forced to send her, at age 14, to Europe for safety. Even though the subject matter is serious, and covers the horrors of war and totalitarianism, the rebelliousness of adolescence, and the struggles of family life under this regime, Satrapi's story is also charming and funny, and her artwork has a stark beauty that matches the tone of this important story.
One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry
From the first page of Barry's "autobifictionalographic" story, her unique voice is clear. Her almost-awkward yet wonderful drawings perfectly illustrate her tales from childhood, which are sometimes painful, often funny, and always poignant. From losing friendships, unreturned crushes, family conflict, and even the 2000 presidential election, Barry works out her demons through art. At the end of the book, she encourages readers to do the same.
The Swamp Thing series by Alan Moore
Moore is renowned for his adult-aimed graphic novel, Watchmen, and here he applies his narrative genius to take a familiar comic book character to a new level. In this series, Swamp Thing becomes a mythical creature who uses the power of nature to fight a polluted world. A very atypical hero, the Thing struggles with very human issues as he delves into his own origins and copes with people who fear and hate him for his appearance.
Little-Known Gems
A Contract With God by Wil Eisner
Eisner is credited with coming up with the term "graphic novel" to describe his interrelated tales of the residents of 55 Dropsie Avenue, a Jewish tenement in New York. If your child is seriously interested in the genre, introduce him to the history of the form as well as a sometimes upbeat, sometimes heartbreaking look into New York's past. The illustrations are as unique as the characters.
The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar
When the Rabbi's cat swallows a parrot, he gains the power of speech — and a greater capacity for mischief, which lends humor to this heart-warming look at serious matters of religion and the intersection of Arab, French, and Jewish culture.
Ice Haven by Daniel Clowes
Clowes is best known for Ghost World, but Ice Haven may be a better pick for kids (advanced and older readers). While the setup for the story is the disappearance of a little boy, the narrative focuses on the lives of the unique characters that live in his town, including a lovesick teen, a poet obsessed with her rival, and a bully. Varying his drawing style to fit different stories, Clowes paints a frank and sometimes bleak portrait of small-town life.
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