[LM_NET] Graphic Novels

[Nancy <butterflymoon20022002@YAHOO.COM>]

Thank you all for being patient this week as I have tried to compile all the 
responses I have received about my questions with graphic novels. I am still not 
all that certain about them but I have am reading a series now, titled Mai, the 
psychic girl. I am reading the second book in the series now. I have to admit I 
need to pay closer attention to the pictures but this series has me intrigued. I 
also have a couple of the other recommended titles that I will read. Thank you all 
for your help with graphic novels. On Friday I did check my school library and 
there aren't any graphic novels in the library. I will recommend the purchase of 
graphic novels.
   
  Nancy Goodrich, Teacher
  Taylor MS
  Warrenton,VA
  Butterflymoon20022002@yahoo.com or ngoodrich@fcps1.org
   
  Yes! Look at Jim Ottaviani's "Two fisted science" series. It's (I think) high 
school level.
  --Anne
  ________
   
  At the last AASL conference, I attended a session about Graphic Novels
  and Reading.  Preliminary research was presented by a librarian who
  was collaborating with special ed teachers.  They used GNs to entice
  the spec. ed students to read.  They were given free choice and then
  were asked later in the  year to respond to questions about reading
  and GNs.  The sampling was too small, and there were other issues that
  made the actual statistics not relevant.  But several students said
  that when they read, they could not see pictures of what was going in
  their heads.  The illustrations in GNs let them see the action going
  on.   One student just didn't like them at all.   I apologize if my
  memory wasn't the greatest concerning this presentation.
   
  At my own school, I now have 300 GNs, about half manga and the rest
  superheroes and real graphic novels.   I also circulate our manga
  magazines, Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat.  It has really boosted my circ
  stats!   My student aides who are true readers and I were talking
  about GNs the other day.  They didn't like them.  They wanted real
  books.  They found the pictures distracting.  BUT, I also have my hard
  core GN readers who wouldn't read anything else.    
   
  Lee D. Gordon
  Librarian
  Sierra Vista High School
  8100 W. Robindale Rd. Las Vegas, NV 89113
  _____
   
  This topic came up before, I'm not sure whether it was this listserv or another. 
This was my response then:
   
  I have a small collection of graphic novels, mostly ordered 2 yrs. ago. I have 
mixed feelings about them so forgive me if I sound ambiguous. I had a small group 
of students who were interested in them at the time that I ordered them - I quickly 
found out that a graphic novel isn't just a graphic novel. There are those who are 
interested in anime and so they gravitate 
  toward the Japanese series. Others like the more "American" series - both groups 
seem to turn their noses up at the other group. I think that the graphic novels are 
a legitimate genre and will sometimes attract a student who otherwise might not be 
interested in reading. There are some excellent readers who also love this genre 
for very sophisticated reasons. 
   
  While some students, especially boys, will be attracted to these books because 
they are "comic books," most titles are more sophisticated than that and do require 
attention to story line and more reading than you'd think. 
   
  On the down side, these books are expensive and most are soft cover. They are 
very difficult to review for content, and content that would be acceptable as print 
in a high school setting somehow becomes more disturbing because of the 
pictures.For instance, I have one that I never did put on the shelves that has a 
picture of a murdered naked woman. While it isn't a terribly graphic or detailed 
picture, there is something more shocking about it because it is a picture, and I 
can see that if a child took that book home I may have a problem I don't need if a 
parent objects to it. I always read professional reviews of any book I purchase but 
somehow these reviews didn't help me as much in making choices of graphic novels. 
   
  I would add that I read Classics Illustrated voraciously as a child. They were 
comic book versions of classics, such as A Tale of Two Cities. They were probably a 
disaster as a literary form, but I loved them and because I read them I went on to 
read the complete novels when I was older. Of course, I was always a reader - GNs 
now may lead to more reading in general once students branch out, or more 
acceptance of books as a form of recreation. 
   
  I still have my GN display in the back, but I know for a fact that not one 
student has checked one out this year. I don't think last year either...poor 
readers, mostly boys, are attracted to them initially but once they pick them up 
and figure out that they aren't as simple as they seem, they put them back down. 
   
  Just some of my thoughts on this topic -
   
  Lyn Grund, Librarian
  Middlesex High School
  Middlesex, NJ  lcgrund@gmail.com
   
   
  _________
   
  We've started buying GNs and can't keep them on the shelf.  Who's
  reading them?  Many, many of our Upper School student who otherwise
  wouldn't be reading for pleasure at all - there are too many other
  constraints on their time and pressures to get good grades/get into
  the "right" college.
   
  We do vet for excessive violence, but otherwise my feeling is if it
  gets/keeps them reading, they're valuable.  I even have several girls
  recommending series to me for future purchase!
    
  Laura Pearle
  Head Librarian
  Kaskel Library
  Hackley School
  _______
   
  Just a couple of thoughts on your posting.  Your question about kids with ADD - 
my daughter has ADD in a huge way and absolutely inhales GNs.   She can read them 
much faster than I can.  In fact, I think that they appeal to her because there is 
so much going on on a page.  She has a hard time focusing on one thing at a time so 
a very busy page is good for her.
  Another thing to consider in regards to GNs is that the literacy required for 
reading them is slightly different that it is for a novel.  There is a much higher 
level of visual literacy needed.  My own theory is that kids develop visual 
literacy to a higher level and more quickly than we did because of their access to 
computers.  So, just because there are fewer words on a page, doesn't mean that 
they are not being challenged in terms of literacy.
    
  Diane Gallagher-Hayashi
  Teacher-Librarian
  Stelly's School
  School District 63 (Saanich)
  Canada
  ________
   
   
  My teenage son didn't want to read books during middle school.  He did 
  enjoy
  graphic novels.  It made my husband crazy, but I kept stressing that 
  our son
  was in fact reading.  He had a group of friends in school who all read
  Manga.  They were also strong readers.  (Interestingly, one of the 
  students
  just won a young filmmakers award for a short.)
   
  In high school my son set aside graphic novels for traditional books.
  (Thank you Darren Shan for Cirque du Freak.)  He has been reading 
  non-stop
  since.  He read the Iliad for pleasure and plans to get the new 
  translation
  of the Aeneid.
   
  Bene e Pace (Blessings and Peace),
  Paula Laurita
   
  ________
   
  I think that graphic novels appeal to a special type of reader. I have 
  some
  (what I would call quality) graphic novels but the kids check out the 
  few
  Japanese Manga series much more. I don't encourage them but I have them 
  for
  those who want them.
   
  Brenda Suttor
  Media Specialist
  Muskegon High School
  Muskegon, Michigan
  bsuttor@mpsk12.net
   
  ________
  the end, Nancy G

 
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