Do you like comics and graphic novels? I do! When I was younger I went through phases where I would only read Garfield comics (that grumpy, ginger cat always made me laugh) and then I moved onto Archie and Friends (still great!) and many others. I still love reading them today.
You might hear some people might say that comics are not "real reading" - that's not true! Comics, manga, graphic novels are sometimes even more complex than novels because you have to read the words and pictures together. The words and the pictures combined can create multiple layers of meaning.
Here are a few tips for reading comics:
*Sidenote: Japanese Manga have different rules though, I plan to write another post just about manga!
Marvel comics and their corresponding movies are extremely popular all over the world. This video teaches you about the way words can have special meaning in comics.
There are also different reasons that we all read - sometimes just for fun and entertainment and other times we want to learn something new or perhaps understand the story of someone who has had similar or different experiences from ourselves.
'When the Stars are Scattered' is a new graphic novel by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson (author of 'Roller Girl'). It is all about the bond between two brothers and their experiences in a refugee camp in Kenya. In the video below, Omar Mohamed reads the first chapter.
If you are new to graphic novels, here are a few must-reads to get you started...
Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi is one of the most popular book series for all readers. It combines adventure, robots, fantasy, magic, friendship and family. Learn more about this series on the Scholastic website.
Raina Telgemeier (author of Smile) loved to read comics when she was young and wrote some of her books based on her own life experiences. Learn more about her here.
This year, New Kid by Jerry Craft won the prestigious Newbery Medal and this is the first time a graphic novel has won this award.
The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell is one of our Surrey Schools Book of the Year nominees -if you read it and loved it, remember to vote online by May 26th!
If you would like to get reading right away, here are some free comics available online:
EPIC! Books has a great selection of comics and graphic novels. They also have an awesome video series called 'Kids Make Comics' and another one called 'Ready, Set, Draw' where you can learn to draw all your favourite characters. You can also search for books about 'how to make your own comic'... so much to choose from!
Dav Pilkey (author of Captain Underpants and Dogman series) also does weekly videos of how to draw his characters. I linked to it in a previous blog post, Boredom Busters.
In our Holly Digital Library we have about 40 graphic novels available! I agree that it is not always the best format to read on a screen but it's not too bad. The Geronimo Stilton graphic novels look like this...
That page is from my ebook recommendation of the week - Geronimo Stilton #3: The Coliseum Con in which Geronimo Stilton travels back in time to Ancient Rome.
Keep reading, stay safe and care for others, Holly Hawks!
Love, Mrs. Myles
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