Recently someone asked me what I thought about graphic novels and other graphic materials such as biographies and historical fiction. For those of you who may not be familiar with this type of book, graphic books are written like a comic book with pictures and captions or dialogue. Think “Mary Worth” or “Superman” in book form and you probably have a good idea.
Well, I am not a fan of graphic books. The illustrations are usually comic in nature, the text is sparse thereby leaving out much information, and the graphic style for a whole book actually bothers me. Thus said, there are some students who love them and would actually read them. They will appeal to many of your high interest low level readers. Plus, they can be used to provide a quick overview of a historical event.
If you are looking for a few graphic format books for your library, ABDO Publishing Group has a number of books that might be of interest to you. Their Graphic History gives students a basic idea of the historical event. We have “The Fall of the Berlin Wall” in graphic form in our library. To see what other books are available, go to www.abdopub.com and type in graphic novel or graphic history in the quick search box.
Each to his own. If I decide to read a graphic book, I am much more likely to pick up a treasury of Foxtrot or Zits. I do believe there is a place for a good graphic book even if I am not interested in them personally.
Have a great week.
Audrey
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