Supercharge Your Students' Interest in Reading

Supercharge Your Students' Interest in Reading
An Internet Hotlist on Graphic Novels and Comics

created by Mrs. Poelzer
Parkcrest Elementary Library Media Center

Introduction
Here are some terrific links to information about Graphic Novels and Comics. Any teacher, teacher-librarian, or reading specialist interested in using comics with students or building a graphic novel collection should find these to be useful resources.

The Internet Resources

Online Articles

Graphic Novel Review Sites

Diamond Bookshelf: Reviews - Monthly reviews of Graphic Novels at a variety of age levels. Reviews are contributed by librarian and industry professional, Katherine (Kat) Kan.
No Flying, No Tights - A website reviewing Graphic Novels for teens. An absolute wealth of information. Excellent!
No Flying, No Tights: Sidekicks for Kids - Short reviews divided into genres for kids up to tweens.
Sequential Tart: Report Cards - Useful reviews done on a monthly basis. The current month in on the screen, but you can click on 'archives' to see previous lists. Check out the rest of this site if you have time, too. It's fun and useful!
The Comics Get Serious: Graphic Novel Reviews - Another section of the site mentioned above, only including titles more suited to teen/adult readers.
The Comics Get Serious: Kid-Friendly Books - This site hasn't been updated for quite some time, but still contains a useful list of titles.
Thought Bubbles - 'Thought Bubbles' explores and evaluates the world of graphic novels and first appeared in Knowledge Quest magazine in 2002.

Suggested Title Lists

25 Graphic Novels for Elementary, Middle and High School - A list of books published by Diamond Comics. Detailed descriptions and cover art are provided.
Back to School Special - A list of great Graphic Novels recommended for students - a variety of age levels.
Graphic Novels for Elementary School Libraries -
Graphic Novels for Younger Readers - A good starting point for those in an Elementary school setting.
Great Graphic Novels for Teens: Nominated Titles - A list of titles nominated as terrific Graphic Novels to be added to the Young Adult Library Services Association list for 2007.
Michael Lavin's List of Recommended Titles - Several useful lists - organized by age level.
Recommended Graphic Novels for Public Libraries - Steve Raiteri's list of recommended titles. Most are appropriate for high school students or adults.
Recommended Manga List - Manga (Japanese comics)are rapidly gaining popularity in North America. Here is a recommended list. Note: many manga titles are better suited to teen/adult audiences. These reviews contain cautions if there is any questionable content in the stories.

Lesson and Unit Plans

Balloon Tales!: Comicraft's Online Guide to Comic Lettering and Production - A site devoted to the often overlooked art of lettering in comics.
Comic Book / Comic Strip Design - A neat art unit. Scroll to the bottom for ideas on creating sculptures of comic book characters as well.
Comic Book Characters (Media Awareness Network) - This lesson has students examine male/female comic book characters, identify stereotypes, and create their own comic book character. Grades 5 and up.
Comic Book Lesson/Unit Using 'Maus' by Art Spiegelman - A resource for middle/high school teachers using this powerful, Pulitzer Prize winning title.
Create Your Own Comics With Stink - A neat resource to use with younger students (primary or lower intermediate). Stink is the younger brother of well-known book character Judy Moody.
Creative Writing Using Comics - A lesson plan from the Educator's Reference Desk. Recommended for grade 4 and up.
Designing Comic Strips - This is a great webquest-style activity to try
Drawing Cartoons Theme Page - This page has tons of links to other sites that would be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about drawing cartoons.
Interactive Comic Creator - Check this out! Lots of fun for students of all ages.
Read/Write/Think Lessons and Units - An excellent site for a variety of age levels incorporating comics into lessons and units. Highly recommended!
Storyboards - A great lesson plan that has students translate a written story into a visual one.
Teacher Created Resources: Comic Book Project (Grades 5-8) -
The Comic Book Project (Teachers College, Columbia University) - The Comic Book Project engages children in a creative process leading to literacy reinforcement, social awareness, and character development, then publishes and distributes their work for other children in the community to use as learning and motivational tools. Materials/lessons/workbooks are available for purchase.
Using Graphic Novels in the Classroom, Including 'Bone' by Jeff Smith: A Guide for Teachers and Librarians - This useful .pdf unit is put out by Scholastic, who has recently launched several titles under their 'Graphix' graphic novel imprint. Great for Elementary schools.

Other Cool Resources, Links, etc.

CCBC: Graphic Novels - An online pathfinder that can lead you to recommended review sources, books, vendors, links, articles, and more!
Comic Book Heroes Unmasked - A highly recommended video that you can order from The History Channel to kick off a unit on comics. Best suited to middle/high school levels.
Comic Books for Young Adults - This Web site is designed to introduce librarians (as well as teachers and parents) to the rich, diverse offerings from today's comics book publishers, and to encourage the acquisition of comic books and graphic novels in libraries serving young adults.
Comic Books: Internet Resources - From the University of Buffalo Arts and Sciences Library comes this comprehensive list of terrific sites. You could spend days surfing through all the links found here. Last updated 2003.
Comic books and graphic novels: Digital resources for an evolving form of art and literature - Great suggestions for a wide variety of Internet resources on the topic.
Comics in the Classroom: An All Ages Comic Site for Teachers, Parents, and Librarians - Another great site with reviews, lesson plans, and other wonderful suggestions for the use of comics and graphic novels in elementary schools.
Diamond Comics: Graphic Novels for your School - A great .pdf guidebook that covers the topics: Reaching Reluctant Readers, Comics and ESL: A Perfect Match!, Four Lesson Plans for Comics, and Recommended Titles for Every Grade K-12.
Do Comics Belong in the Classroom? A Web Inquiry Project - Please see corresponding slideshow below....
Do Comics Belong in the Classroom? Slideshow - Use in conjunction with the Web Inquiry Project above.
GNLIB-L - Graphic Novels in Libraries Listserv - Those in book-related professions can join this list serve to read and share reviews and resources for collection development of graphic or comic novel sections. You do not need to be registered to read the archives.
Let's Read: Graphic Novels - This site has lots of great links to all sorts of graphic novel resources on the net.
The Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga - A terrific site if you're looking for more information on this topic.
The Periodic Table of Comic Books - An entertaining site that older students will enjoy visiting. Click on an element and see how it has been used in comic books. Science/Chemistry teachers will enjoy this site too!
The Secret Origin of Good Readers: A Resource Book - A terrific .pdf document that covers resources/recommendations, comic book activity ideas, and sample lesson plans.

Content by Mrs. Poelzer, tpoelzer@sd73.bc.ca
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listgraphictp.html
Last revised Fri May 22 15:00:29 US/Pacific 2009