Graphic novels are perfect for summer reading. Some kids (and parents) gasp when I say that graphic novels and comic books “count” for reading just as much as words-only books do. Of course they do! Open up a graphic novel like Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires and you’ll find rich vocabulary, an enticing main character, an action-riddled plot, all the components of a good book. But with comics and graphic novels, you also get art that draws in readers, especially reluctant ones.
This picture-book-sized wordless book is a great introduction to graphic novels for littler ones. Polo the dog lives on his own island. One day he goes out his front door, across a tightrope that turns into stairs, and off on an adventure that will take him to the moon and back. It’s whimsically fun, and because it’s wordless, you and your child can use your own words to describe what you see.
Binky is (or thinks he is) a super-top-secret Space Cat, with a mission “to one day blast off into outer space…” even though he hasn’t ever actually been outside. Inside his Space Station (house), he takes good care of his humans by protecting them from ALIENS!! (flies). There’s an obvious, hilarious disconnect between the words and the pictures, and readers will quickly realize that what Binky thinks is not exactly what’s really going on.
The Amulet series is what hooked my then seven-year-old son on reading. Em and Navin move into their great-grandfather’s spooky old house and find a mysterious stone amulet. When their mother is kidnapped by arachnopods, Em and Navin must enter another world and use the amulet to save them all. It’s an action-packed book that will make kids eager to read the whole series.
Children are clever and convincing and comedic and Grambling showcases these qualities in Can I Bring Woolly to the Library, Ms. Reeder? How could a librarian possibly resist having a woolly mammoth in her library? Especially one who would wear fuzzy slippers to quiet the noise he makes when he walks. Or one who could shelve books (even on the tall shelves) or cuddle with the kids in the reading corner (while the library mascot is being repaired). And who better to have around when your bookmobile gets stuck in a snow bank than a woolly mammoth? The watercolor paintings are as clever as the text and ripe with emotion. This book begs to be read over and over again. In fact, you might even find yourself reading it aloud when there aren’t any kids around. For ages 5 on up.
The ReaderKidZ are busy making summer plans, but before we take a mini-vacation, we’ll be sharing some of our newest favorite reads, as well as a list of excellent graphic novels that will be sure to entice even the most reluctant readers. Check back Tuesday for the first book on our summer reading list.
a team of brothers, a pair of heroes, and a boy in the Black Hills of S. Dakota have in common? They’re all the subjects of some of 2012’s wonderful new biographies for children.
I adored this book and so did my class! Not only because THOSE REBELS – on the surface a deceptively simple, yet creatively profound structure comparing John Adams and Thomas Jefferson – was an excellent introduction to our third grade unit on government, but also because the text and illustrations offered students a very tangible window into the lives of two of our country’s most prominent founding fathers.
THOSE REBELS is nonfiction for kids at its best. Don’t miss it!
If you were growing up in 1930s New Jersey and there were 16 children in your family, what would you do? If you were one of the Acerra brothers, you’d (more…)
Bill Traylor began to draw when he was in his eighties! Not as a child raised as a slave. Nor as a young adult during the ravages of the Civil War. Most certainly not as a young father struggling to feed his family by working as a share cropper. No. Bill Traylor saved up a lifetime of vivid memories – historically valuable memories – which, late in life, like a gushing waterfall, poured out through his aged hands, gripping pencil nubs to cardboard scraps for the world to see. He drew pictures of families and animals, tragedy and spirituality. Important pictures that not only tell one man’s story, but that of many during a historically oppressed time.
In actuality, Don Tate’s story is a testimony of admiration and friendship. For as the story goes, young artist Charles Shannon, a white man, realized the timeless resonance of Traylor’s folk art. Shannon worked to eventually exhibit Traylor’s treasures in the Concord Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
To further compliment It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started To Draw, Don is offering an in-depth, downloadable teacher guide on his website. The guide offers a rich variety of activities which celebrate the artwork, life, and times of an incredible man – Bill Traylor.
It Jes’ Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw by Don Tate, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, shows the life journey from slavery to artistry of Bill Traylor. His story is not always a happy one, but it is full of courage and “making do” when life goes in unexpected directions. Bill Traylor used bits of paper and cardboard and drew his unusual pictures while sitting on the sidewalk of Monroe Avenue of Montgomery, Alabama. People bought his drawings for a few pennies a piece. Others helped him with art supplies. This biography tells the story of an artist, but also of a time when this country needed healing and blacks and whites were learning a new way of working together. Lee and Low, 2012 – honor book of the New Voices Award.
Strike three; you’re out! William Ellsworth Hoy, one of the first deaf players in major league baseball, scored 100 runs or more in nine different seasons and had over 2,000 lifetime hits. Hoy lost his hearing from meningitis when he was three but he didn’t lose his determination or talent for playing ball. William Hoy has been recognized as key to the development of sign language or baseball hand signals for a variety of plays such as bunt, steal, take a pitch, ball, or strike. Enjoy a step back into baseball history. The illustrations by Adam Gustavson show baseball and players as they appeared during the early 1900s – handlebar mustaches, classic Cincinnati Reds uniforms, inside panoramas of the old ballparks and even baseball headlines. Batter up – and enjoy this baseball biography. Lee and Low, 2012.
This is a beautiful book. Heather Lang tells the story of Alice Coachman, the first African-American woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal.
“From the very first gold medal I won in 1939, my momma used to stress being humble. You’re no better than anyone else. The people you pass on the ladder will be the same people you’ll be with when the ladder comes down.” — Alice to New York Times, April 27, 1995
“When the going gets tough and you feel like throwing your hands in the air, listen to that voice that tells you ‘Keep going. Hang in there.’ Guts and determination will pull you through.”
— Alice to The New York Times, April 27, 1995
“It’s my wish that every young person read this inspiring book. Alice Coachman is truly a hero and her accomplishments remind us all to never give up when the odds are against us.” — Jackie Joyner–Kersee, Olympic gold medalist
Jambo! Hello from Beatrice, an orphan, who lives in one of the toughest, poorest slums of Africa in Kibera, Kenya. “Near the railway track you can look out over the slum and see it stretching on and on to where the earth meets the sky.”
Beatrice has a dream. She wants to become a nurse and help other children who are ill or hurt. She knows that the way to get out of the slums and become a nurse is to study hard at school.
Beatrice’s school is made of tin. “When the wind blows, the loose tin on the roof crackles and pops. Ping. Ping.” Beatrice walks to school every morning and is proud that she will soon graduate and attend boarding school in Nairobi. It’s her dream –and she is making it happen.
The words and photographs bring you to a muddy crowded slum but they also show you the people’s hope and courage. Beatrice’s warm smile and penetrating eyes reassure you that even if Beatrice’s school has few books and many students, she will make her dream a reality. This is a wonderful book to share with any child.
BEATRICE’S DREAM, published by Francis Lincoln Children’s Books, 2011, is included in the 2012 Outstanding International Books List chosen by IBBY, International Board on Books for the Young.
I’ve heard several arguments for why children should be reading more nonfiction, most of them concerning improving school performance and raising academic test scores. While these are admirable goals, it makes reading nonfiction sound akin to eating vegetables. My biggest reason for why kids should read nonfiction is: there are some engaging, interesting nonfiction books out there – grab them and read them!
Biographies are real-life adventure books. If your kids are interested in sports, science, animals, art , world domination, whatever, there’s a biography of someone who achieved greatness in that field that can inspire your kids to pursue their dreams. I love reading about little-known heroes who follow their hearts and change the way society thinks, like Tillie the Terrible Swede: How One Woman, a Sewing Needle, and a Bicycle Changed History written by Sue Stauffacher, illustrated by Sarah McMenemy (Knopf, 2011).
Narrative nonfiction is a term for informational texts that have the flow of a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. There are narrative nonfiction books on virtually every topic. My latest favorite is Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby (G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2010). It’s the story of Pink, the runt of a litter of pigs, who was raised by a dachshund foster mom. The photographs of the puppies and piglet playing together are so cute, they are squeal-worthy!
“Browsable” fact books like Guinness World Records books or DK Eyewitness books are especially good for reluctant readers, because they don’t have to be read from start to finish. Kids can flip through the pages to find the information they want. 882 ½ Amazing Answers to Your Questions about the Titanic written by Hugh Brewster and Laurie Coulter, illustrated by Ken Marschall was revised and reissued to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the Titanic tragedy. It has incredible photos and diagrams for readers to pore over, and the simple question-and-answer format makes reading information very easy.
Both fiction and nonfiction are important for our kids, like eating both fruits and vegetables will keep us healthy. Nonfiction doesn’t have to be the vegetables, though. Great nonfiction can have all the excitement of an adventure story, all the surprises of a mystery, and all the humor of a comic book. The best part is: if it’s nonfiction, it all really happened!
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