Getting Graphic

Have you read a graphic novel yet? I'm not talking about the old romance novels my sister used to keep under her bed. I think Shanna got passed around to all of us over the years--even my brother read it. They were pretty graphic. But I digress.

Graphic novels are sort of like comic books, only not so comic. They are a long way from my old stash of Archie, Richie Rich, and Casper and Wendy comics. They cover deeper subjects and are generally longer and less episodic. The story arc is larger. Take a look in the children's, young adult and even the adult sections at the library. The graphic novel shelves are growing and filling, and the books are getting a lot of use!

I'm a bit careful with them, because to me a visual image leaves a much stronger footprint on my mind, and I want to know what my kids are looking at. Like any other books, there are some better choices and some not-so-great choices. However, graphic novels are great for reluctant readers, because they get to move along in a story with a higher level of sophistication, and with a diverse vocabulary, without being bogged down in long paragraphs. This can be a great step into reading. Author Sue Stauffacher collaborated on a series of graphic novels called Wireman, with just this purpose in mind--to catch the imagination of older readers who needed encouragement to read.

Graphic novels have served another purpose in my household. When assigned reading takes up a lot of the spare reading time for my school-age kids, graphic novels can provide a nice side reading project. My son thoroughly enjoyed the Bone series by Jeff Smith, and he has been introduced to many classics--Frankenstein, Treasure Island, even a Bible story, to name a few--in graphic or manga formats (manga is the Japanese version of graphic novels). He usually hauls home several new choices when we go to the library. My daughter and I had a good time reading Rapunzel's Revenge, a wild west take on the fairy tale, and its sequel, Calamity Jack, both by popular young adult author Shannon Hale. She also enjoyed a book called Korgi by Christian Slade that involved a cute little dog, always a winning topic with her.

But these books can also be deeply-felt novels for adult readers. Today (yes, one day--another bonus of graphic novels for slow readers!) I read Stitches by David Small. He is a Caldecott-winning illustrator of children's books. This book is not fiction--it is Small's memoir. He grew up in Detroit, and he suffered many traumas in his childhood, including losing his voice when he undergoes surgery for cancer. No one told him he had cancer, no one told him he was losing a vocal chord, and no one seemed to care about his loss.

Stitches recounts many horrifying experiences, yet somehow it is bearable because of Small's ability to remember the details of looking at things through a child's eyes. Which is also what makes it so sad. The strange thing about reading this story in a graphic format is that you move through it all so quickly. You hardly have time to recover from one thing, and there he is moving on to the next. That may be precisely what it is like for a child in his situation. Yet it's a strange way to read about a tragic childhood, if you are accustomed to wordy recollections and pontifications in memoir.

It's a fascinating read--partly because of his story, and partly because of the format. It's the first graphic book I've actually sat and read from cover to cover, on my own, to myself. It gives you an intimacy with the mind and heart of the author that mere words could not conjure. I'm looking forward to trying another soon.

Added Note: About 15 minutes after I posted this, I realized that I had lied, but I was too tired to bother fixing it! I have read another graphic novel, and it might be one that interests many of you. It's a gorgeous, glossy, colorfully illustrated version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Nancy Butler and Hugo Petrus. The front cover is made to look like a women's magazine, but the words inside are directly from the novel. It's the perfect gift for P & P diehard fans.

Bedtime Stories

My 7-year-old and I finished yet another Junie B. Jones title by Barbara Park tonight. I have to admit, when my older daughter became old enough for such books, I avoided Junie B. because she seemed like such a smart mouth. Since I have given up on parenting the perfect child, my younger daughter and I have enjoyed reading these books together--there are many laugh-out-loud moments. We've come a long way from reading the same board books over and over, and though I love Goodnight Moon and Time for Bed, it's fun to explore wider worlds with her.

The youngest likes to read the books to me now, instead of the other way around. Since I am generally tired and ready to finish the bedtime routine as quickly as possible, this isn't always my favorite way. After all, I could read it so much faster! But when I take a deep breath, settle in, and give myself to enjoying the book with her, it's fun to hear her inflection and her sense of humor coming through. Some of her favorites right now, besides Junie B. and a multitude of picture books, are the Daisy Meadows fairy books--Weather Fairies, Pet Fairies, Flower Fairies, Dance Fairies--you get the picture. When she allows me to read to her, we've been laughing over Beverly Cleary's Ramona books. (We're looking forward to seeing Ramona and Beezus in the theater soon!)

One of my favorite read alouds to all of my kids at 7 or 8 years old is The Prince of the Pond by Donna Jo Napoli. This is the story of the prince who has been turned into a frog by an old hag, told by the female frog who finds this huge, inexplicably incompetent male frog and eventually falls in love with him. The book subtly teaches numerous facts about frog life, and it is very entertaining. All three kids loved it. My son liked one of his dad's old favorites, Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. I did too, though I found the rest of the series, well, flat. Cleary's The Mouse and the Motorcycle was a good one, too.

Our older daughter is 11, and she still wants to read with us every night. Some of our favorites together have been Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, and The Thief Lord by the same author has her wanting to visit Venice sometime soon! The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale was another great one. Though the plot involves all of the girls from a small mountain village being sent to learn to be princesses because the prince will be choosing one of them for his own, the main character is a strong, smart young woman who is not interested in wealth or fame. Both of us were hooked reading this one. I have wept through parts of Because of Winn Dixie by Kate diCamillo, and I'm hoping to read Louisa May Alcott's Little Women with her soon, though again I'll probably turn into a blubbering mess!

The oldest, our son, recently turned 13 and has not had us read to him regularly for a while. This is partly due to the logistics. Often one of us is gone for a meeting or exercise or whatever in the evening, so bedtime is a one-man or woman show. Reading to three kids for any significant length of time can be a big commitment! The boy child is content to read to himself most nights, especially when he has a stack of new graphic novels from the library.

Every so often, though, I will sit down with whatever book he happens to be reading at that time, and I'll read 5 or 6 pages to him. This keeps me connected to what he is reading, and it gives him an opportunity to ask questions that the book has brought to his mind. And if he is reading a book that's been assigned by school, a few pages of read aloud sometimes kicks in his interest and he can move forward more eagerly.

Bedtime stories are a great way to connect with our kids. Choosing books that interest both the reader and the child being read to makes this a fun experience rather than a boring chore.