Meet the Collection Mondays: Juvenile Graphic Novels

It seems that many people are confused by the term "graphic novel" and think it is something risqué.  Nothing can be farther from the truth.  A graphic novel is a book format in which a narrative is conveyed using sequential art.  Others may describe graphic novels as a book written and illustrated in the style of a comic book, where frames and speech bubbles tell a story.  

This format holds great appeal for reluctant and struggling readers as much as it does for avid readers because the illustrations match the text in each frame.  This format also helps improve language and literacy development because the illustrations provide valuable contextual clues to the meaning of the written word.  For example: I had a hard time understanding Shakespeare when I was in high school.  Today, a new series of graphic novels based on his plays have made it so incredibly easy for me to finally understand them now thanks to the clearer text and visual clues.  Plus, many professional articles have been published within the last few years that support the use of graphic novels to increase children's literacy and vocabulary.
 

While graphic novels have been in existence for many decades, its acceptance in the United States as an important and popular format has only recently been recognized.  These novels have primarily been published for adults and teens, now publishers are creating more and more graphic novels that are appropriate for children.

The term “graphic novel” here at the library is used to describe any book in a comic-like format that resembles a novel in length and narrative development.  It covers a wide variety of genres and subjects such as adaptations of classic novels, science fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, horror, or superheroes.  We even have titles in the collection that are published by popular religious publishers.  In addition to graphic novels, other formats kept in the collection are:

Bound Comic Books: These are bound comic book compilations that contain a collection of previous daily comics such as The Peanuts, Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes.

Manga: A Japanese “graphic novel”.  It consists of highly stylized black and white drawings and is read in a manner opposite of traditional Western comics.  Series examples include: Kingdom Hearts, Cardcaptor Sakura, and Peach Fuzz.

Cine-manga: A Japanese-style graphic novel that includes film/screen shots from an actual children’s television show or movie.  Examples: Kim Possible, Lizzie McGuire, and Disney movie tie-ins.  Unfortunately these have become out of print and I've been unable to replace them.

While a majority of juvenile graphic novels are written as works of fiction, publishers are now producing graphic novels with a non-fiction approach.  We feel that many of these books do not contain enough content for the reader to acquire enough facts to assist them with homework assignments, so we keep them in the juvenile graphic novel collection and treated as though it is a work of fiction.

Be sure to check back later this week as I will reveal my Top 10 Children's Graphic Novel Choices for 2011!!