Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Fine for entertainment. However, there are many, many, better books on WWII from an educational standpoint. High schoolers
/middle schoolers would be better benefited from being assigned to read Schindler’s List, The Great Escape, Unbroken…there are so many.

Nobody is saying that graphic novels are taking the place of serious WW2 books. What you listed were feel good stories that happened during WW2, which are fine.

The reason Maus was awarded a Pulitzer Prize is the graphics and the story of his father surviving the Holocaust in Poland told in a unique way. It’s one man’s story and it’s not taking the place of textbooks and facts about the war.

I have a feeling you’ve never bothered to read one.

Graphic novels are absolutely taking the place of full length novels both outside the classroom and inside the classroom. Yes, I have read Maus. It’s clever- but I don’t think it’s the best literature choice for school. 2 of 3 books my middle schooler was assigned to read for 7th grade honors English were graphic novels.

That’s not a lot of reading. We don’t have honors English in 7th grade, everyone reads the same books. They’ve read Of Mice and Men, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird and the next one is a contemporary book I forget the name.

How does a class that calls itself honors only read 2 graphic books and 1 regular book? Graphic novels can be good but they are short and they could have read them and still have plenty of time to read 3 regular novels.

I know, but that’s a conversation for another thread. Public education has gone (way) downhill. Kids are reading fewer books outside of school and inside of school as well. Which makes what they are reading even more important. Graphic novels have become a crutch just to say, “Well, at least they are reading something!”

There’s gaps between school systems in terms of quality because of the way they are funded. Some public’s schools are great. Some are not. You can only speak about the ones you know.

Comics books used to popular. Now it’s graphic novels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Fine for entertainment. However, there are many, many, better books on WWII from an educational standpoint. High schoolers
/middle schoolers would be better benefited from being assigned to read Schindler’s List, The Great Escape, Unbroken…there are so many.

Nobody is saying that graphic novels are taking the place of serious WW2 books. What you listed were feel good stories that happened during WW2, which are fine.

The reason Maus was awarded a Pulitzer Prize is the graphics and the story of his father surviving the Holocaust in Poland told in a unique way. It’s one man’s story and it’s not taking the place of textbooks and facts about the war.

I have a feeling you’ve never bothered to read one.

Graphic novels are absolutely taking the place of full length novels both outside the classroom and inside the classroom. Yes, I have read Maus. It’s clever- but I don’t think it’s the best literature choice for school. 2 of 3 books my middle schooler was assigned to read for 7th grade honors English were graphic novels.

That’s not a lot of reading. We don’t have honors English in 7th grade, everyone reads the same books. They’ve read Of Mice and Men, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird and the next one is a contemporary book I forget the name.

How does a class that calls itself honors only read 2 graphic books and 1 regular book? Graphic novels can be good but they are short and they could have read them and still have plenty of time to read 3 regular novels.

I know, but that’s a conversation for another thread. Public education has gone (way) downhill. Kids are reading fewer books outside of school and inside of school as well. Which makes what they are reading even more important. Graphic novels have become a crutch just to say, “Well, at least they are reading something!”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Fine for entertainment. However, there are many, many, better books on WWII from an educational standpoint. High schoolers
/middle schoolers would be better benefited from being assigned to read Schindler’s List, The Great Escape, Unbroken…there are so many.

Nobody is saying that graphic novels are taking the place of serious WW2 books. What you listed were feel good stories that happened during WW2, which are fine.

The reason Maus was awarded a Pulitzer Prize is the graphics and the story of his father surviving the Holocaust in Poland told in a unique way. It’s one man’s story and it’s not taking the place of textbooks and facts about the war.

I have a feeling you’ve never bothered to read one.

Graphic novels are absolutely taking the place of full length novels both outside the classroom and inside the classroom. Yes, I have read Maus. It’s clever- but I don’t think it’s the best literature choice for school. 2 of 3 books my middle schooler was assigned to read for 7th grade honors English were graphic novels.

That’s not a lot of reading. We don’t have honors English in 7th grade, everyone reads the same books. They’ve read Of Mice and Men, The Outsiders, To Kill a Mockingbird and the next one is a contemporary book I forget the name.

How does a class that calls itself honors only read 2 graphic books and 1 regular book? Graphic novels can be good but they are short and they could have read them and still have plenty of time to read 3 regular novels.

How about the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series? I think these are hybrid books, and my kid with ADHD (Inattentive) loves them. She’s reading huge novels now, but she still reads every new D of a WK that comes out. Definitely agree with reading together if possible, too. The Wayside School series is great, as others have suggested. Another book by Sachar is Holes — and you can watch the movie together afterwards. We’ve read this aloud together in our middle school literacy class and the kids have enjoyed it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Fine for entertainment. However, there are many, many, better books on WWII from an educational standpoint. High schoolers
/middle schoolers would be better benefited from being assigned to read Schindler’s List, The Great Escape, Unbroken…there are so many.

Nobody is saying that graphic novels are taking the place of serious WW2 books. What you listed were feel good stories that happened during WW2, which are fine.

The reason Maus was awarded a Pulitzer Prize is the graphics and the story of his father surviving the Holocaust in Poland told in a unique way. It’s one man’s story and it’s not taking the place of textbooks and facts about the war.

I have a feeling you’ve never bothered to read one.

Graphic novels are absolutely taking the place of full length novels both outside the classroom and inside the classroom. Yes, I have read Maus. It’s clever- but I don’t think it’s the best literature choice for school. 2 of 3 books my middle schooler was assigned to read for 7th grade honors English were graphic novels.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Fine for entertainment. However, there are many, many, better books on WWII from an educational standpoint. High schoolers
/middle schoolers would be better benefited from being assigned to read Schindler’s List, The Great Escape, Unbroken…there are so many.

Nobody is saying that graphic novels are taking the place of serious WW2 books. What you listed were feel good stories that happened during WW2, which are fine.

The reason Maus was awarded a Pulitzer Prize is the graphics and the story of his father surviving the Holocaust in Poland told in a unique way. It’s one man’s story and it’s not taking the place of textbooks and facts about the war.

I have a feeling you’ve never bothered to read one.

Anonymous wrote:Series with graphic novels for some but not all of the books. Wings of Fire got my oldest kid to make the transition because at the time there were only 5 graphic novels and 17 novels. (There are now 10 graphic novels, I think?)

The Warriors books also have 3 graphic novels, but I think the full length novels are a bigger jump in difficulty. The cat naming conventions are like Russian patronymics and nicknames from the 19th century and they replace regular nouns like "spring" and "road" with special cat names like "newleaf" and "thunderpath." (Yes, I hate them, but they're popular among kids!)

That was the gateway series for my dd! I started reading the first one aloud to her. I got about halfway through book 1 and couldn't abide it anymore. She just had to see what would happen so read the rest on her own. She is in 8th grade now and has since read the 100+ novels/super editions in the series. She reads avidly in general. My younger dd is less of a reader generally (although scores much higher on reading tests). She found a lot of the earl series like Junie B Jones and Magic Treehouse boring. But around 2nd grade she started enjoying The I survived books, "Alien Next Door," the Chocolate Touch, How to Eat Fried Worms, and Locker 37 series. She then had stamina to move on to all the Kate DiCamillo books in 3rd/4th grade. In our school, 4th and 5th graders have to read a certain number of award winning books each year to get a pizza party at the end of the year. So that was a good inspiration for them.

Agree with pp about Maus. Graphic novels are a form of literature in their own right. It doesn't mean all of them are masterpieces. If you want kids to read for pleasure, let them pick. reading is reading. If you want to work on longer texts, try magazine articles, short books, audio books, or reading together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Fine for entertainment. However, there are many, many, better books on WWII from an educational standpoint. High schoolers
/middle schoolers would be better benefited from being assigned to read Schindler’s List, The Great Escape, Unbroken…there are so many.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boy or girl?

It does not matter.

Maybe, maybe not. It’s helpful to guide suggestions. My 3rd grade daughter moved away from graphic novels. The books she liked when she started getting into chapter books were Babysitter’s Club (the originals), Heartwood Hotel series, Little House series. I don’t think those would be as generally appealing to boys.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

Middle schools and high schools often assign graphic novels because it’s the only way to get many kids to read a a whole book now. When kids read a book almost entirely composed of direct dialogue and pictures they miss out on a ton of learning. How people speak and how people write are completely different. Grammar and writing instruction is already poor or nonexistent. Add in kids mostly wanting to read graphic novels and it compounds the lack of learning.

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

The smartest kids read both because they understand it’s the quality of content and not volume. High schools and colleges assign graphic novel. Books like Maus, a Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman who wrote his father’s story living through the holocaust using cartoon mice and cats and pigs instead of people.

Keep an open mind.

My 4th grader who normally reads only graphic novels really enjoyed Growing Home, which was recommended by someone at Barnes & Noble (the Fairfax Barnes & Noble is a gem, by the way, their employees are amazing).

Anonymous wrote:Boy or girl?

It does not matter.

Anonymous wrote:Graphic “novels” are a scourge. Having “novel” even in the name is absurd. All they do is enable weaker readers to remain weaker readers while pretending they are actually reading a book. While students reading actual books are reading fluency, comprehension and stamina.

Graphic novels helped my reticent reader become strong enough to tackle longer books. They are training wheels and should be treated as such. Better to build confidence and eventually get to a novel vs fighting a losing battle