A New Medium

I must admit that many reading teachers are under a little biased against comic books or graphic novels (I must also admit that I'm still not sure what the difference is between a comic and a graphic novel).  Somehow these books aren't considered to be as meaningful as more standard forms of literature.

Yet I have stated many times on this blog that any book that gets students to read is a good book.  Graphic novels were never something I had gotten into but I wasn't against them.  

Yesterday a friend of mine offered to loan me one of his comics thinking I would like it.  I told him that would be perfect since graphic novels were a genre I was looking to learn more about.  It was then that I learned my first lesson. Graphic novels are not a genre, they are a medium.  Like novels, comics can be sci fi or fantasy or even non-fiction.  

My first foray into this new medium was Noelle Stevenson's Nimona  Man have I been missing out!!  I don't have enough words to say how fabulous this was.  I love that the story is told through words and pictures (duh, who doesn't love a good picture). Reading through it I thought of so many mini lessons I could do.  How does the author indicate a flashback?  Character thoughts/emotions? Setting? Soo cool.  

Then there's the story itself.  Nimona is definitely a fantasy, which we all know I love.  It even has a dragon...but not like you would think.  The whole story is not like you would think.  There's a villain who plays by the rules.  A sidekick who is sooo much more than what she seems (I want to say more but...spoilers).  And a hero with a deceitful past.

I feel like I am rambling but that's because there's so much I want to say!!  You know what?  Just read  it for yourself, just do it.  And if there are any reading teachers reading this make sure you put some graphic novels in your classroom libraries.  They absolutely deserve to be there!! 

Exploring a new medium...that's kids stuff.