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Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom (The Council Chronicle, Sept. 05)

Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom (The Council Chronicle, Sept. 05)
While Americans tend to view comics as “fodder for children,” people in Europe and Japan have a more positive view of the medium, explains John Lowe, who is chair of the Sequential Art Department at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. Lowe thinks comics deserve more credit, especially since they launched his interest in literature. “I started reading comics, and then I got into other types of fiction and literature. Now he works with students who are interested in cartoons, graphic novels, and manga—Japanese comics and graphic novels—which Lowe notes are especially popular among female students. Storytelling is the program’s primary focus because this skill prepares students to work in any genre, Lowe explains. Bridging Literacies Other educators also see the educational potential of comics and graphic novels. Comics and graphic novels can be used as a “point of reference” to bridge what students already know with what they have yet to learn, Xu says. Sharon F. Related:  COLLECTION: Graphic Novels and Manga

Graphic Novels Reading Lists - 2016 Update | Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) These Graphic Novel Reading Lists are available for students Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 3rd to 5th grade and 6th to 8th grade. PDFs of the book lists are available online in full color and black and white and are free to download, copy and distribute. Libraries are able to customize the booklist with their own information, hours, and list of programs before printing and distributing. Graphic novel here is defined as a full-length story told in paneled, sequential, graphic format. To keep the list manageable in size, only the first title in a series is included with a notation that there are others. Color K - 2nd grade 3rd - 5th grade 6th - 8th grade Grayscale K- 2nd grade

Trending: Let’s Celebrate Comics! Did you know that today is National Comic Book Day? To celebrate, we are sharing a contribution by Michael Cavna of the Washington Post to the September–October issue of LCM, the Library of Congress magazine. The entire issue, available here, showcases the Library’s collection of some 140,000 comic books. Self-portrait by Michael Cavna for the Library of Congress, 2017. She had come because of a comic book. A young woman attended a comics-convention panel I moderated several years ago to listen in person to Rep. Lewis had just published “March: Book One,” the first in an illustrated trilogy about how nonviolent protest was used to combat segregation in America. On this day, the woman came to the microphone and asked: “As a person in a same-sex relationship, should I move to D.C. so I can get married legally, or stay in Virginia and challenge the law?” “You must fight!” The room went silent, in awe of his resonant moral clarity. Consider the social commentary of Richard F.

Teaching With Graphic Novels Illustration by Gareth Hinds On March 14, 2013, teachers in the Chicago Public Schools were told, without explanation, to remove all copies of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis (Pantheon, 2003) from their classrooms. A day later, facing protests from students and anti-censorship organizations, Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett explained the move. The “powerful images of torture” on a single page of the book made it unsuitable for seventh graders and required the district to give teachers in grades eight through 10 special professional development classes before they could teach it. This is the paradox of graphic novels: The visual element that gives them their power can also make them vulnerable to challenges. At the same time, graphic novels are increasingly used in the classroom. From challenged material to classroom curricula “Prose books and comics are challenged for the same reasons,” Brownstein says. Graphic novels as teaching tools Effective communication

The Comic Book Collection - Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room (Serial and Government Publications Division, Library of Congress) The largest publicly available collection of comic books in the United States is housed in the Newspaper and Current Periodical Reading Room. The collection includes U.S. and foreign comic books--over 12,000 titles in all, totaling more than 140,000 issues. Primarily composed of the original print issues, the collection includes color microfiche of selected early comic book titles (such as Superman, More Fun, and Action Comics), bound volumes of comic books submitted by the publishers and special reprints. The collection is most comprehensive from the mid-1940s on; however, many titles date back to the 1930s. Acquisitions: The Library acquires current comic books published and distributed in the United States almost exclusively through copyright deposit, but also acquires a small collection of foreign titles as well. Collection Highlights: Accessing the Collection: In part because of their fragility, comic books are available to researchers for use under special conditions only.

The Copacetic Comics Company | Birth of a Nation by Kyle Baker, Aaron This is hands down the most entertaining and insightful political satire to grow out of the mess that was the 2000 presidential election. Check it out: Fred Fredericks, idealistic mayor of East St. Louis, rallies his fellow citizens to the polls only to have them become the victims of a trumped up, bogus, mass disenfranchisement. As a radical form of protest Fredericks -- with the assistance of shady black billionaire and old friend, John Roberts -- decides to have East St. Louis secede from the union. And here's a few other notable opinions the book has garnered since it's initial release: "Birth of a Nation is the wickedly funny marriage of The Boondocks, House Party, and The Battle of Algiers.

Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries | Round Tables Deadline: January 26, 2018 About the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries Two Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries are given annually - the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Growth Grant will provide support to a library that would like to expand its existing graphic novel services and programs and the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Innovation Grant will provides support to a library for the initiation of a graphic novel service, program or initiative. These Grants will support two categorical grants that will encourage public awareness on the rise and importance of graphic literature, sequential art, and comics as a literary medium. The objective of the Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries is to facilitate library-generated programs and services that will promote graphic novels to library patrons and to the local community. Will Eisner (1917-2005) was an acclaimed American comics writer, artist, teacher, and entrepreneur. Administered by: Award Frequency Eligibility

Graphic Novels: Suggestions for Librarians Introduction Graphic novels are one of the fastest growing categories in publishing and bookselling. Today’s graphic novels are far more sophisticated and varied in content than the comics that preceded them and enjoy a level of respect previously denied to this form of popular entertainment: they are the subject of reviews, book-length surveys, museum exhibits and academic study, as well as recipients of prestigious literary awards (Art Speigelman’s Maus, for instance, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992). While comics are published as magazines, their “grown up” version – the graphic novel – appears in book format. Narratives composed out of visual images or out of images and words have a very long history – a history that stretches back to the first cave paintings. The guidelines are intended to help in collection development; categorizing and shelving graphic novels; and handling complaints. A Brief History of Graphic Novels Comic book traditions have many national variations. Bibliography

Graphic attraction – graphic novels in libraries Graphic novels have become increasingly popular with readers of all ages. Alison Lee looks at the benefits, uses and implications for the library of developing a graphic novel collection. The graphic novel – literature or comic? According to Wil Eisner – a pioneer in the field – a graphic novel is 'sequential art, the arrangement of pictures or words or images to narrate a story or dramatise an idea' (Eisner 1985 p 5). But we can also define the graphic novel as a complete story. It is important to think of the graphic novel as a format, not a genre (Brenner 24/02/2004). Librarians also need to be aware that graphic novels are literature. Types of graphic novels There are two main sections in this format. Manga roughly translated means 'comic book' in Japanese and it has broad popular appeal for both children and adults. The value of the graphic novel for libraries Public libraries need to respond to the demands of readers because they are publicly funded. Benefits of the graphic novel

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