Graphic Novels are Real Reading

My husband used to hate graphic novels, until I brought home the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi. I've been trying to get him to read the brilliant Bone by Jeff Smith forever, so I don't know what it was about Amulet that he liked better. Anyway, he's read a few now, including some non-fiction titles. Reading a graphic novel requires practice, the building up of a different kind of reading/viewing muscle. In other words, if you've only tried one, don't give up quite yet. 

I have somewhat mixed feelings about adaptations of classic literature. Should I put them in the same doubtful boat as Reader's Digest versions? Or are they something else entirely? I tend to fall on the latter side of the argument--and, as always, on the side of access--in this case for students that may have heard of classic stories, but aren't ready to read them yet.  Did you know that Greek myths are all over video games? And look at the many permutations of the Sherlock Holmes stories in movies and on TV. Most of my kids could never read the originals, but why not get them hooked on the characters in another format? Anyway, the next reviews are of graphics--only one classic.

Moby Dick (The Campfire Graphic Novel) by Herman Melville, adapted by Lance Stahlberg, illustrated by Lalit Kumar Singh (ISBN:978-81-907515-6)

I found it funny that the graphic novel adaptation of this book was slim, even for a graphic novel. The famous children's book editor once wrote, in an encouraging letter to Maurice Sendak, "Yes, Moby Dick is great, but honestly don't you see great gobs of it that could come out?" (I got this from one of my favorite blogs, Letters of Note.) I think the adapter of this book did a pretty good job choosing the great gobs. The art is pretty good too, although in the beginning it was a little hard to tell the different characters apart by their looks--something that might confuse kids. A few kids have heard of this story, so it's not a bad idea to have an adaptation around, especially one that I got "free" at the book fair.
Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke (ISBN: 978-1-59643-446-2)
I really liked this one! Charming monsters. Very "readable" art (see comments above--this would be a good trainer.) Strong girl character. Zita and her friend Joseph accidentally get sucked onto another planet by a mysterious alien artifact. Unfortunately, the planet they land on is going to be blown to bits in three days by an asteroid, and a group of aliens kidnap Joseph because they've had a vision that he's going to save them. Zita to the rescue! along with a reluctant adult helper and some cute robots. I can't wait for the next installment.
Kingdom Hearts: by Shiro Amano (ISBN 978-1-4278-1504-0)
Sorry Gabriel, I tried this one but couldn't make head-nor-tail of it. I only realized after I started that it's book 2 in the series. And I only realized after I plucked it from the book fair that it is "based on the hit video game." I'd hoped that this would be OK manga to have in an elementary school (that's always a bit dicey, but the kids are fascinated by the novelty of right-to-left, back-to-front reading.) Sadly, this book's confusing story, so-so art, and tie in with a product disqualify it for Wilson Library.
Bad Island by Doug TenNapel (ISBN: 978-0-545-31480-0)
Funny how you can try books a couple of times and then finally just "get" them. This graphic novel has great art (I'm going to have to start defining for myself what that means. For now, it basically means "I wish I could draw like that") It also has a lot of funny dialog that shows the realistic back and forth in a family that's not always happy with each other. It has a tight story that wraps up nicely at the end, (family gets trapped on a seriously bad island) an appropriate amount of scariness for elementary school kids, and lots of good monsters. Fun!