RESOURCES

Books for Students

Kindergarten — Grade 2

Runton, Andy. Owly. Marietta, Ga.: Top Shelf, 2004.
Using images without words, Owly and other forest creatures teach the lessons and values of kindness and friendship.

TOON Books. New York: Raw Junior LLC, 2007.
Designed especially for beginning readers, TOON Books is a new collection of original stories by outstanding authors and artists. Titles like Silly Lilly, Benny and Penny and Otto’s Orange Day give emerging readers the satisfaction of reading books for themselves.
(http://toon-books.com)

Grades 3 — 5

Elder, Josh, and Erich Owen. Mail Order Ninja. Hamburg, Los Angeles: Tokyopop, 2006.
A well-known comics writer, Josh Elder has created this series of adventures involving a boy and his toy ninja. Erich Owen draws each story in manga-inspired style.

Gownley, Jimmy. Amelia Rules. Harrisburg, PE: Renaissance Press, 2006.
Zany humor rules in an on-going series about a fourth-grade girl and her goofy friends. (http://ameliarules.com)

Holm, Jennifer L., and Mathew Holm. Babymouse. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2005.
Girls from kindergarten through grade 5 (and adults) enjoy this comic series about a mouse girl with lots of opinions and an overactive imagination. (http://randomhouse.com/kids/babymouse)

Guibert, Emmanuel, and Joann Sfar. Sardine in Outer Space. New York: First Second, 2006.
This adventure comic allows students to imagine all sorts of possibilities and impossibilities as the little sardine hero deals with space pirates and super villains. (http://firstsecondbooks.com/sardine)

Smith, Jeff. Bone. New York: Scholastic, 2007.
This nine-volume series is a classic fantasy adventure about three cousins lost in a mysterious forest. It is beautifully drawn and accessible for upper-elementary students. (http://scholastic.com/bone)

Stine, R.L. Goosebumps: Creepy Creatures; Terror Trips; Scary Summer. New York: Scholastic, 2006–2007.
Several well-known comic-book artists provide adaptations of individual Goosebumps titles that allow readers to enjoy spooky stories with diverse artistic styles in these compilations.                                    

Martin, Ann M., and Raina Telegemeier. The Baby-Sitters Club: Mary Anne Saves the Day. New York: Scholastic, 2007.
This adaptation of the popular young-adult series follows a girl and her friends through everyday adventures. (http://content.scholastic.com/browse/book.jsp?id=4740)

Grades 6 — 8

Gonick, Larry. The Cartoon History of the Universe. New York: Doubleday, 1994.
Easy, fun reading for students, this book incorporates history, physics, chemistry, and much more. (http://larrygonick.com)

Hosler, Jay. Clan Apis. Columbus, Ohio: Active Synapse, 2000.
Written and drawn by science educator Jay Hosler, this graphic novel about a young honey bee named Nyuki provides fascinating insights into the complex society of insects while it tells an entertaining story.

Kishimoto, Masashi. Naruto. San Francisco, CA: Viz Media, 2007.
A good introduction to the world of manga, this action-filled saga of a plucky young ninja will be especially appealing to boys. (http://naruto.viz.com)

Spiegelman, Art. Maus, vols 1 and 2. New York: Pantheon Books, 1986.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel tells the story of Spiegelman’s parents, families, and friends as they journey into the Holocaust. Although the story is told simply with the Nazis and their victims presented as rats and mice, middle-school students will find Maus to be intense, emotional reading. (http://randomhouse.com/pantheon/graphicnovels)

Van Lente, Fred, and Ryan Dunlavey. Action Philosophers. Biblio Distribution, 2008.
This comic take on some of the world’s great philosophers is both entertaining and informative for middle-school readers and above. (http://eviltwincomics.com/aphil)

Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006.
As a Chinese-American boy deals with the problems of assimilation and identity, he receives the mischievous help of . . .  kung fu monkeys! (http://firstsecondbooks.com/abc)

Books for Teachers

Gorman, Michele. Getting Graphic! Comics for Kids: A Comprehensive Resource for Selecting Comic Books and Graphic Novels for Kids at the Elementary Level.  Columbus, Ohio: Linworth Publishing Co., 2007.
Authored by a librarian, this resource on comics and graphic novels explains the value of comics in literacy development and learning and serves as a collection guide for middle-school and public libraries. (http://store.linworth.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=412)

Hill, Robyn A., Ed. The Secret Origin of Good Readers: A Resource Book. San Francisco: Wondercon, 2006.
This set of teaching materials explains the importance of using well-selected comics in the classroom and provides lesson plans, activities, Web sites, and other resources.  (http://bookshelf.diamondcomics.com/)

Kitchen, Alexa. Drawing Comics is Easy! (Except When It’s Hard). Amherst, MA: D. K. P. Co., LLC, 2006.
This effective how-to resource book written by a seven-year-old for other kids also provides adults with insight to the meaning of comics for children.  (http://alexakitchen.com/drawingcomics)
             
McCloud, Scott. Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels. New York: Harper, 2006.
Presented in comic-book format by writer and artist Scott McCloud, this is a complete and entertaining guide to how comics are created.

McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics. New York: Harper Perennial, 1994.
McCloud explains the evolving history and lingo of the comics world and uses his art form to explain how comics merge visual and written language.

The Pop Culture Collecting Handbook: A GEM Guide for Kids. York, Pa.: Gemstone Publishing, 2008.
This comic-sized booklet introduces kids to collecting toys, comics, and other items as a hobby. It provides an overview of how to start and maintain a collection, as well as how to handle and store collectibles.

Thompson, Jason. Manga: The Complete Guide. New York: Random House/Del Rey, 2007.
This book describes over 900 manga titles along with age-appropriate guidelines and quality rankings.