ReAdinG LeAdS to More ReAdinG

LMS librarians Lisa Fall and Jenny Perinovic have witnessed first hand the surge in popularity. They note that fifth graders recently added a graphic novels category to the Hopper Awards that they grant to their favorite books. In the past three years, four of the top five fiction titles checked out of the LMS library were graphic novels (see sidebar, right). None of them were assigned readings, which suggests that students checked them out for pleasure.

“Promoting a lifelong love of reading is part of the library’s mission statement,” said Lisa, chair of the LMS library department. “When we see kids make a beeline for the graphic novels section, we know we’re fulfilling our mission. Enjoying a book makes the reading habit stick.”

An added benefit: Racial, ethnic, and religious identities are much more visible in a comic than they are in writing, where references can be subtle. “Students, especially those who feel marginalized, get so excited to see themselves represented,” Lisa said.

Parents often worry that their kids will fall behind or miss out on “real” books if they read only comics or repeatedly bring home the same ones, Jenny said. But research shows that adolescents are more motivated to read when they choose reading materials that interest them, including comics. They then gain confidence and read even more.

“There’s a long tradition of dismissing graphic novels as something you should grow out of instead of recognizing that these types of stories are meeting kids where they are and speaking to them about the world around them in ways they can understand,” Jenny said. “Even if they’re reading the same book 100 times, there’s a memory that’s being built and associations being made that are really comforting.”

At the High School, HS librarian Rhona Campbell has noticed a sizable overlap between kids who read comics and those who read in general. “The two are not mutually exclusive,” said Rhona, who co-hosts a GDS minimester class on graphic novels with HS English teacher Michael Wenthe. “For the most part, book lovers are book lovers.”

Rhona increased the library’s budget for graphic novel purchases this year. She said some HS students are exploring the possibility of creating a graphic novels book group.

by RaIna TelGemeIer