Saturday, April 23, 2011

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN




By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek


REVIEW
PART-TIME INDIAN is not a comic, or the fancier-named graphic novel. Do not be misled. It is young adult novel with smatterings of comic elements and illustrations in a very Diary of a Wimpy Kid art style. So why read and review it?

I read it because …
  1. It was a banned book, making headlines in my area.
  2. Forty pages into the book my wife was laughing one moment and in tears the next. When she read me the passage on masturbation, I had to read it myself.


I reviewed it because …
  1. The main character, Junior, talks about writing his own comics.
  2. It depicts a few comic elements and even some comic panels.


PART-TIME INDIAN is by no means a cute little teen read with happy teens doing nice things. That is exactly what makes it a worthwhile read. Junior, a high school boy on the reservation realizes that to get out of his culture of poverty, depression and despair he needs better schooling. So he leaves his school –- which is interpreted by those on the reservation as rejecting his family, community and Native American culture –– to attend the white school in the next town. He ends up playing basketball for the white school and playing against his reservation school. Oh how teenaged life sucks sometimes.

Junior’s entire story explores the gap between worlds, and the judgments he receives from the Native Americans and the Whites, both good and bad. His story is filled with bullying, ostracizing, girls, basketball, and expectations, both low and high.



What you really need to know about PART-TIME INDIAN is that it is a real novel about real teens doing real things. They talk like teens, act like teens and think like teens. It is honest and painful and riotous. It is the kind of novel teens need to read in order to explore the big wide world and the problems and complications we have. Teens will relate, even if they are not Native American, because Junior is a normal, everyday kid who recognizes he wants a better life.

It is filled with words like “pussy”, “masturbation”, and all kinds of teen-talk. It’s enough to infuriate some families and calls for bans, despite the fact that every boy over the age of 13 masturbates as if it is a requirement to get a driver’s license, and profanity is a teen-typical past time.

“Yep, I have to admit that isosceles triangles make me feel hormonal. Most guys, no matter what age, get excited about curves and circles, but not me. Don’t get me wrong, I like girls and their curves. And I really like women and their curvier curves. I spend hours in the bathroom with a magazine that has one thousand pictures of naked movie stars: Naked women + right hand = happy happy joy joy. Yep, that’s right. I admit that I masturbate. I’m proud of it. I’m good at it. I’m ambidextrous. If there were a Professional Masturbators League, I’d get drafted number one and make millions of dollars. And maybe you’re thinking, ‘Well, you really shouldn’t be talking about masturbation in public.’ Well, tough, I’m going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it. And if God hadn’t wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn’t have given us thumbs. But, the thing is, no matter how much time my thumbs and I spend with the curves of imaginary women, I am much more in love with the right angles of buildings.”



It is just this kind of frank expression that will help teens relate to the book. There is so much to learn –– academically and socially –– in PART-TIME INDIAN. It is a shame to not expose kids to such powerful literature.

Beyond that, the overarching theme is the fact that Junior recognizes his family and community on the reservation is depressed, alcoholic, even abusive. Junior understands the ramifications of leaving his community and his culture, yet knows he needs a better life than what rez life provides.

“Back on the rez, I was a decent player, I guess. A rebounder and a guy who could run up and down the floor without tripping. But something magical happened to me when I went to Reardon. Overnight, I became a good player. I suppose it had something to do with confidence. I mean, I’d always been the lowest Indian on the reservation totem pole –– I wasn’t expected to be good so I wasn’t. But in Readan, my coach and the other players wanted me to be good. They needed me to be good. They expected me to be good. And so I became good. I wanted to live up to expectations. I guess that’s why what it comes down to."


AGE RECOMMENDATION
Chris’ Rating: High school and older


BE AWARE
This New York Times Bestseller and National Book Award winner has also been banned in some schools, mostly for its profanity and talk of masturbation.


IN THE CLASSROOM
Despite the profanity and sexual descriptions, the book is as high quality young adult literature as you will find anywhere. The literary and real-world implications are enormous. Of course, one must understand his or her school community before embarking on such a controversial book. If it can be used then it should be.


OTHER INFORMATION
Author: Sherman Alexie
Illustrator: Ellen Forney
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Genre: Illustrated Novel

Format: Hardcover
Color: Black and white
ISBN-13: 978-0-316-01368-0


CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended with Reservations
If I were in charge of the Young Adult canon of must-read novels, PART-TIME DIARY would be at the top of the list with stars and underlines.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

YOUR LIFE IN COMICS: 100 THINGS FOR GUYS TO WRITE AND DRAW




By Kevin Hodgson
Staff Writer

STORY REVIEW
I’m a big fan of Bill Zimmerman, mainly because his free webcomic creator website –– Make Beliefs Comix –– has been a huge hit with students and teachers alike whenever I share it. I’ve also been impressed with the work that Zimmerman does around literacy, comics and writing with English Language Learners, particularly in New York City. This is a man who sees a lot of potential connections between comics and literacy, and acts on it.

Now Zimmerman has published an interesting guide for teachers to consider that is really a series of writing prompts that uses comics as the way in to writing. YOUR LIFE IN COMICS is an activity book of sorts, in which some of the pages features artwork without words or words without artwork, and the reader/writer is encouraged to finish the page.

Notice the subtitle, too: the prompts are mostly designed for boys and young men, including pages in which the writer envisions a boy talking about something meaningful with his father, has the reader expressing hopes for the future, and more. YOUR LIFE IN COMICS also includes various connections to online resources. I like many of the prompts here, although after awhile, the serious message behind many of the activities starts to feel a bit too heavy. Luckily, Zimmerman adds some touches of humor here and there to lighten the mood. This is a book of activities that works best in small doses, I think.


ART REVIEW
Zimmerman’s illustrator here, Tyler Page, has a realistic style to these comics, and that is ideal for the creative prompts where the writing is at the heart of much of the learning here. The pages are mostly black and white, with some blue mixed in, and that makes it ideal for teachers to photocopy and share with students. It seems unlikely that many teachers would have the resources for a classroom set where students actually write in the book itself.


IN THE CLASSROOM
As noted above, this book is loaded with interesting writing prompts that are presented in the realm of comics, so it is a nice twist to traditional writing assignments. As Zimmerman notes, using comics in the classroom has the potential to engage even the more reluctant writers. Since the themes in YOUR LIFE IN COMICS are social in nature, these comics could be used (plenty could be used for girls as well as boys, by the way) to spark discussions around issues of friendship, family, goals for life and much more. I’ve also had students use this as a model and then they created their own comics with no dialogue, or write dialogue with no comics. Note, too, that Zimmerman has an online resource component for free downloads from the book at http://www.freespirit.com/.


MORE INFORMATION
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Format: Paperback
Pages: 128
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1575423517


MY RECOMMENDATION
I highly recommend this book as a supplement for classroom writing activities. The book is appropriate for students in elementary through middle school, and maybe a bit into high school. Ideally, this book is for middle school students, where social and family issues start to play a real role in identity.

X’ED OUT



By Ellen Ma         
Staff Writer


REVIEW
Don’t let this cover fool you; although it has parallel elements to THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN, the story will straight out make you wonder what you just dove into. If you found Charles Burns’s BLACK HOLE to be a challenging, exciting read (honestly, I never understood it until I read it twice with a six month gap in between),  X’ED OUT is a great graphic novel to follow up with.

The story has the classic “tumbling down the rabbit hole” vibe. The reader follows the protagonist, Doug –– in both his real life as he’s recovering from a head injury and also in his dream version through his dream world. Burns’ amazing storytelling really captures young adults in a harsh environment, and he seems to be taking it to the next step with adding in this dream element.

The mystery that surrounds this story is deciding which is the real reality since it’s not yet made clear as we’re taken back and forth between real life Doug and dream Doug.


ART REVIEW
I love how the art style slightly changes whenever Doug is going through the dream world. This “dream style” really reflects TINTIN, and makes me wonder why Burns decided to capture the spirit of the beloved baby-faced adventurer in his story. Burns certainly tackles some mature issues and conveys them through his art work, so I’m curious to know what inspired him to make this choice. Also, putting this graphic novel in colors makes the work even stronger in my opinion. I certainly enjoyed trying to figure out how a few panels only filled with a single color connected with the next panel, and what these colored panels could be signaling or portraying.


AGE RECOMMENDATION
High school and up.


BE AWARE
There are quite a number of disturbing images although they are necessary as being part of a very crucial aspect to the story.


IN THE CLASSROOM
I’m actually really curious to see how a classroom will handle this graphic novel. We have a protagonist who is having a harsh reality, which is something many of us can relate to or are familiar with, but then we’re traveling with him into his dreams that’s harsh as well though in a different fashion. Is there perhaps some reasoning behind all this madness?

As mentioned before, the storytelling within this graphic novel is perhaps going to get readers to read it a few times and figure out exactly what the story will try to lead the reader to. This will start getting readers to make predictions and critical analysis because this story can be expected to have strong messages that want to be picked up by readers.


MY RECOMMENDATION
Recommended. 
I was able to make up some interesting writing prompts while reading through this graphic novel.


OTHER INFORMATION
Author & Illustrator: Charles Burns
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Format: Oversized Hardcover
Pages: 56
Color: Full color
ISBN-13: 978-0307-379139

Sunday, April 10, 2011

BIRD OF PREY




By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek


STORY SUMMARY
In a new series, the Birds –– Oracle a.k.a Barbara Gordon (formerly Batgirl), Black Canary a.k.a. Dinah Lance, Huntress a.k.a. Helena Bertinelli, Lady Blackhawk a.k.a. Zinda Blake joined later by Dove a.k.a. Dawn Granger, and male member Hawk a.k.a. Hank Hall –– are brought back together to confront a mysterious foe who is dead-set on doing serious damage. The hardcover edition of these six issues is due May 2011, so this is an excellent jumping on point for readers new to BIRDS OF PREY.


STORY REVIEW
It is Gail Simone’s narrative style that keeps me reading her books (WONDER WOMAN and SECRET SIX). Nowhere is her first person narrative stronger than in BIRDS. The yarn relies on two things: heavy doses of character reflection, and multiple stories occurring at the same time. The beauty of BIRDS lies in the literary devices intermingled with the coloring.

As the pages turn and the narrators change so does the coloring of their narration boxes, which accentuates the delicate intricacies of how Simone crochets the multiple stories together to create a rich and complex tale that defies the simple superhero stereotype.

No stereotypes, no caricatures, no silliness, no ridiculous story arcs. Simone takes her supers seriously and gives readers breadth and depth of story to deconstruct and discuss. I simply cannot abide the completion of her detailed afghan. I don’t want the BIRDS to change.


ART REVIEW
From the pencils and inks, to the colors, to the panel layout –– the art is dark, detailed, and seamlessly brings Simone’s words straight to the mind. The Birds are spandex-clad and some are well proportioned but not distractingly sexual. They are true to themselves and I appreciate their femaleness. They are not stiletto-healed, big-boobed bimbos. They are women: strong, clever and human.


AGE RECOMMENDATION
Chris’ Rating: Ages 15 and older

For the sake of school purposes, I would generally stick to high school aged students. With that said, I would encourage my daughter to read BIRDS when she is … say … 13-years-old.


BE AWARE
Cursing and blood and fighting and all that good stuff abound.


IN THE CLASSROOM
As I have stated with her other titles, it is Simone’s ability to write female characters beyond stereotypes or sidekicks that makes her so inviting. It is her narrative style that keeps readers talking and reading and recommending. From a composition perspective, her use of first person narrative and crocheting of simultaneous multiple storylines would be ideal as a model for students. BIRDS OF PREY could be used extensively in a contemporary feminist-study class.

  
OTHER INFORMATION
Author: Gail Simone
Illustrator: Various
Publisher: DC Comics
Genre: Superhero

Format: Monthly comics (hardcover available)
Issues: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Pages: 32 each
Color: Full color


CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended

FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES: A WORD ABOUT CLASSICS IN COMIC FORMAT

By Chris Wilson
Editor-In-Geek

If you've been around TGC for long, you have undoubtedly read one of my little diatribes about the importance of comic adaptations of traditional literature. I'm a minority among educators and lovers of literature in that I strongly support the use of comic adaptations especially for, but not limited to, younger kids.

I've made the case before that comic adaptations get kids interested in classic literature. It is that important step that leads youngsters to love the classics and enjoy studying them in high school. A few months ago, Campfire Comics started mailing me their comics –– all the way from India. Classic literature, mythology, biography and some original titles are part of the lineup. Of that, I mostly received mythology and classics.

I used my influence as a teacher ––which is based upon my work building deep and important relationships with my students –– to turn them on to Campfire's comics. I displayed the titles on my book cart and talked about them at the beginning of the Hall of Heroes comic book club about three weeks ago.

Some of the kids had heard of these titles either from movies or from the librarian. I even had a lengthy conversation with one fourth grader about the connection of one of these adaptations to characters in the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN movie.

The kids snagged every single title save one from my book cart. I spent the next two weeks watching kids trade titles even before turning them back in. One morning I decided to interview them and see what they've been reading and what they liked. I put the video on YouTube but you can watch it below.



They took to the classics with more excitement than I had dreamed. Since that time, the Campfire comic adaptations of classic literature is still a hot commodity among my fourth graders. They love the stories.

The love of reading, my friends, is the ultimate key to life long reading and literature appreciation. It is my contention that when these kids get to high school and read some of these classics, they will not roll their eyes, grimace or groan at the prospect of reading some stuff old book. They will, having built a strong foundation for classic literature, will respond with "Oh, I know this story. It's good. This will be fun." They will then read the high school teacher's assignment and be able to critically analyze it because of their pre-existing knowledge. 

Comic adaptations are just that ... adaptations. They are not to be feared as they are not designed to replace the classics. They simply offer scaffolding to the world of classics and give kids a stronger foundation on which to learn more, read more and get more out of literature.

I highly recommend Campfire's comics. They do what they are intended to do and do it in a way that excites kids about classic literature. You can't beat that with a stick.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S TOP 10 DEADLIEST SHARKS




By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek


REVIEW
Did you see the cover? Go back and look at it. That cover, alone, will queue up the kids and nearly bring them to fisticuffs to be the first to get their hands on it. The very mention of a shark comic sent several of them into a tizzy. I have a list of younglings from grades 1-4 who have asked me to set it aside for them. That’s before they saw the cover art.

The guts of the book –– from the blood-clouded waters and half-eaten limbs, to the specific shark stats and the importance of apex predators to the aquatic biome –– DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S TOP 10 DEADLIES SHARKS is a kid-tween (even young teen) page-turning comic of coolness. It’s science done right for kids.

SHARKS differs starkly from other nonfiction comics in one significant way: It employs nonfiction in its totality. That is to say, SHARKS does not intermingle fictionalized narrative around nonfiction. The other nonfiction comics I’ve read and reviewed use science or history as a foundation, but use a fictionalized narrative to get the information across to the reader. There is a fictional narrator who escorts the reader through the science, history or biography. That narrator imparts knowledge and (sometimes) speaks directly to the reader.

In the case of SHARKS, there is no fictionalized narrator-character leading the reader; instead, there are third person omniscient narration boxes. Except for one or two instances, there are no dialogue bubbles.

This makes SHARKS read like a Discovery Channel show. There are tons of informational ah-ha moments. There are comicized reenactments of actual events –– which do on occasion lead to dialogue –– but every scene, every tidbit, every single moment of the story is authentic nonfiction.

I did have two concerns about the book when I requested it: 1) The number of human-munching incidents by sharks gave me pause that the book might over sensationalize the actual threat sharks pose to humans; and 2) the ability to differentiate the sharks enough so students can keep them all straight. As it came from Discovery Channel, I had high hopes these would not be issues.

Discovery Channel got it right.

In fact, I highly recommend the comic because of Discovery Channel’s portrayal of human-shark interaction. Actual shark attacks of humans are explored, as are incidents of humans hunting sharks. More importantly, Discovery does two things for students: 1) Students understand that while shark attacks occur, they are rare as humans are not on the regular shark menu of choice; and 2) sharks are apex predators which play a vital role to the health of Earth’s aquatic ecosystems. Without sharks, many ocean biomes would fall apart. Helping students understand the role that every organism plays, from the spider to the shark, helps them understand how to protect the environment and our own health and longevity on this planet.

In case that is much too heavy for you or your students … there is plenty of shark-chomping bloodlust to satisfy any young boy who has otherwise lost his motivation for reading.

I’ve said many times one place I think the education industry misses the boat is that we focus our efforts so much on reading skills that we often –– unintentionally –– educate the love of reading out of students. It’s not on purpose. It is with love and concern that we push reading skills because good reading skills are necessary to successful reading. Sometimes we teachers can forget the importance motivation or love of reading plays in a child’s future reading habits. We must, I believe, cultivate a passion for reading. With motivation fertilized, reading instruction can do amazing things.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL’S TOP 10 DEADLIEST SHARKS is a bang-up reading motivator or reading love instigator, especially for boys who consistently fall behind girls in reading in every single state in the US.

Put this book in your classroom and you will find that one copy will not do.


AGE RECOMMENDATION
Chris’ Rating: All ages

This book will appeal to young readers. They will be fine if an older reader will scaffold them. There are some big words and concepts in it. That’s a good thing. This is a book that kids will want to read even if it challenges them. I would not limit the book to any age group, to be honest. If a student were interested in it, I would give it to them and offer them the proper scaffolding they need to make sense of it. If that includes an older reading buddy, a peer reading buddy, three friends on the floor reading it together, or one lone kid in the corner devouring the book, then let it happen.


BE AWARE
Where there are sharks, there is blood and fresh red flesh.


IN THE CLASSROOM
SHARKS does not just talk about the sea creatures and give their stats. The comic hits ecosystems, food chains and the interdependence of life on other forms of life. It is science-a-plenty in the form of nonfiction literature, which makes it so easy to incorporate into a communication arts lesson. Most state classroom standards require teachers to explore both elements of fiction and nonfiction. SHARKS could make an exciting hybrid lesson plan covering communication arts, science and inquiry-based learning.

I would use a Kagan Cooperative group (probably Expert Jigsaw) so that students become experts on their shark, and then learn about other sharks from their peers, add cooperation and socialization to the already dense lesson plan.

From this students could study ecosystems in general (websites, library books, comics, etc.) and learn about how living organisms in an ecosystem are interdependent for survival. As a final project, students could apply their knowledge to their local ecosystem with help from a local biologist or Ranger from the Conservation Department, and then come up with solutions to the local ecosystem problems, aquatic or land.


OTHER INFORMATION


The next comic in the series is –– are you ready for this? –– DINOSAURS AND PREHISTORIC PREDATORS. Looking at the cover, I am envisioning another group of kids who will salivate for the chance … to read.


Author: Joe Brusha
Illustrators: Anthony Spay, Shawn McCauley, Marcio Abreu, Agustin Alessio, German Nobile, HG Young, Gabriel Rearte and Shawn Van Briesen
Colors: Andrew Elder and John Hunt
Lettering: Jim Campbell
Genre: Nonfiction, Animals

Format: Paperback
Pages: 200
Color: Full color
ISBN-13: 978-0-9827507-2-8


CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended

HARRY POTTY & HIS LITTLE DOG TOO







By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek


REVIEW
Parody was completely lost on me as a kid and teen. My friends got it. Hollywood seemed to understand it. MAD Magazine sold like hotcakes. I, on the other hand, didn’t even crack a smile and had no clue as to why it seemed funny.

I’ve grown since then as has my appreciation and enjoyment of parody. I get it now, maybe because I now allow myself to see slap stick and parody as a viable and intelligent form of entertainment.

I enthusiastically awaited HARRY POTTY AND THE DEATHLY BORING and WICKEDER from Papercutz. Being a Potter fan I took on the wizarding world (Harry Potty, Don Measley, Whiny Stranger, and Dumb-as-a-Door) on first. The goal was to find the Horbucks and destroy Valuemart. I found it a bit obscure at times and underwhelmingly comical in most places. As I read it, I kept wondering: “Is it me or is the book? Is this a case of my just not getting it again?” HARRY POTTY took me some time to get through, which made me worried about WICKEDER. Would it be funny? Would it meet my expectations? Would I get it? My concern was unnecessary. It was great.  

TALES FROM THE CRYPT: WICKEDER … AND HIS LITTLE DOG TOO was a riot. The tri-story format worked better for me. Parodies gone too long find themselves lurching and gasping to stay funny. The TALES FROM THE CRYPT series always has three chapters per title –– no worries about overstaying one’s welcome.

The Crypt-Keeper, Stinky Dead Kid, and all the Wizard of Oz characters made for a great book. In Dead Dog Dies The Stinky Dead Kid comes back with a zombie dog story much better than his debut title. Kill Baby Kill is wartime, political commentary that has some things to say. Wickeder is the final chapter that comes locked and loaded with oppressed munchkins, a court proceeding, three flying monkey judges, and a less-than-cordial ruby-slippered Kansan. Start to finish WICKEDER is a page turning of parody-filled fun.

Maybe I just missed HARRY POTTY. Like I said in the beginning, I have not always enjoyed parody. Perhaps it’s me and not the book. For me WICKEDER is the title to read.


AGE RECOMMENDATION
Chris’ Rating: Ages 10 and older
Publisher’s Rating: Ages 9-12

I think I might require parental permission for students under 10, but only as a precaution.

BE AWARE
There are zombies, dead creatures, bathroom humor and other things that make kids laugh. 


IN THE CLASSROOM
The thing about parodies is that they require intelligence and experience to understand. Readers must be able to make connections to pop culture, literature, politics, and the like to get the jokes. This means students must read for content and look for hints and clues and references – deeper meanings. Because it is a parody, students will enjoy the experience while learning how to make connections and reading for deeper content.


OTHER INFORMATION
Harry Potty and the Deathly Boring
Author: Stefan Petrucha
Illustrator: Rick Parker
Publisher: Papercutz
Genre: Parody

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 64
Color: Full color
ISBN-13: 978-1-59707-218-2


Tales from the Crypt: Wickeder … and His Little Dog Too
Author: Various
Illustrator: Various
Publisher: Papercutz
Genre: Parody

Format: Hardcover
Volume: 9
Pages: 64
Color: Full color
ISBN-13: 978-1-59707-216-8


CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION
Highly Recommended –– WICKEDER
Appropriate –– HARRY POTTY

THE MANGA REVOLUTION



By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek


REVIEW
Walk into any major bookstore and you will find feet of shelving dedicated to manga, the Japanese comic art form. For some reason most of my students have yet to discover the gems that so many other pre-teens, teens and adults have found. I set out to change this and expose my students to manga in hopes of bringing more kids to the bountiful table that is reading enjoyment.

When my huge box of manga from Viz Kids came, I quickly catalogued them and moved them to the front racks of my comic book carts. I have multiple volumes of each title: 
  • BakéGyamon
  • ChocoMimi
  • Dinosaur Hour
  • Dinosaur King
  • Pokémon
  • The Legend of Zelda
These are all traditional manga: black and white art, fast-paced story, and are read back to front and right-to-left. Knowing most of my kids had not read manga before, I was concerned they might struggle with the backwardness of it all. For two students it was a barrier. For the rest, they took to it easily, teaching one another how to do it.

What I noticed is that kids checked out the manga and often had it read before the end of the day. They would return at second recess and check out another, blowing through the entire collection within two weeks or so. Of course, that was quickly followed with "Do you have any more?" "Did you get volume 5 yet?" Can you get more of this?"

They liked it. They liked it a lot. I suspect this has to do with the approach. Kids find themselves being easily sucked into the story, most of which has a lot of action. It holds their interest and allows them to move quickly through a book giving them a sense of accomplishment. I hypothesize that this may provide differentiation for students who have short attention spans (ADHD) or just struggle to keep interested in longer stories. Accomplishment leads to confidence, which can be used to help kids develop a taste for slower-paced stories. It also helps that the kids are reading stories they are already familiar with. Targeting books for a specific audience also helps kids get into the books. The titles are designed with key demographics in mind (boys ages 7-10 or girls ages 10-13). I found that most of my kids picked titles within those gender demographics, although that certainly was not always the case. 

My only regret is that I did not bring more manga into the Hall of Heroes comic book club and my classroom earlier. I am on the hunt for volumes to add to the wonderful collection. When this many students are interested in reading, then I cannot help but find more of what they love, and they loved this.


AGE RECOMMENDATION
Chris’ Rating: Ages 6-12
Publisher’s Rating: All Ages

Most manga publishers place age ratings on the back cover. Manga age ratings are very important to the teacher. There is a lot of adult manga that utilizes childlike artwork. To the untrained, it can look like a book for kids or teens, when in fact the book is very mature. Never look at the art and make assumptions about the content.


IN THE CLASSROOM
I always categorize my comics by genre and not by reading level. Always. The comics listed above would fall into several categories: action/adventure, fantasy, animals. I took my lead from major booksellers and I no longer shelve manga with the other comics categories. I have a special bin just for manga. I have found that it gets checked out more if I do that. As my collection grows, I may purchase more bins and subcategorize into Manga (action/adventure), Manga (fantasy), Manga (animals), etc.

As for using to meet curriculum, manga’s pacing lends itself to whole class readings. My students move through these pretty quickly, so it would make it easy to use them in a lesson or unit.


OTHER INFORMATION
Publisher: Viz Kids (a division of Viz Media)


CHRIS’ RECOMMENDATION:
Highly Recommended