Graphic novels fun for everyone
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Mikyla Meyer
Working at the public library I hear all sorts of opinions about books and various media. One of my pet peeves is hearing that a certain type of reading doesn’t count. We hear it about all sorts of things, but today I want to focus on graphic novels. This one is especially irritating for me because I struggle to read graphic novels. Give me tiny words crammed on a page with thin margins and I can fly through the densest of books (thanks English Literature degree!). But graphic novels slow me down and can even be exhausting to read. There are a few reasons for that.
Let’s start with visual literacy, or the ability to interpret meaning from images. It should come as no surprise that graphic novels, which rely on pictures and words to tell a story, can help develop visual literacy. This skill is incredibly important, perhaps even more so now than when I was growing up. Comics and graphic novels can also force us to slow down and think as so much information can be packed into a panel, waiting for readers to discover it.
Graphic novels can also contain sophisticated language, as they have to be very intentional about the words used to fit meaning into a smaller space, so don’t assume they don’t help with your reading skills either.
Finally, did you know that comics and graphic novels are for adults just as much as for children? From political cartoons to memoirs and non-fiction, to adult-targeted fantasy/sci-fi and adventure, there really is something for everyone.
Check out some of our newer titles below!
Batman, One Dark Knight
Written by iconic Batman artist Jock this adventure features a broken, bleeding Batman dragging villain E.M.P. block by block through a powerless Gotham.
Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands
Kate Beaton, New York Times bestselling cartoonist of Hark A Vagrant fame, writes her first full-length graphic narrative based on her own experiences in Alberta’s oil sands. This is an untold story of Canada: a country that prides itself on its egalitarian ethos and natural beauty while simultaneously exploiting both the riches of its land and the humanity of its people.
Through their Eyes: a graphic history of Hill 70 and Canada’s First World War
Matthew Barrett and Robert C. Engen invite readers to reimagine the First World War through the eyes of those who lived it and to think more deeply about how we visualize and remember the past.
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