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Parents

Help Your Child be a Super Reader with Graphic Novels!

By Allyson at the Library Station

Did you know that graphic novels are beneficial for beginning readers? A graphic novel is designed so the reader can use the detailed illustrations as they read the text to get the complete story. Popular children’s publishers now offer graphic novels that are high quality plus are appropriate for young readers. These popular books draw in all readers, including often reluctant readers. Here are a few reasons graphic novels can help kids develop their reading skills:

  1. Graphic novels encourage reluctant readers to build interest along with confidence.

  2. The smaller chunks of text help build reading stamina. These quick reads are not as frustrating as a chapter book and allow more reading to be practiced.

  3. The side-by-side Illustrations and text provide strong clues to their meaning. This creates an easy-to-follow story that can increase comprehension.

  4. They help struggling readers strengthen their vocabulary and increase fluency.

  5. Increased detail with text alongside the images provides strong visual cues.

  6. They teach sequencing through quick and fun text.

Want to know more about how beneficial graphic novels can be for kids? Check out Graphic Novels for Young Kids from Reading Rockets and 5 Reasons Graphic Novels Can Help Kids with Reading from Understood. And we have lots of books at the library to get you started. Check out the Beginning Reader Comics and Graphic Novels booklist and add the following to your list as well! For even more fun, mark your calendars for the next We Love Comics program at the Library Center on January 22nd.

An Elephant & Piggie Biggie! 1 by Mo Willems
Today I Will Fly! Watch Me Throw the Ball! Can I Play Too? Let's Go For a Drive! I Really Like Slop! For the first time ever, best friends Elephant and Piggie have five Biggie adventures in one book!

Baloney and Friends by Greg Pizzoli
Meet Baloney! He's a pig. This book is about him. And also Peanut, his best friend. There's Bizz, too, of course. And Krabbit. He'd rather not be here, but what can you do?

Beak & Ally. 1, Unlikely Friends by Norman Feuti
Ally the alligator is perfectly happy being alone... until one day a noisy bird named Beak lands on her snout. Much to Ally's annoyance, this chatty bird likes to sing all the time and has chosen a nearby tree to build his new nest. Even worse, he insists that he and Ally will be best friends. In fact, he has all kinds of friendship goals in mind, and it seems nothing Ally says will convince him that she'd rather just be alone. Nothing beats peace and quiet... except for maybe a new best friend?

Bird and Squirrel On the Run! by James Burks
Bird and Squirrel outwit Cat and become best friends in this zany adventure.

Can I Have a Turn? by Norman Feuti
After receiving a new toy car in the mail, Harry and Hedgehog have fun taking turns racing the car around the racetrack Harry built.

Dragon Gets By by Dav Pilkey
Whenever Dragon wakes up groggy, he always does everything wrong, like sweeping a hole in his dirt floor, or reading an egg and frying his newspaper.

Duck, Duck, Porcupine! by Salina Yoon
Big Duck likes to boss around her younger brother, Little Duck, and she fancies herself the leader of their trio when joined by their gentle friend Porcupine. Little Duck does not speak yet, but through his expressions and his actions, he shows that he has a better grasp on any situation than his older sister.

Fox and Rabbit by Beth Ferry
Easygoing Fox and anxious Rabbit seem like total opposites. But, somehow, they make the perfect pair! Whether searching for hidden treasure or planting a garden in their own backyard, Fox and Rabbit find everyday magic at every turn. On this first adventure, the pair will discover some new favorite things like sunsets, dandelions, and cotton candy. And they'll face new fears like heights, swimming, and (poisonous!) frogs. Thankfully, there's nothing Fox and Rabbit can't do together!

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton
Take a dip into a Graphic Novel with this fun underwater story. Narwhal is a happy-go-lucky narwhal. Jelly is a no-nonsense jellyfish. The two might not have a lot in common, but they do love waffles, parties and adventures. Join Narwhal and Jelly as they discover the whole wide ocean together. Lexile 490

Pea, Bee, & Jay. 1, Stuck Together by Brian (Comic book writer) Smith
Like all peas, Pea loves to roll. So when a no-good strawberry dares him to roll all the way off the farm, he swears he can do it--eazy me-zee! But along the way, a powerful thunderstorm strikes and bounces Pea off course--and right into two unlikely new buds: a bee named Bee who thinks she knows it all, and a bird named Jay who can't figure out how to fly. On their own they may not look like much, but if this trio can stick together, they just might help Pea find his way back home.

Pizza and Taco: Who Is the Best by Stephen Shaskan
Best friends Pizza and Taco agree on nearly everything until Pizza declares himself the best of all, leading to debating, voting, competing, and finally defining what being the best really means.

Scaredy Squirrel in a Nutshell by MĂ©lanie Watt
Scaredy has spent his life defending his tree from UFOs, lumberjacks, mammoths, and more, so when (possibly poison) Ivy the rabbit sends a note he must calculate the risks of friendship.

The Best Little Ghost in the World by James Kochalka
Johnny Boo is the best little ghost in the whole world, because he's got Boo Power. This means that he can go BOO really loudly. His pet ghost named Squiggle has Squiggle Power, which means that he can fly and do really fast loop-the-loops. Together they have the world's greatest ghost adventures!

Questions or need more ideas? Email imagine@thelibrary.org

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