This document discusses literature for digital ages, including graphic novels, manga, anime, and comics. It defines various terms and formats. The document explores how graphic novels can promote literacy by developing skills like critical thinking, visual literacy, language arts, and addressing different learning styles. Examples are provided of how graphic novels incorporate elements of traditional literature like characters, plot, dialogue, and setting. Benefits discussed include appealing to reluctant readers, supporting English language learners, and developing strong reading comprehension. The document concludes by suggesting graphic novels can be an excellent bridge to more advanced texts and get kids to continue reading for fun.

1. Literature for the Digital Age
Rose Hagar
NJCH Adolescent and YA Literature
Summer 2011

2.  Comic Book – A traditional, staple-bound,
serialized pamphlet or periodical that tells a
story in sequential art.

3.  Graphic Novel – A book length story, fiction
or non-fiction, that is written and illustrated
in the comic book style.

4.  Anime – Japanese term for animation
 Manga - Japanese comics in print form that
traditionally read back to front, right to left.
 Manga style – graphic novels created outside
Japan utilizing the traditional manga style
and format.

5.  Goal of both traditional novels and GNs is to
convince the reader they are not looking at
words or lines drawn by an artist, but
something imaginatively alive.
 In GNs the words have to be read, but so do
the pictures. Just as a sentence creates a
complete thought, a sequence of panels
creates complete movement through time
and space.
On Writing (and Reading), the Graphic Novel. Stefan Pietrucha, Knowledge Quest, 2008.

7.  Plot
 Characters
 Dialog
 Setting
 Audience

8.  Look at the pages you have before you. With
a partner, read the excerpt and list any
elements of literature that you see on the
pages.
 What did you find?
 Do graphic novels promote literacy?

9.  Linguistically appropriate
 Demand many of the same skills needed for
traditional stories
 Often contain more advanced vocabulary
than traditional books at the same
age/grade/interest level
 Helps develop critical skills necessary to read
more challenging works

10.  Require readers to be actively engaged in the
process of decoding and comprehending
literacy devices including-
 Narrative structures
 Metaphor and symbolism
 Point of view
 Foreshadowing
 Use of puns and alliteration
 Inference

11.  Offer fast-paced action, conflict, and heroic
endeavors
 Classic archetypes such as the reluctant hero, the
unknown destiny, and the mentor wizard

12.  Meet the needs of different learning styles
 The visual learner will connect in a way that they
cannot with a text-only book
 Flexible enough that the same title will appeal to
the advanced reader and the reluctant reader

13.  Require readers to be active participants in
the reading process.
 Use their imagination to fill in the blanks
between the panels or the “gutter”.
 What happened in the gutter?
 Develop visual literacy
 The ability to recognize and understand ideas
conveyed through visual (still or animated)
imagery.

14. Look at these pages from The Arrival.
Discuss what you see with your partner. How
could you use this with your children?

15.  Develop strong language arts skills
 Reading comprehension
 Vocabulary development
 Ensure that kids continue to read for fun outside
the classroom.
 Bridge for transitioning from picture books to
text-only books
 Stimulate young readers to branch out and
explore other genres

16.  Excellent for ELLs and students who read
below grade level because the simple
sentences and visual cues allow the reader to
comprehend most of the story.
 Address important developmental assets and
social issues.
Michelle Gorman. Getting Graphic: Comics for Kids. 2008

20. Non-Fiction

21.  Because they are literature!
 Because the are fun!! The family can read
them together.
 If reading one graphic novel gets a your child
to read, then just imagine where they will go
from there!

23.  Alverman, D.E. & McLean, C. “The Nature of Literacies.” Secondary School Literacy: What
Researach Reveals for Classroom Practice. Eds. A. Berger, J. Eakle & L. Rush. Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English, 2007. 1-20.
 Appleman, D. “Reading with Adolescents.” Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice. Eds.
K. Beers, R. Probst, and L. Reif. Portsmouth: Heineman, 2007. 143-147.
 Chun, C. “”Critical Literacies and Graphic Novels for English-Language Learners: Teaching Maus.”
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 53.2, 2009. 144-153.
 Crawford, P. & Weiner, S. Using Graphic Novels with Children and Teens: A Guide for Teachers and
Librarians. New York: Scholastic, 1996-2011.
 Dresang, E.T. Radical Change: Books for Youth in a Digital Age. New York: H.W. Wilson, 1999.
 Gorman, M. Getting Graphic! Comics for Kids. Columbus: Linworth Publishing, 2008.
 McLean, C. “Adolescent and Young Adult Literature.” PowerPoint Presentation. Richard Stockton
College. New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Pomona, NJ. 31 July 2011.
 McLean, C. “Hidden Curriculum: Authenticity, the Canon and Multicultural Literature.”
PowerPoint Presentation. Richard Stockton College. New Jersey Council for the Humanities.
Pomona, NJ. 1 August 2011.
 Petrucha, S. “On Writing (And Reading), the Graphic Novel.” Knowledge Quest: Journal of the
American Association of School Librarians. 36.3, 2008. 60-63.
 “Using Comics and Graphic Novels in the Classroom (The Council Chronicle, Sept. 05). National
Council of Teachers of English. http://www.ncte.org/magazine/archives/122031. Accessed
8/5/2011.
 Yang, Greg. “Graphic Novels in the Classroom.” Language Arts. 85.3, 2008. 185-192.