I see it nearly every day at my branch. A child approaches me to request the latest Big Nate or Zelda and their grownup says “No, I want you to read a real book.” Cue disappointed wah wah sound effect and sometimes tears. 

Despite what might have been presented in the past to parents, studies repeatedly demonstrate that Comics (or Graphic Novels if you prefer) have great benefits to children, including but not limited to the following:

  1. Comics give struggling readers practice, which helps build fluency, aids in reading comprehension, and gives your child more reading confidence with every completed book. Even though there are lots of pictures, there are also lots of words! Often, the vocabulary used is advanced for the target age and helps young readers develop sophisticated vocabularies.
  2. Comics also help develop emotional intelligence by giving children practice identifying facial expressions and other visual cues.
  3. Comics aid in developing the visual literacy skills needed to accurately interpret and evaluate images in media.
  4. Children who select books themselves are more likely to engage in the book and complete it.
  5. Comics are popular among their peers, so it gives them another way to create lasting friendships (friendships based on books are a marvelous thing!). Kyle Redford of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity refers to graphic novels as “the grand equalizers” because they “invite all levels of readers into reading conversations. Since everyone can read graphic novels, everyone can talk about them.”
  6. Comics can be a “gateway drug” to reading other types of books. If children are allowed to read what they want, they will eventually branch out to read a wide variety of materials.

Graphic novels are more than just “the funny pages.” They encompass a wide variety of genres and themes: fiction, nonfiction, memoir, fantasy, superheroes, or realistic fiction; they can be funny or poignant, horrifying or fantastical. Have you read any graphic novels lately? If not, try one of the ones listed below to see what all the hype is about and it could turn out to be another fun thing to discuss with your child.

El DeafoSome of my favorite Graphic novels include:

Lowriders in Outer Space by Cathy Camper

El Deafo by Cece Bell

Bolivar by Sean Rubin

- Melody Palmer, Youth Librarian, South Broken Arrow