Graphic Novels
February 1, 2006 - Jail North
My first program at the jail was an interest session for the book club and a quick history of graphic novels and comic books. Four teenagers came and were enthusiastic about the book club. They were interested in reading but had trouble picking good books for their reading level or they were bored and reading and a book club offered diversion. I had a list of about 20 books that I thought might be good. Most of the guys had already read a couple of the books on my list, like Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. They were interested in reading murder mysteries and suspense, not science fiction or romance. So I pulled together a list of seven books, which are listed below. I had some trouble deciding on a name for this book club. There were some great suggestions such as Juvie Lit, but Freedom Reads! was chosen as the final name.
Books for Freedom Reads!
2/15 - Girl Got Game, by Shizuru Seino
3/1 - Deathwatch, by Robb White
3/15 - Curious Incident of the Dog in the nighttime, by Mark Haddon
3/29 - Hatchet and/or Guts, by Gary Paulsen
4/12 - The Killer's Cousin, by Nancy Werlin
4/26 - Funny Little Monkey, by Andrew Auseon
5/10 - Maximum Ride, by James Patterson
I brought lots of example to show during my talk on graphic novels. All of the information for my talk came from the introduction of Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel, by Mike Chinn, 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, by Helen McCarthy and my notes from a talk on graphic novels I attended at NCLA in 2004. The guys were interested in the graphic novels and not familiar at all with Manga. I explained to them how some graphic novels, like Girl Got Game had to be read back to front. I really hope the format doesn't discourage them from reading it. I wasn't uncomfortable working with teens in a jail setting, but I was uncomfortable when I realized that I make a lot of cultural references and use certain words in my everyday speech that these teens wouldn't necessarily know. For example, they didn't know who Hans Solo was from Star Wars but they did know Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie from the animated series Duck Tales back in the late 1980s.
Example Graphic Novels that I took:
The Encyclopedia of American Comics, edited by Ron Goulart, ISBN 0816018529
The Smartest Kid on Earth, by Jimmy Corrigan
Building a Better Life By Stealing Office Supplies, by Scott Adams, ISBN 0886876370
The Adventures of Tintin, by Herge, ISBN 0316359408
Maus, by Art Spiegelman, ISBN 0394747232
9-11: Artists Respond, ISBN 1563898810
Meridian: Flying Solo, by Barbara Kesel, ISBN 1931484031
The Boondocks, by Aaron McGruder, ISBN 0740706098
Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships, by Eric Shanower, ISBN 1582402000
Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?, by Brian Bendis, ISBN 158240223X
Girl Got Game, volume 1, by Shizuru Seino, ISBN 1591826969
My first program at the jail was an interest session for the book club and a quick history of graphic novels and comic books. Four teenagers came and were enthusiastic about the book club. They were interested in reading but had trouble picking good books for their reading level or they were bored and reading and a book club offered diversion. I had a list of about 20 books that I thought might be good. Most of the guys had already read a couple of the books on my list, like Monster, by Walter Dean Myers. They were interested in reading murder mysteries and suspense, not science fiction or romance. So I pulled together a list of seven books, which are listed below. I had some trouble deciding on a name for this book club. There were some great suggestions such as Juvie Lit, but Freedom Reads! was chosen as the final name.
Books for Freedom Reads!
2/15 - Girl Got Game, by Shizuru Seino
3/1 - Deathwatch, by Robb White
3/15 - Curious Incident of the Dog in the nighttime, by Mark Haddon
3/29 - Hatchet and/or Guts, by Gary Paulsen
4/12 - The Killer's Cousin, by Nancy Werlin
4/26 - Funny Little Monkey, by Andrew Auseon
5/10 - Maximum Ride, by James Patterson
I brought lots of example to show during my talk on graphic novels. All of the information for my talk came from the introduction of Writing and Illustrating the Graphic Novel, by Mike Chinn, 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, by Helen McCarthy and my notes from a talk on graphic novels I attended at NCLA in 2004. The guys were interested in the graphic novels and not familiar at all with Manga. I explained to them how some graphic novels, like Girl Got Game had to be read back to front. I really hope the format doesn't discourage them from reading it. I wasn't uncomfortable working with teens in a jail setting, but I was uncomfortable when I realized that I make a lot of cultural references and use certain words in my everyday speech that these teens wouldn't necessarily know. For example, they didn't know who Hans Solo was from Star Wars but they did know Uncle Scrooge, Huey, Dewey, and Louie from the animated series Duck Tales back in the late 1980s.
Example Graphic Novels that I took:
The Encyclopedia of American Comics, edited by Ron Goulart, ISBN 0816018529
The Smartest Kid on Earth, by Jimmy Corrigan
Building a Better Life By Stealing Office Supplies, by Scott Adams, ISBN 0886876370
The Adventures of Tintin, by Herge, ISBN 0316359408
Maus, by Art Spiegelman, ISBN 0394747232
9-11: Artists Respond, ISBN 1563898810
Meridian: Flying Solo, by Barbara Kesel, ISBN 1931484031
The Boondocks, by Aaron McGruder, ISBN 0740706098
Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships, by Eric Shanower, ISBN 1582402000
Powers: Who Killed Retro Girl?, by Brian Bendis, ISBN 158240223X
Girl Got Game, volume 1, by Shizuru Seino, ISBN 1591826969
posted by Kate at
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