Last year I had a boy, Elano, come into the library and ask for a book called Hilo. I had never heard of this book before. He explained that it was a graphic novel series and that he was very excited to read it. Well, we didn't have it. I explained to him that our graphic novel selection was not very good. He just looked at me for a minute and finally asked, "Well, can you order it?" What a simple question. On our next book purchase, I ordered the Hilo series and one or two other graphic novels. I held the books for Elano since he asked for them. He was so excited when he came in and saw them. He got them all and gobbled them up in a few days. He came back elated and asked what else we had. Well, our selection was still very limited but Elano had shown me that if we have the books, kids will check them out. It's kind of the "Field of Dreams" premise.
While Elano was repeatedly asking me to order more graphic novels, his friends were busy reading the Hilo series. I determined at that point that in order to properly serve these students, I had to pack the media center with things they really wanted to read. So, last year before Covid, we got in a few more graphic novels. We still hid them in a shelf along the far wall of the media center, off the beaten path. Kids still found them, lots of kids.
This year, we took a different approach to graphic novels. While our budget is small, our grant opportunities are endless. We decided to write a Donors Choose grant for graphic novels. I looked at lots of sources to find the best graphic novels for elementary students. Our first grant was for 902.00 and was funded in two days. It was funded so quickly that I immediately put up a second graphic novel grant for 865.00. That grant was funded even quicker. Now, we had 1700.00+ of graphic novels coming to school. We cleared off the tables in the media center to display them so the kids could see all of the new books that we received. Well, let's just say that the kids were super stoked.
Many times we heard screams of elation when kids came across books that they had only heard about before. They ran from table to table, looking at all of the new, colorful graphic novels. You would think it was Christmas morning! We loved seeing the kids so excited about books!
All year long, the kids have been flocking to the graphic novel tables. We have trouble keeping them in the media center. I have learned a lot from this experience. I learned from Elano that kids love graphic novels more than I thought they did. This experience also confirmed my conviction that kids will read more than they ever have if they have the right books. I know some teachers and parents don't like graphic novels because they are books with pictures but when you look at the amount of information on the page and all of the brainpower it takes to interpret the words and graphics on the page, graphic novels are an excellent exercise for the brain. And if kids willingly, doggedly read these books, then we have tapped into a slice of motivation that may not have been there for strictly text-based books.
Often graphic novels act as a vehicle to get kids reading in the first place. From there they choose a variety of books. I would much rather have kids excitedly reading graphic novels than learn to hate reading by being forced to read books that they don't like. We try to nurture a child's natural love of stories by introducing them to the books that they will love and grow their reading abilities from there. Graphic novels often act as the hook that brings kids into the world of reading.
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