Graphic Novels in the Classroom and School Library

Graphic Novels in the Classroom and School Library

In this Knowledge Quest article, Robin Moeller (Appalachian State University, North Carolina) makes an impassioned case for graphic novels in schools. She starts by citing some that have won literary awards:

  • Maus by Art Spiegleman (a special Pulitzer Prize in 1992)
  • American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (2006)
  • To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel by Siena Cherson and Mark Siegel (2006)
  • Storm in the Barn by Matt Phelan (2009)
  • Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty by G. Neri (2010)

“Comics and censorship have a long and storied history together,” says Moeller. Some librarians consider them junk, and there’s a common misconception that graphic novels are somehow graphic, as in violent or sexual. Nonsense, she says, citing ways that good graphic novels align with the Common Core State Standards. “The use of graphic novels in the curriculum can help us better prepare students for the literacy demands of their futures.” Moeller suggests the following online resources:

“Convincing the Naysayers; Why Graphic Novels Deserve a Place in the School Library” by Robin Moeller in Knowledge Quest, January/February 2013 (Vol. 41, #3, p. 12-17), 

http://www.ala.org/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/knowledgequest/archive/...; Moeller can be reached at moellerra@appstate.edu. 

From the Marshall Memo #469

 

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