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The Power of Potter
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If Harry Potter doesn't lure kids in, maybe comic Related Links
books will. That's what librarians are finding, as they
reel in book-wary students with comics, graphic Harry comes to campus
novels, and manga, the genre of Japanese comics.
"Kids exist in a visual world, and comic books are a If kids made summer book
lists
natural mode of text for them," says Ben Towle,
cofounder of the National Association of Comics Art Siriusly, Potter rocks!
Educators, which is promoting the use of these
works in literacy programs as well as other school
subjects.

Skeptics may still think of comics as trash lit. But Michele Gorman, an Austin librarian,
is a believer. "They're fun, but they're not always easy to read. The vocabulary can be
advanced, as can the imagery," she says. That's why she's focusing on the library's
comics collection. After all, Maus by Art Spiegelman, the graphic novel telling of his Blog Back
father's story of survival during the Holocaust, is as powerful as (if not more than) any
plain-prose volume, and Jeff Smith's Bone series, about three cousins who get
There are no links to this story yet. Do you blog? You
separated in a weird world, is often compared with The Lord of the Rings .
could be the first! Just post a link to this story and
Pick pix. Comics can be a blessing for less confident readers. The art gives clues that your blog could appear here. Become a Technorati
promote enjoyable reading. "Clearly, literacy is happening. Kids are talking about member to add your photo and byline!
books," Gorman says. And even a manga addict might segue into more-traditional
novels. Gorman noticed a video-game fanatic playing a game similar to The Lord of the
Rings , so she dug up her copy of the graphic-novel version of The Hobbit . When he
returned, he told her it was the best book he'd ever read, and he wanted more. So she Interest Rates
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A big obstacle in hooking kids on books as Gorman did, many educators say, is the
way schools have evolved. "Teachers are under pressure to accomplish goals for 5/1 ARM 5.81% 6.98%
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Boy lit. Lack of choice is part of the problem. Not every child shares the same
taste--boys are particularly underserved when it comes to appealing book options--so advertisement
the books that are assigned can easily strike out. Former elementary school teacher Ads by Google
and popular author Jon Scieszka says this arrangement has to change: "We've
structured it so kids think of reading like medicine. It tastes bad, but it's good for you."
NY Comic-Con Feb 24-26
"A teacher has 25 copies of the same book and marches through it--if you want to ruin New York convention comics, anime graphic
a book, that's a good way to do it," says Allington. "When you create choice, you novels, games & movies
create engaged readers." Just ask Cheryl Hinterleitner, 14, who showed up at a Harry www.nycomiccon.com
Potter book discussion at the Porter branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional
Library in Virginia two weeks ago dressed as a member of the Weasley family, eating
Voldetorte (a chocolate confection) and gushing about the other books she's got on her
shelf, like everything by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, who writes about vampires. But what
about what she has to read for school? "I hated the selection so much that I'm writing
my own," she declared. It's going to be about vampires.

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