Graphic Novels

Here's a good question from a tutor about finding free materials for your tutoring classes:

From: Sarah Smith
Sent: Tuesday, November 14, 2006 11:45 AM

I've been trying very hard to find things for her to read that are interesting (not childish) but at a level she can understand easily. And I did! An artist, Raina Telgemeier, has started creating graphic novels for the Baby Sitter's Club, not entirely age appropriate, but her illustrations are excellent. Carmen was picking up new vocabulary and reading fifty pages at a time. There is a second book in the library system, but are there any other comic books that can be recommended?
Thank you!

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Sarah:
What a good idea to use graphic novels for the teaching of English! I've found that my local Hawthorne library branch (East Washington Ave.) has a fine selection of graphic novels. You might look into Love and Rockets by Jaime and Gilbert ("los Bros") Hernandez, two brothers who write in English. It's grownup stuff--actually kinda PG-13 or stronger in spots--but highly interesting and complex. I'd recommend checking them out yourself, to see whether they will suit her tastes.

More below:.

Here's the cover of Las Mujeres Perdidas (The Lost Women) by los Bros, which is in English. It features strong women characters in contemporary settings.

This is a good graphic novel about the last male human on earth. In fact, he is the last male mammal of any species. It's by Brian Vaughan. I read it myself rather quickly and got heavily involved in it.

If you just go to your nearest library branch and ask for the graphic novels section, you'll be able to rummage through it all in a half hour or less to find multiple titles to suit diverse interests. Keep in mind that you can get any title in Southern Wisconsin sent to your nearest library branch by using the website for the South Central Library System Link Catalogue (LinkCat) and your library card.
Good luck!

Brian