Graphic Novel # 5 - The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School by Laura Murray

Mary's Thoughts:

The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School is a Gingerbread Man remix in a school house setting. In this version of the book, Gingerbread Man is the one who does the chasing! Concerned that he has lost the classroom of students who created him, Gingerbread Man tracks the students through the building. Will he find them? You'll have to read to find out!

Illustrated by Mike Lowery in traditional cartoon-type outline style, the simple pictures lend support to the reader in his efforts to comprehend the text. Meanwhile, author/teacher Laura Murray makes use of pattern sentences and phrases from the original version of The Gingerbread Man, but also gives this character new life by making him the chaser instead of the one being chased and by placing him in an entirely new setting.


Pixie's Thoughts:

Chase! Chase! This book is right down my alley. There is never a slow moment in this book. If Mary keeps choosing books like this for me to read, I will no longer consider myself a reluctant reader. As I read, I put myself in the place of Gingerbread Man. I sure wish I could go to school and chase a classroom of students and teachers around the school yard.
The text to self  connections I made while reading this book were fantastic!






Classroom Application:

I think this book lends itself to the following classroom applications:

• Compare and contrast Gingerbread Man Loose in the School with the traditional Gingerbread Man text. 
• Students can work individually or with partners to create their own versions of The Gingerbread Man by changing the setting or one of the other story elements. 
• The teacher talk about the sequence of a fiction text by discussing the beginning, middle, and ending of The Gingerbread Man Loose in the School,  then he or she can introduce cookbooks to the students and talk about the sequence text structure in nonfiction.

Laura Murray's Author Website
Spatulatta.com

Graphic Novel # 4 - Owly: The Way Home and the Bittersweet Summer by Andy Runton

Mary's Thoughts:

Owly: The Way Home and The Bittersweet Summer is a two part,  nearly wordless graphic novel about an owl and his worm friend. In the first part of the book, Owly meets Worm for the first time and helps him find his way home. In part two of the book, Owly and Worm join forces to come to the rescue of a couple of hummingbirds and develop a deep friendship with them. The hummingbird friends fly away when winter approaches. Will Owly and Worm ever see their friends again?

I found it difficult to get used to reading a wordless graphic novel with a series of pictures on each page. I enjoy the combination of words and illustrations in a graphic novel much better. I also have a better reaction to a wordless picture book that has one illustration on each page. I think the reason a wordless graphic novel is difficult for me to follow is because it contains  sequential art in a series of panels on each page with no words to keep me focused.

Although a wordless graphic novel is hard for me to follow, I do not assume this will hold true for my students. I have not had the opportunity to introduce the Owly series to my students, but I am looking forward to seeing how they respond to these books. 


Pixie's Thoughts:

Woof! This book has everything I enjoy in books. This was an easy-to-read book with lots of animals, adventure, and food! The only thing I missed was that it didn't have any dogs in it! I was very engaged in the story line about the hummingbirds. I couldn't wait to find out if Owly and Worm would ever see them again!






Classroom Application:

• This book would be a good choice struggling readers who want something to read for relaxation and enjoyment. 
• Students could choose a page they enjoy and write words to go with the pictures. 
• Teachers can use this book to teach graphic novel-related vocabulary. 
• This book would be good to use to introduce lit circles at the beginning of the year, since everyone would be able to comprehend much of the book and would be able to participate in the discussion. All students would be able to experience success in contributing something to the conversation. 

Andy Rnnton's Author Website

Graphic Novel # 3 - Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

Mary's Thoughts:

This book grabbed my attention when I noticed that many of my second and third graders were choosing this as one of their independent reading selections. I just had to add it to my Reluctant Reader list so I could see what all the fuss was about!

Nick Bruel has written a series of books about a bad kitty that gets into all kinds of trouble. Bad Kitty's pet owner is the narrator of the books and "Uncle Murray" provides side notes with related science facts about cats.

Happy Birthday Bad Kitty takes place on the day of Bad Kitty's first birthday. All Kitty's friends come to visit, each bringing a present. Bad Kitty is disappointed with the presents, disappointed with the food and disappointed with the whole day. That is until the surprise ending! Kitty has an extra special visitor that makes it a great birthday after all!

Although some of the jokes are difficult for young students to comprehend, my students understand enough of the text to love the  stories and find them humorous. I notice that students don't seem to mind the challenge and they persevere happily through to the end of the story. Because of the enthusiasm these Bad Kitty books generate, this series gets five out of five stars in my book!


Pixie's Thoughts:

Bow-wow wowzer! I am so glad to see some pets as main characters in this book! I notice Puppy had an interesting part in the story, when he almost got made into a pinata by the kitties. I think my favorite character was Strange Kitty. He wasn't like most kitties, because he was very well read, just like I am growing to be! He and the mouse had a unique friendship. I give this entertaining book five out of five paws!





Classroom Application:

• I can envision the teacher and students co-writing a reader's theater script based upon this book. The number of characters, each with their unique personalities, would allow for the participation of several readers. 
• Using "Uncle Murray's Fun Facts" as a model, students can write their own fun facts about an animal of their choice. They could start by asking several questions about the animals and then research the facts  before writing it into a fun facts page. Alternately, one student could write questions to exchange with another student who would then answer the partner's questions and write them into fun facts pages. 

Graphic Novel # 2 - Dolley Madison: Salva La Historia por Roger Smalley

Mary's Thoughts:

I chose to add this book to my reluctant reader list because, not only is it a graphic novel, it is also written completely in Spanish. I am a Spanish language learner who works with English language learners, so I wanted to get a taste of the experience of my ELLs as they read books in their second language.

Dolley Madison: Salva La Historia begins with the wedding of James Madison and Dolley Payne and follows the couple through James's presidency. The highlight of the book is about how Dolley saved important artifacts from the White House from the fire the British troops set when they invaded Washington D.C. in 1814.

As a second language learner of Spanish, I found that the illustrations in the book helped me understand the text better. Of course, I brought a basic knowledge about the life of Dolley Madison to my reading of the text. This reading experience helped me be more aware, through first hand experience, of the role of background knowledge in reading comprehension. I noticed that as I negotiated some difficult portions of the text, although I did not understand the words of the text, I was able to follow the story because of the illustrations in combination with my background knowledge of Madison's life.

My initial belief about graphic novels, before I began this reluctant reader project, was that the illustrations might actually interfere with my enjoyment of the text, but I did not find this true as I read this book. Instead, the illustrations added interest and aided my comprehension.
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Pixie's Thoughts: 

Woof! When the British were getting ready to eat the banquet of food Dolley left as she fled, my mouth started salivating! The battle scenes and fire kept my attention, but the book was a little heavy on the Washington social life. Those parts seemed to drag. I give this book three and a half paws!





Classroom Application:

I think this Spanish language version of the graphic novel biography would be great for use with students in third or fourth grade who already have a foundation in Spanish literacy skill and for whom Spanish is their first language. It would also be appropriate for students in the upper grades who are learning Spanish as a second language.

• If you have students who are native Spanish speakers, but do not have literacy skills in Spanish, this book could be read aloud to them in Spanish before a study on the period of American history during James Madison's presidency. This would give them some background knowledge in their first language  before learning about the content in English. 
• In bilingual classrooms, the class could gather various texts on the life of Dolley Madison and do a group project to compare and contrast the texts with one another. For example, they could compare this graphic novel with a more traditional biography about Dolley. Later, when writing about the life of other historic figures, students could have the option of creating their own graphic novels, particularly students who enjoy art.