Graphic Novels

Sticking with the theme of reading, I also attended a workshop presented by Christina Estlow from Ocean County Public Library. She talked about graphic novels as a medium for struggling readers to engage in reading. Looking at the varitey of books she brought with her, as well as perusing the library's online catalogue, graphic novels are becoming extremely popular with kids, and publishers are catching on. I never thought I would be able to read a graphic novel about the Salem Witch Trials or The Diary of Anne Frank. One of Christina's cautions was for the teacher or parent to read the novel first to be sure that it was appropriate for their student.

To link graphic novels to the writing process, she showed us a *free* website for students to write their own graphic novels called Make Beliefs Comics. This is a very easy to use, and very fun. I won't tell you that I spent a couple hours playing with this website and shared a few of my stories with my family. I won't tell you that.......