Hi! While at NMSA, I came across an article in the "Wall Street Journal" by Meghan Cox Gurdon. In it, she reports that "for the first time in the history of the National Book Wards (...) a graphic novel - a story told through a series of drawn panels, with bubble dialogue and little or no narrative text - has been nominated in any category." The book, by the way, is a young-adult book - "American Born Chinese" by Gene Luen Yang.
I inadvertently recycled the article before coming home, but as I remember it Mrs. Gurdon had seriously mixed feelings about the graphic novel format. On the one hand, she was applauding its ability to get some kids interested in reading who may never have enjoyed reading before, and noted the historical and cultural connection with the TinTin and Asterix books from France. On the other hand, she seemed to be worried that TV and video games are already making for a generation less inclined to the kind of deep thought that comes from spending time with more complicated text, and that we might be creating a generation of semi-literate readers who may never feel the desire to pick and up and appreciate a traditional book. (I wish I could quote her exactly - sorry!) So I wanted to put those ideas out there and see what was on your minds - thoughts, hopes, concerns, questions. Have a great week! Take care, Bill Ivey Stoneleigh-Burnham School _______________________________________________ The Literacy Workshop ListServ http://www.literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/lit_literacyworkshop.org. Search the LIT archives at http://snipurl.com/LITArchive
