I figured I would make a separate post on the information regarding the brochure that was given out during the “Graphic Novels and You” panel Hillary and I hosted. I reformatted it so it fits a blog post rather than the trifold brochure. Please contact me if there are any questions!
Top Recommended Graphic Novels for Your Library
- Amulet by Kazu Kibuishi
- Bone by Jeff Smith
- Case Closed by Gosho Aoyama
- The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
- Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama
- Fables by Bill Willingham
- Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
- Level Up by Gene Leung Yang
- Maus by Art Spiegelman
- Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu
- Oishinbo by Tetsu Kariya and Akira Hanasaki
- Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan
- Saga by Brian K. Vaughan
- A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima
- Smile by Raina Telgemeier
- The Sandman by Neil Gaiman
- Watchmen by Alan Moore
(Note: Feedback from people who attended the panel, we should have added suggested age ratings as well as separate recommended lists for Juvenile, Teens, and Adults. This will be rectified in the future.)
Non-Fiction Books
- Comics Confidential: 13 Graphic Novelists Talk Story, Craft, and Life Outside the Box by Leonard S. Marcus
- 100 Greatest Graphic Novels: The Good. The Bad. The Epic. by Katrina Hill and Alex Langley
- Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
- Critical Survey of Graphic Novels: Manga edited by Bart H. Beaty and Stephen Weiner
- The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Graphic Novels by Francisca Goldsmith
- Graphic Novels Core Collection edited by Kendal Spires, Gabriela Toth, and Maria Hugger
(Note: Originally the books were separated between books that were available for patrons to check out versus books that were used for reference-only/non-circulating use for library staff. I decided to put them together because shouldn’t have to be separated!)
Non-Fiction Electronic Resources
- Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
http://cbldf.org/ - Comics Worth Reading
https://comicsworthreading.com/ - Diamond Bookshelf
http://www.diamondbookshelf.com - No Flying, No Tights is a review site by librarians, educators, and youths.
https://noflyingnotights.com/ - School Library Journal
http://www.slj.com/ - Teen Services Underground is a resource for librarians by librarians in youth services.
https://www.teenservicesunderground.com/ - YALSA is the Young Adult Library Services Association
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/
What is the Graphic Novel?
The Graphic Novel is defined as a story presented in comic-strip format and published as a book. It has many names from the East, from manga (Japan), manhua (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan), manhwa (Korea) to the general term comics in the West. Graphic Novels appeal to all ages, now a part of the popular culture that encompasses movies, novels, television shows, and politics.
Age Ratings
Many publishers have a suggested rating on each graphic novel published, oftentimes on the back of the book. As a librarian, you use your judgment, research reviews, read
the graphic novel, ask colleagues in order to determine where the Graphic Novel should be (Adult/YA/Children collections). Graphic Novels have a general rating system across the board: E for Everyone, Y for Youth (10+), T for Teen (13+), OT for Older Teen (16+), and M for Mature (18+). This is a general system and certain publishers might have a different age rating (i.e. DC Comics has 15+ for OT but but Yen Press lists 16+) so it is something to keep in mind.
Articles
Don’t Judge a Manga by Its Rating…
From YALSA’s The Hub is an article about how sometimes you need look beyond the rating to determine if a graphic novel would be a sound choice for teens.
http://tiny.cc/yalgn
Graphic Novels: A Road Map to Academic Success
From the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) is an article written on the empowerment of graphic novels.
http://tiny.cc/skoolgn
How Graphic Novels Became the Hottest Section in the Library
Publisher’s Weekly released an article on Graphic Novels and “How [They] Became the Hottest Section in the Library”. For one library, graphic novels make up 10% of the collection but accounts for 35% of their circulation.
http://tiny.cc/pwgn
The People’s Comics…
School Library Journal’s article “The People’s Comics: Using the Graphic Format to Teach About Current Events” is an excellent read regarding the graphic novel’s growing presence in the classroom.
http://tiny.cc/sljgn
(Note: Originally there were QR codes which readers can scan onto their phones to read but tiny urls were also included. I took our the QR codes for this post.)
Island Librarian 