Timmy's Tutor

"Timmy's Tutor" is an online comic by Michael Hawkins that honors the special tutors and mentors in children's lives. Download the comics to put on your website, subscribe to the site's feed, or follow Timmy on Twitter! Here's more from Hawkins on his inspiration for creating the comic strip:

Growing up, I took my education for granted. In my wife's and my families, it was just expected that we would study hard and go to college or take some additional career training. After graduating from college and getting out into the work world, I discovered that wasn't the case for everyone. When I read the statistics about how many kids never even finish high school, it saddens me. It saddens me that everyone does not have parents who value education and expect and inspire their children to pursue knowledge not simply for grades, but for the betterment of themselves. Parents who, when they don't have the answers, care enough to find the resources to help their children grow and succeed. EVERYONE needs special tutors and mentors to help them be successful in life, no matter what their age. Ms. Rita is the fictional one I'm making for the kids.

Nick Magazine Comics

Hey everyone!

Nick Magazine has some GREAT comics for kids!!!  Kids will not only recognize the characters, but also learn more about reading with images and words together from some of their favorite shows.  Very engaging, awesome teacher resource!

Françoise Mouly of Toon Books

Toon Books editor Françoise Mouly does an interview with KCRW and talks about the company's groundbreaking children's books. With their comic-book format, Toon Books are perfect for kids who are too old for picture books but too young or not ready for text-only stories. Here are the Toon Books available for purchase:

Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons by Agnes Rosenstiehl
Benny and Penny in Just Pretend by Geoffrey Hayes
Otto's Orange Day by Frank Cammuso and Jay Lynch
Stinky by Eleanor Davis (a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book)
Jack and the Box by Art Spiegelman
Mo and Jo: Fighting Together Forever by Dean Haspiel and Jay Lynch

Graphic novels in the business world

Artist Joseph Lambert was asked to graphically depict one chapter from BusinessWeek Senior Writer Steve Hamm's book, The Race for Perfect: Inside the Quest to Design the Ultimate Portable Computer. Click through these panels to learn about Alan Kay's role in developing some of today's laptops, handheld devices, and smartphones. Then watch Alan Kay's TED (Technology, Education, Design) talk on big ideas, creative thinking, and education below.

ComicShopLocator.com

Does just what it says -- plus comics news, a convention calendar, and more on the latest releases! Type in your zip code or full address, or call 1-888-COMIC-BOOK to locate a shop the old-fashioned way!

Diamond BookShelf interview with Katie Monnin

Check out Katie's thoughts on using graphic novels in the classroom and "the greatest communication revolution of all time" in the latest issue of Diamond BookShelf. Here's a snippet:

BookShelf: You are in the process of completing a book about graphic novels and secondary ELA instruction. What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

Katie Monnin: I hope that readers will take away two primary ideas from Teaching Graphic Novels. First, I hope that they will come away with a better, more appreciative understanding for why we should value comics and graphic novels in the classroom. Second, I hope that they come away with some concrete reading strategies that they can actually take into their classrooms, some practical, teacher-friendly strategies that align to the standards and to their students’ interests.

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival 2009

[This already passed, but visit the website for info on next year's conference!]

From http://www.moccany.org/:

Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art Festival 2009
June 6th & 7th

The Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art is proud to announce MoCCA Festival 2009 will be held June 6th & 7th at the 69th Regiment Armory at Lexington Avenue and 25th Street in New York City.

The Village Voice calls the MoCCA Festival ""the best small-press nexus (anywhere!)" Now BIGGER than ever! An incredible weekend of comic and cartoon art exhibitors, panels, lectures, sketches, autographs, and more! Thousands come every summer to meet and purchase works from some of the world's best cartoonists, animators, and graphic novelists.

Where?
69th Regiment Armory
68 Lexington Avenue, between 25th and 26th Streets

When?
June 6th and 7th, 11am-6pm

Cost?
$10 per day
$15 per weekend
MoCCA Members: $10 per weekend

More information available here.

Media Conversations VI 2009 : An International Conference of Youth, Media, and Education

[This already passed, but visit the website for info on next year's conference!]

From http://www.mediaeco.com/moc09/:

Media Conversations VI 2009 : An International Conference of Youth, Media, and Education

June 4 - 6 2009, NYC

Stop by and PARTICIPATE.
Media Literacy and Information Literacy - It's not just for breakfast anymore...

With consideration to Neil Postman's observation that 'children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see,' and Marshall McLuhan's reflection that 'the future isn't what it used to be,' we invite you to a FREE conference on media and information literacy taking place around NYC during the first week(end) of June, 2009. Space is limited.

Pratt Institute, Manhattan Campus : google maps
The Players Club: google maps
Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus, McMahon Hall : google maps

For printing, posting, and further distribution, below you will find the conference poster in JPG format in a variety of sizes. Please distribute widely! :
Postercard : mediaconv_postcard
Flyer (2-up) : mediacon_flyer
8x11 : mediaconv_8x11
11x14 : mediaconv_11x14

Professor Garfield

Maupin House had the pleasure today of speaking with Bob Levy from Professor Garfield, an amazing, interactive, and free learning portal in which kids can express themselves while having fun with reading, writing, art, and more. Bob was kind enough to take us on a guided tour through some of the other initiatives being launched later this month: a Toon Book Reader where younger kids can read and be read cartoon books, and a comics creator for older kids to try their hand at making their own comics. Both free sites offer lesson plans for the classroom and an abundance of features such as translation into French, Spanish, and other languages. Teachers, while you're eagerly anticipating the launch, check out their Teachers' Lounge for materials you can use right now (summer reading). Professor Garfield will officially release the Toon Book Reader and comics creator at the National Educational Computing Conference June 28-July 1 in Washington, D.C. Who can wait for the school year to begin again now?!

A Comic Con survival kit from Etsy

The crafty folks at Etsy have put together a list of everything you need to make it through Comic Con without flying off the panels (pardon the bad pun)! Check their survival kit out by clicking here.

Like superheroes and science?

Then you'll love The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios. He's such an expert in this particular field that he consulted on the Watchmen movie!

What are kid-safe graphic novels?

Brodart offers some great tips for librarians on choosing age-appropriate graphic novels for elementary, middle-school, and high-school students. If you're a teacher interested in starting or expanding your collection, you might find this list helpful as well. While you're on Brodart's website, check out their core lists and book preview samples.