ALA Update

The annual American Library Association Conference (Last week of June, 2010) ended up being one of the greatest trips of my life!  

Here's how I explained it to my significant other: "I am not sure if I was more excited the day I received my doctorate or the day I met amazing Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly."  

I was also fortunate enough to meet the talented and award-winning children's author Geoffrey Hayes.

Certainly something I will tell the grand-kids about.  :)  katie 

Introduction to Manga Article on GNR!!!

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all doing well.   Here are some updates on cool, awkward, and/or amazingly interesting stuff going on with comics and graphic novels in education!!! ... if that doesn't make you want to read on.......i don't know what else to write today!!! :)

1.  Recently, I wrote an introductory article for GraphicNovelReporter.com about manga.  

2.  I want to thank my good friend Dr. James Bucky Carter for summing up my exact feelings on the recent debacle with the International Reading Association.  The post I am referring to is dated March 31st.

3.  GraphicNovelReporter.com recently interviewed Francoise Mouly about Toon Books: some good insight for teachers who may just want to try early reader comics in the classroom.

Hope everyone is enjoying this first week of April!  Katie

ALA (American Library Association) Awards!!!

Some of our very favorite Toon Books receive American Library Association (ALA) Awards!!!  Congrats Toon Books!!!

Toon Books does it again!!!

Check out Toon Books' new title: Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework, the first science-based early reader comic!!! Written by Nadja Spiegelman and illustrated by Trade Loeffler.

A+ material for any early reader teacher of science!!!

Early Reader COMIX Reader's Theatre

For those of you who work with early readers, please check out this new link from Toon Books. Based on their early reader comic Luke on the Loose, a New York teacher and her students perform a comix reader's theatre!!!

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