![]() Reading Invisible Emmie sums up middle school: You laugh, you cry, you get beaned in the head with a volleyball.” - Stephan Pastis, author of Timmy Failure “Clever, funny work by a great cartoonist. “This funny and heartfelt tale will ring true for anyone who’s ever felt invisible.” - Victoria Jamieson, Newbery Honor author-illustrator of Roller Girl Invisible Emmie is unforgettable!” - Lincoln Peirce, author of Big Nate A fantastic debut novel with plenty of laughs and tons of heart. “This is middle grade fiction at its best. Terri has a husband, two daughters, and one poodle (all adorable). Terri is the New York Times bestselling author of the Emmie & Friends series and the cartoonist of the award-winning syndicated comic strip The Pajama Diaries (2006–2020). She also knows how wonderful it is when friendships do work out. But as a mom (and former middle school student in the dark ages), she knows these things happen. But the true cognoscenti know graphic novels are – at their best – an amazing blend of art literature and the theater of the mind.As a Type A perfectionist, Terri Libenson hates to admit that she has any ex-friends. As screenwriter and novelist John Ridley once said: “There are still some people out there who believe comic books are nothing more than, well, comic books. ![]() ![]() Whether graphic novels are all a child reads or just part of their reading stockpile, a parent needn’t worry. Moreover, it’s wonderful to see (literally) the range of diverse characters. And there are so many choices in genres now, from historical fiction, to biographies, to fantasy, to re-told classics, to reality-based novels. Or if a reader is just more visually inclined (someone who likes comics, animation, etc.), these stories are truly engaging. Funny enough, stories in boxes can truly be “out of the box.”įor the reluctant reader, the play between images and writing is a serious break for the eyes, especially if it’s hard to focus on text alone. The plots and character development can be creative and complex, and through visual means, have the ability to break the confines of traditional prose. Plus, many graphic novel illustrations are stunning works of art that you can spend hours dissecting. The author must often condense the story, whittling it down to its most important elements meanwhile, the artist (either the same person or someone else) must convey emotions and actions accurately. As someone who writes both prose and GN stories, I would argue that graphic novels aren’t inferior, they are just different. Many people think that graphic novels are inferior to prose books. I approached my writing similarly - from an authentic, autobiographical place. Eventually when I got syndicated, and then later when I tried my hand at writing books, her work resurfaced in my mind. She inspired me to experiment with narrative-style cartoons. I never really thought of the importance of comics, though, until college, when I discovered underground cartoonists like Lynda Barry. Now I can’t get enough of historical books of any sort. But reading Maus sparked a curiosity of the past and a visceral connection to the material. Most importantly, they became my gateway into books of all kinds. When “adult” graphic novels began to emerge, I got hooked. When I married writing and drawing, I was in my element. In fact, I was a huge storyteller as a kid, and all my made-up adventures were told through comics. They can inspire, teach, and show that there is more than one way to tell a story. Comics of any sort can be so important to non-traditional readers. ![]() Without those comics, I may never have become a newspaper cartoonist myself, or have gone on to pen my own graphic novels (okay, technically, hybrids). (Had I today’s wide selection of kids’ graphic novels, I would’ve never left my room!) They were old school comics and they were the only things I loved reading at the time. To sum up, my graphic novels weren’t technically graphic novels. My “graphic novels” were the MAD magazines and Archie comic books I snuck from my older brother’s room and always forgot to return. My “graphic novels” were the newspaper funny pages, which I devoured every Sunday morning (full color, woo!) over breakfast. cartoons, as well as one well-loved, worn-out copy of Momma by Mell Lazarus. Growing up, the “graphic novels” I read were comic strip anthologies – collections of Peanuts and B.C.
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