Catherine Coles
Coles Notes
Despite their growing popularity, graphic novels have long carried a stigma. At the library, we find that there are plenty of well-meaning parents with unfounded concerns about their kids’ love of graphic novels. They worry that they won’t read anything else or will fail to develop the skills to read longer, more “real” books. If you are this kind of parent, let me ease your fears: kids who read graphic novels are MORE LIKELY to develop a love of reading.
Did you know that sales of comics and graphic novels in the U.S. and Canada hit an all-time high in 2018? 2019 and 2020 have also been huge for this medium, with certain authors and series reaching near rock star status. Dav Pilkey, whose Dog Man series has more than 26 million copies in print since launching in 2016, said the combination of words and pictures explain part of the popularity of his books, but it also goes deeper than that. He credits his experience reading Charlie Brown comics as a kid saying, “I developed an emotional attachment to the characters I was reading about, especially if pictures were involved.”
Graphic novels can offer way more than just fluff too. In spite of their cartoonish characters, they can cover some heavy, important topics. Pilkey’s Dog Man books continue a running storyline about a shared custody arrangement. In the bestselling graphic novel Guts, author Raina Telgemeier explores mental health issues, describing her experience with panic attacks with words and pictures. Graphic novels can also boast vocabulary complexity. Research from the University of Oregon found that comic books averaged 53.5 rare, or more complex, words per 1,000. That’s more than children’s books which average 30.9 and even adult books at 52.7.
There is also the added bonus that graphic novels can motivate reluctant readers to pick up a book in the first place. It’s not what they read, but how they read and, most importantly, how often they read that will contribute to literacy development. If you want to raise a child who identifies as a reader and can confidently pick up any book, let them read what their heart desires. A graphic novel, even one that appears silly or lowbrow at first glance, just might be the spark that ignites your child’s lifelong love of reading. Don’t stomp that spark out.