by Nell Stewart, Librarian

Happy February from the Aidan Library!

At the American Association of School Librarians Conference, I heard a very interesting panel of graphic novel authors.

I know that some parents are skeptical about graphic novels because the comic-strip format means the reader is reading fewer words and sometimes a less literary story than in non-graphic novels. This genre does have a lot to offer though: some of the stories are realistic fiction or memoirs that are very well-written, and some drawings (such as Ben Hatke's) are of the same high quality as children's picture book illustrations. My view is that students should not read graphic novels exclusively, but this genre is valuable as a part of what students read.

Recent graphic novel additions to the Library:

• Two more volumes of the Lumberjanes series by Noelle Stevenson
• Dog Man and Cat Kid by Dav Pilkey
• Hilo: Waking the Monsters by Judd Winick
• All's Faire in Middle School by Victoria Jamieson
• Zita the Spacegirl series by Ben Hatke

The panel of graphic novel authors at my conference were asked about their favorite graphic novels; El Deafo by Cece Bell and the Tintin books by Herge were among the ones mentioned, and we have these here in Aidan Library.