Joeming Dunn

This short (less than 40 pages) graphic novel tries to take the story of Anne Frank, the rise and fall of Nazis, and the Holocaust and condense them into one story for grades 3-5. They are largely unsuccessful. While the story is well-intentioned, it reads more like a history textbook, and glosses over certain facts, such as concentration camps and the eventual death of Anne and her family. The graphics are also disappointing, they are too brightly colored and seem computer generated, which show more makes them cold and stark. The tone of the novel is also of question, supposedly it was developed for grades 3-5, but the text is written towards the younger end, while the subject matter needs to be for a slightly older age. In addition, they present ideas, such as violence and Naziism, but they don't define them in the text, instead they include a glossary at the end and references for further research. This might be a good introduction for someone who is already familiar with the story of Anne Frank, but may not be the best choice for someone who is unfamiliar with the history of Naziism and World War II. show less

While I thoroughly enjoyed the pictures and the simple information, this book did give me some strange information I'd never heard before, or that was explicitly contradicted by other sources. I'm more inclined to believe the other, more official books, but this only proves that no one really knows what the heck happened in history.

"Amelia Earhart" by Joeming Dunn, is a biographic picture book written in comic form. This book tells the life of Amelia Earhart and her journey of setting world records in the air. It tells when and where she was born and her tomboyish childhood. After serving as a nurse in WWI, she took her first ride in an airplane in 1920. By 1922, she owned her own plane. In 1932 she made her first solo airplane ride across the Atlantic, this was a major task for a male as that time, much less a woman. show more This book's comic strip story line helps draw out her life through pictures in a time line. This book would interest middle school aged children and probably the girls more than the guys because she was a woman hero of her day. show less

I really enjoyed reading the Boxcar Children. I enjoy mystery stories, and it was an interesting graphic novel with good pictures and coloring to go along with the story.

The Boxcar Childen face a mystery ahead of them. Jessie sees a mysterious woman walking on the lighthouse grounds late at night, and her dog Watch, wakes up growling every evening at midnight. Henry finds a suspicious note in the sand. So, the Aldens decide to stay in an old lighthouse and investigate a suspcious neighbor. show more

These are good examples of graphic novels, so the teacher can read these books when showing the different types of books a kid could pick up in a library. Also, the teacher could have a mystery day where the class makes up their own "clue" game, and try to solve the mystery like the Boxcar Children do. show less