graphic novels for upper elem. and middle school dealing with social justice issues
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1fishwax
I'm looking for graphic novels (or picture books) with social justice issues such as the aftermath of war and genocide besides MAUS. If anyone could point me in the right direction that would be great
2stephmo
Joe Stracco's Palestine deals with the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He also did The Fixer which follows a man that leads reporters through postwar Sarajevo. And there's Safe Area Gorazde - about Bosnia.
Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes follows Germany between WW1 and WW2 and explains the environment that developed that lead the Nazi regime.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is an autobigraphical recount of a woman who grew up in Iran through the rise and fall of the Shaw.
I know I'm leaving others out, but these are authors I'm familiar with...
Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes follows Germany between WW1 and WW2 and explains the environment that developed that lead the Nazi regime.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is an autobigraphical recount of a woman who grew up in Iran through the rise and fall of the Shaw.
I know I'm leaving others out, but these are authors I'm familiar with...
3melannen
Pride of Baghdad tells the story of the lions of the Iraq Zoo in the weeks after the invasion; it's sad and has some violence, so it might be a bit ahead of sixth graders, but it's recommended for YA, and it's about the direct aftermath of war.
Not directly dealing with war & genocide, but Will Eisner's graphic novels about 1930s poor Jewish neighborhoods are classic and would tie right in with MAUS. (Also, How Mirka Got Her Sword.)
Not directly dealing with war & genocide, but American Born Chinese by (LT user!) Gene Yang is a really amazing book about growing up Chinese in the US.
I will keep thinking, there are more.
(oh! Birth of a Nation - written by the guy who did Boondocks - is an uproariously funny story about a poor black urban neighborhood where the residents get fed up, secede from the union, and turn their city into a prosperous independent country. It might be a bit too radical for kids that age, though.)
Not directly dealing with war & genocide, but Will Eisner's graphic novels about 1930s poor Jewish neighborhoods are classic and would tie right in with MAUS. (Also, How Mirka Got Her Sword.)
Not directly dealing with war & genocide, but American Born Chinese by (LT user!) Gene Yang is a really amazing book about growing up Chinese in the US.
I will keep thinking, there are more.
(oh! Birth of a Nation - written by the guy who did Boondocks - is an uproariously funny story about a poor black urban neighborhood where the residents get fed up, secede from the union, and turn their city into a prosperous independent country. It might be a bit too radical for kids that age, though.)
4Papiervisje
King by Ho Che Anderson is a biography of Martin Luther King.
Attitude 1,2 and 3 are social comments by multiple writers, published by NBM.
There are 3 books by Dark Horse Comics on the events of 9-11
Kyle Baker's Nat Turner is a (wordless) comment about slavery.
King's in Disguise by Dan Bur and James Vance is a very good book on the depression in the 1930's.
Fax from Sarajevo by Joe Kubert is a story set in Bosnia. Yossel, by the same writer is set in Auschwitz.
World War 3 Illustrated by Peter Kuper and others is a comic magazine with a lot of social comment
Don Lomax went to the Gulf War and published his book Gulf War Journal.
Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes is a series set in Germany (Weimar), now collected in 2 books, but still going.
All books by Frans Masereel are a comment to social injustice in some way, but they are hard to find.
Rutu Modan has created Exit Wounds and Jamilti, both set in Israel and dealing with the war between Israel and Palestine.
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore is pure fiction, but a comment to social injustice in 1980's Margaret Thatcher UK.
Barefoot Gen is the autobiography of Keiji Nakazawa and his memories of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Especially the first 4 books are gruelling.
James Parsons commented the Bush government in Tony & I, by George Bush andThis is war, by George Bush
Ted Rall went to Afghanistan and then created To Afghanisatn and back.
Toufic El Rassi made Arab in America on his experiences as an Arab in the USA.
I can highly recommend the books by Joe Sacco (not Stracco). Best journalism in comic form I have ever seen.
Like the books of Frans Masereel, the books by Lynd Ward picture the social injustice to poor people.
Aleksander Zograf wrote his experiences in the war in Bosnia in Regards from Bosnia
There are hundreds of fiction books set in a post-apocalyptic world, but the ones above are (mostly) non-fiction.
See my library for publishers, etc.
Attitude 1,2 and 3 are social comments by multiple writers, published by NBM.
There are 3 books by Dark Horse Comics on the events of 9-11
Kyle Baker's Nat Turner is a (wordless) comment about slavery.
King's in Disguise by Dan Bur and James Vance is a very good book on the depression in the 1930's.
Fax from Sarajevo by Joe Kubert is a story set in Bosnia. Yossel, by the same writer is set in Auschwitz.
World War 3 Illustrated by Peter Kuper and others is a comic magazine with a lot of social comment
Don Lomax went to the Gulf War and published his book Gulf War Journal.
Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes is a series set in Germany (Weimar), now collected in 2 books, but still going.
All books by Frans Masereel are a comment to social injustice in some way, but they are hard to find.
Rutu Modan has created Exit Wounds and Jamilti, both set in Israel and dealing with the war between Israel and Palestine.
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore is pure fiction, but a comment to social injustice in 1980's Margaret Thatcher UK.
Barefoot Gen is the autobiography of Keiji Nakazawa and his memories of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Especially the first 4 books are gruelling.
James Parsons commented the Bush government in Tony & I, by George Bush andThis is war, by George Bush
Ted Rall went to Afghanistan and then created To Afghanisatn and back.
Toufic El Rassi made Arab in America on his experiences as an Arab in the USA.
I can highly recommend the books by Joe Sacco (not Stracco). Best journalism in comic form I have ever seen.
Like the books of Frans Masereel, the books by Lynd Ward picture the social injustice to poor people.
Aleksander Zograf wrote his experiences in the war in Bosnia in Regards from Bosnia
There are hundreds of fiction books set in a post-apocalyptic world, but the ones above are (mostly) non-fiction.
See my library for publishers, etc.
5jnwelch
One that comes to mind is the beautiful, wordless The Arrival by Shaun Tan, about the immigrant experience.
6stephmo
Looking at the list we've generated, you'll definitely want to flip through them for age-appropriateness.
Upper-Elementary/Jr. High may not work for a number of these graphic novels. Berlin is probably out (depictions of sex), now that I think about it. You can probably do the first Persepolis, but not the second. Joe Sacco may be doable....
The ALA also has listings for Young Adult Graphic Novels from the last two years:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsfortee...
Check the descriptions for some of the works geared toward your subject matter. The only caution that I'll offer is that these are geared for 12-18 year olds, which means that these can include books that are more appropriate for the 17-18 year old set and not so much so for the 12-13 year old set...
Upper-Elementary/Jr. High may not work for a number of these graphic novels. Berlin is probably out (depictions of sex), now that I think about it. You can probably do the first Persepolis, but not the second. Joe Sacco may be doable....
The ALA also has listings for Young Adult Graphic Novels from the last two years:
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/booklistsawards/greatgraphicnovelsfortee...
Check the descriptions for some of the works geared toward your subject matter. The only caution that I'll offer is that these are geared for 12-18 year olds, which means that these can include books that are more appropriate for the 17-18 year old set and not so much so for the 12-13 year old set...
7PhoenixTerran
United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation is a great introduction to the U.S. Constitution and definitely touches on social justice issues.
8Rolandeco
Hold on, folks! I think it's very, very important to keep the audience in mind, here, when making recommendations! Age-appropriate material aside, the majority of the excellent works recommended above would, I believe, in fact genuinely bore the students having to read them.
Of course, I can only speak from my own experience as a teacher and comics workshop instructor. From my work with both Jr. High and High School students, I can emphatically say that even the mention of "comics" grabs the attention of many a student. But it's not enough by any extent to insure that their attention is kept. Its the Age of Atari and the Mobile Device, and it's a struggle for most teachers and parents, I'd wager, to get kids interested in reading, period.
Most students, if not all of them today, didn't grow up having comic book spinner racks at every corner 7-11 or at the end of aisle 2 in the neighborhood drugstore. Exposure to mainstream comics, despite the ever-rising popularity of the pop-culture icons like Batman or Wolverine whose stories they tell, is extremely low. Comic books are a specialty market, for those that seek them out, and who can afford to purchase them (whether in monthly or in trade / graphic novel format). Students today know what they know about Superman and Spider-Man from cartoons on TV, occasional magazines, video games, and Hollywood blockbusters. Nevertheless, it's that same bank of knowledge that allows the "idea of comics" to hook 'em in the first place.
It's also important to mention that of the students in this age group who do "know" comics, who are actively reading them, somewhere about 2/3 of them are likely reading Manga titles, and not American superhero (or other) books. (A quick walk through the Barnes and Noble should cement this reality). Manga readers aren't an automatic readership for American comics, either. Much better than non-readers of comics, for sure, but they've still got to be won over. (I'll also add that for Manga comics readers, adult-themed material would be like a Sunday in the park.)
So, even armed with a good and compelling hook, you don't want to loose them at the starting gate.
I firmly believe that comic books, their content and story-lines and characters, are themselves excellent educational supplements - and for kids that take to comics, their interest in reading beyond comics also vastly improves. The works from the all the creators posted above would be excellent and comprehensive educational tools, I agree -- but maybe at the college level. Even for the best and brightest younger students, I don't think Joe Sacco or Joe Kubert or Marjane Satrapi are the best folks to introduce them to.
There are exceptions, of course: Pride of Baghdad is one, and even Maus, while perhaps not in consideration here, isn't off-target, given the very reader-friendly mice who tell the story.
My ultimate recommendation would be to not discount the more mainstream and perhaps less overtly "academic" or "scholarly" graphic novels and trade paperback collections. While working on perhaps more metaphorical levels, there are mainstream comics that deal with the topics you're looking for, as well as a vast many other highly relevant ones.
Take the very popular superhero team, The X-Men. At its heart, the story is one of tolerance, of the oppression of minority groups and centers on themes of diversity, inclusion, intolerance, and individualism. Student readers will pick up on these elements, and the stories themselves, some of which are set or draw material from events such as the Holocaust, are replete with material suitable for broader discussion and study.
Marvel Comics also publishes comic book series which adapt classic novels - everything from Homer to Jane Austin. Their library of these titles has grown rather considerably, lately. Worth checking out.
Also, for teachers: one great reference that you can have emailed to you monthly is a publication called the Diamond Bookmark, compiled by the folks at Diamond Previews, the main comics distributor in the nation. You can find out all about it, and access alot of other very useful information as it pertains to comics and their use in the classroom, and get some very good real-life recommendations, at http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/public/
Thanks!
Of course, I can only speak from my own experience as a teacher and comics workshop instructor. From my work with both Jr. High and High School students, I can emphatically say that even the mention of "comics" grabs the attention of many a student. But it's not enough by any extent to insure that their attention is kept. Its the Age of Atari and the Mobile Device, and it's a struggle for most teachers and parents, I'd wager, to get kids interested in reading, period.
Most students, if not all of them today, didn't grow up having comic book spinner racks at every corner 7-11 or at the end of aisle 2 in the neighborhood drugstore. Exposure to mainstream comics, despite the ever-rising popularity of the pop-culture icons like Batman or Wolverine whose stories they tell, is extremely low. Comic books are a specialty market, for those that seek them out, and who can afford to purchase them (whether in monthly or in trade / graphic novel format). Students today know what they know about Superman and Spider-Man from cartoons on TV, occasional magazines, video games, and Hollywood blockbusters. Nevertheless, it's that same bank of knowledge that allows the "idea of comics" to hook 'em in the first place.
It's also important to mention that of the students in this age group who do "know" comics, who are actively reading them, somewhere about 2/3 of them are likely reading Manga titles, and not American superhero (or other) books. (A quick walk through the Barnes and Noble should cement this reality). Manga readers aren't an automatic readership for American comics, either. Much better than non-readers of comics, for sure, but they've still got to be won over. (I'll also add that for Manga comics readers, adult-themed material would be like a Sunday in the park.)
So, even armed with a good and compelling hook, you don't want to loose them at the starting gate.
I firmly believe that comic books, their content and story-lines and characters, are themselves excellent educational supplements - and for kids that take to comics, their interest in reading beyond comics also vastly improves. The works from the all the creators posted above would be excellent and comprehensive educational tools, I agree -- but maybe at the college level. Even for the best and brightest younger students, I don't think Joe Sacco or Joe Kubert or Marjane Satrapi are the best folks to introduce them to.
There are exceptions, of course: Pride of Baghdad is one, and even Maus, while perhaps not in consideration here, isn't off-target, given the very reader-friendly mice who tell the story.
My ultimate recommendation would be to not discount the more mainstream and perhaps less overtly "academic" or "scholarly" graphic novels and trade paperback collections. While working on perhaps more metaphorical levels, there are mainstream comics that deal with the topics you're looking for, as well as a vast many other highly relevant ones.
Take the very popular superhero team, The X-Men. At its heart, the story is one of tolerance, of the oppression of minority groups and centers on themes of diversity, inclusion, intolerance, and individualism. Student readers will pick up on these elements, and the stories themselves, some of which are set or draw material from events such as the Holocaust, are replete with material suitable for broader discussion and study.
Marvel Comics also publishes comic book series which adapt classic novels - everything from Homer to Jane Austin. Their library of these titles has grown rather considerably, lately. Worth checking out.
Also, for teachers: one great reference that you can have emailed to you monthly is a publication called the Diamond Bookmark, compiled by the folks at Diamond Previews, the main comics distributor in the nation. You can find out all about it, and access alot of other very useful information as it pertains to comics and their use in the classroom, and get some very good real-life recommendations, at http://www.diamondbookshelf.com/public/
Thanks!
9Rolandeco
As an addendum to my previous post, here's the new solicitation for a recently published X-Men limited series that was just published in collected tradepaperback form:
X-Men: Magneto Testament
by Greg Pak and Carmine DiGiandomenico
Publisher: Marvel
Format: hardcover, full color, $24.99 (order with code MAR092634)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-3823-5
Reviewed by: Publishers Weekly
It takes a lot of nerve to use the Holocaust as setting for a superhero story, but villain/antihero Magneto’s background requires it, and the story by Pak and DiGiandomenico carries out the idea with respect.
The boy who would become Magneto is Max Eisenhardt, smart and athletic, living with his family in Germany in 1935. He watches in horror as the Germans invade Poland, prompting his family to flee; he sees them killed, like thousands of others; he takes his place as a worker in a concentration camp.
But all the while, it nags at him that he should be fighting back, and his father’s admonition to wait for the moment, “a time when everything lines up, when anything is possible, when suddenly you can make things happen” rings in his head, as does the face of the girl he has always loved, a girl who has ended up in a Gypsy camp, fated for extermination.
This is an inherently powerful story, handled with grace and care, delivered in a haunting, painterly style—and filled with historical information and context. Extensive back pages include a teacher’s guide to using this series in the classroom.
X-Men: Magneto Testament
by Greg Pak and Carmine DiGiandomenico
Publisher: Marvel
Format: hardcover, full color, $24.99 (order with code MAR092634)
ISBN: 978-0-7851-3823-5
Reviewed by: Publishers Weekly
It takes a lot of nerve to use the Holocaust as setting for a superhero story, but villain/antihero Magneto’s background requires it, and the story by Pak and DiGiandomenico carries out the idea with respect.
The boy who would become Magneto is Max Eisenhardt, smart and athletic, living with his family in Germany in 1935. He watches in horror as the Germans invade Poland, prompting his family to flee; he sees them killed, like thousands of others; he takes his place as a worker in a concentration camp.
But all the while, it nags at him that he should be fighting back, and his father’s admonition to wait for the moment, “a time when everything lines up, when anything is possible, when suddenly you can make things happen” rings in his head, as does the face of the girl he has always loved, a girl who has ended up in a Gypsy camp, fated for extermination.
This is an inherently powerful story, handled with grace and care, delivered in a haunting, painterly style—and filled with historical information and context. Extensive back pages include a teacher’s guide to using this series in the classroom.
10fishwax
thanks so much for the great information. As I have gathered materials for this project I have found that there is still a general lack of materials for 4th through 8th grade (reading levels considered as well as age appropriateness)- at least in graphic novels in particular of really great quality. I really want a comprehensive collection. I really believe that comic books and graphic novels can be such a great tool for readers who are struggling. -I have seen it first hand this summer with one of my students. As I still consider myself a novice at graphic novels and some comics, I continue to gather sources and would love any other suggestions. I am quickly learning my way around.
11Rolandeco
Fishwax - I definitely agree with you about the many benefits that comics have for struggling readers, students who speak English as a second language, and really student readers in general, as getting kids interested in reading seems to be the big struggle these days. As many different studies have suggested, kids who begin with comics tend to take their enthusiasm beyond comics and become interested readers, period, and usually better students as well. From my own personal experience as a kid who grew up reading comics well before the 1st grade, I can honestly say that comics helped me like reading a lot, improved my vocabulary and spelling, assisted me in learning a myriad of other subjects, fostered creativity, and overall helped me become a very good student.
Marvel Comics and DC Comics both have imprints for younger readers, and publish monthly comics that would be perfect fits for your younger students. Marvel publishes Marvel Adventures, titles that include Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk. DC has its Johnny DC imprint, with the Adventures of Supergirl, Justice League Unlimited, and the Tiny Titans as some of their books. Tiny Titans has just been recently collected in its first Trade paperback, and won several awards this summer at the San Diego comic-con for its quality storytelling.
Marvel Comics also just collected its all-ages 12-issue series, The Wizard of Oz, into a collected trade. I followed this tale for the last year, and its a great adaptation of the original novel (not the much-changed movie musical). Marvel also does comic adaptations of many classical novels, especially for kids, such as Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, which is currently on the "newsstands" now.
I'd recommend taking a trip down to your local comic book store, and talking to the folks there. They'll be able to point you in the right direction, and can even order or pull these titles for you as they're printed. Most comic stores also offer 10-15% discounts for customers who place comics on a pull list, and others even have special discounts for educators, so you might even be able to save some change and bring more comics and graphic novels into your classroom or library.
Marvel Comics and DC Comics both have imprints for younger readers, and publish monthly comics that would be perfect fits for your younger students. Marvel publishes Marvel Adventures, titles that include Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, and the Incredible Hulk. DC has its Johnny DC imprint, with the Adventures of Supergirl, Justice League Unlimited, and the Tiny Titans as some of their books. Tiny Titans has just been recently collected in its first Trade paperback, and won several awards this summer at the San Diego comic-con for its quality storytelling.
Marvel Comics also just collected its all-ages 12-issue series, The Wizard of Oz, into a collected trade. I followed this tale for the last year, and its a great adaptation of the original novel (not the much-changed movie musical). Marvel also does comic adaptations of many classical novels, especially for kids, such as Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen, which is currently on the "newsstands" now.
I'd recommend taking a trip down to your local comic book store, and talking to the folks there. They'll be able to point you in the right direction, and can even order or pull these titles for you as they're printed. Most comic stores also offer 10-15% discounts for customers who place comics on a pull list, and others even have special discounts for educators, so you might even be able to save some change and bring more comics and graphic novels into your classroom or library.
