Comics in the classroom?

Not such a crazy idea anymore!

In an editorial today, the New York Times championed something that’s very near and dear to our hearts: Comic books in the classroom. Buoyed by a recent article about the Comic Book Project and the Maryland Comics in the Classroom initiative, the editorial posits that comic books (and by extension, graphic novels) have an important place in education. In fact, the editorial states, “The pairing of visual and written plotlines that [comic books] rely on appear to be especially helpful to struggling readers.” We’ve been saying this since our first graphic novels hit shelves in Spring 2006, so it’s nice of the Times to catch up! We’ve got a make-your-own-graphic-novel page (opens PDF) that students love, which is a great supplement to any of our graphic novels and a fabulous learning tool for the classroom.

There are sure to be many more articles like the two in the Times--here's to getting kids to read with the kinds of books they love.