Jackie Robinson Day

Did you know that today is Jackie Robinson day? A whole day devoted to one of baseball's legends who revolutionized the game in so many ways! I am a big baseball fan myself, although I tend to be a home town team girl, so in my case the Minnesota Twins. Baseball is one of the few sports that I actually understand and enjoy. I still have a lot to learn about the sport, so I am glad I can walk down the hall to our library to educate myself a bit more on this topic.

If you would like to learn more about this baseball great, we have a plethora of books in our collection, (both fiction and non-fiction) just about Jackie Robinson. Go to our website and search by his name to see what pops up, even better try searching for "baseball" in general and you will get 12 pages of results! We have such an extensive collection, go check it out and start reading!

Free Comic Book Day!

May 1st is FREE Comic Book Day! Comic book shops all across the United States will be giving away comic books to anyone who comes into their stores. What a great day!

We all know kids love comic books and graphic novels. Here are some reasons for you to love them as much as they do!

"The average comic book introduces children to nearly twice as many words as the average children's book and five times as many as the average child-adult conversation." Journal of Child Language

" . . . middle school boys who did more comic book reading also read more in general, read more books and reported that they liked reading better than those who did less comic book reading." Steven Krashen

A 1992 study of more than 200,000 students from 32 countries revealed that Finland, the nation with the highest proportion of comic book-reading students (nearly 60%) also has the highest literacy rate (99%) as well as the highest library usage. www.flyingcolorscomics.com

Much Ado About Graphic Novels

Ever since 5th grade I have been nuts about William Shakespeare. My teacher, Mrs. Paulson, brought in a readers’ theater version of Macbeth. The story had everything a 10-year old boy could ask for – ghosts, curses, flying daggers, walking trees, swordplay and blood! Our class was transfixed when Mrs. Paulson read Lady Macbeth’s sleepwalking speech: “Out damned spot! Who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?” The language was a revelation. This Shakespeare guy knew every word in the dictionary, and used them all.

Last week, I had the chance to speak at a conference on literacy held in Stratford-Upon-Avon. It was a dream come true. I spoke to a group of librarians and head teachers (they’d be called principals in the US), about the benefits of graphic novels for younger readers. In Shakespeare’s hometown! I also had the chance to work with some great people, including Joanne Thornhill and Gemma Mason from the Heinemann Raintree office in Oxford just down the road.

It was a busy couple of days. I spoke with dozens of teachers who face the same challenges in the UK that confront educators here in the US – falling test scores, rising illiteracy, a growing apathy toward the written word. Two powerful weapons in their arsenal, however, are high-interest books and graphic novels. That was cheering news to me, since it’s part of the Stone Arch mission to create more such books.

I could not leave Stratford without paying my respects to the man whose work has meant so much to me as a reader and an author. A short walk led from the hotel to Holy Trinity Church where Shakespeare, his wife, and his children are buried just beneath the altar. I feel sheepish saying it was an “altering” experience, but I think Shakespeare would have appreciated the pun.

Sports Illustrated Kids: Then and Now

It’s funny how things come full circle sometimes: When I was a kid, I was a huge sports fan (still am, actually). Maybe it was my love of the local sports teams, or certain players. Or my obsession with baseball card collecting. Or, maybe it was the simple fact that I loved to draw sports team logos in my notebooks at school (imagine that). Whatever the case, my appetite for sports was insatiable. So, it was no surprise that when my mom found out about the inception of Sports Illustrated Kids magazine, she signed me up for a subscription immediately. The premiere issue arrived in our mailbox around my birthday back in 1989, and I couldn’t have been more excited (Michael Jordan!!):



Now, 20 years later, Sports Illustrated Kids is still going strong and celebrating a big anniversary. And, though my subscription ended long ago, I happened to run into SI Kids again–at work.

For the past 6 months or so, I’ve been working with Sports Illustrated Kids to create a brand new and exciting way to deliver sports fiction to an ever-changing world of sports-hungry kids: sports graphic novels. Since Stone Arch Books specializes in graphic novels, it was no shock that SI Kids came knocking when they decided to branch out into additional markets, especially the school library market. The concept we came up with was a no-brainer: let’s create fast-paced stories about everyday kids in interesting sports situations and combine them with superhero comic-caliber artwork. Sprinkle in some character-driven “sports broadcast” narrative and some stats, and we had something that hasn’t been done before...in any market. These books are sure to appeal to the most reluctant readers, and keep them coming back for more. Six hot, new titles (with topics ranging from football to paintball) will be available soon. Check out the cover and a sample spread from Point-Blank Paintball:


As we move forward with this innovative series (more seasons are on the way), I’ve already learned something very interesting about the artists who illustrate our Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels: many of them actually play the sports that they are illustrating! The best example is Gerardo Sandoval, who is currently working on our upcoming soccer title. He told me in an email that he plays soccer consistently, mostly as a goalkeeper. Even though we (Stone Arch and Sports Illustrated Kids) make extra sure that every sports detail is accurate, it’s nice to know that we can count on our illustrators to do their homework and produce the highest level of sports action for the printed page. I can’t imagine any better research than playing the sport in real life!

Look for Sports Illustrated Kids Graphic Novels in January–only from Stone Arch Books!


Bob Lentz
Art Director
Stone Arch Books

Comic books = learning

In a recent article, the Telegraph declared, “Comic books are good for children's learning,” citing scientists (yes, SCIENTISTS!) at the University of Illinois. But don’t take their word for it! Test out some of the award-winning comics from Stone Arch books, and draw your own conclusions. No safety goggles required . . . because all our comics are SAFE!

Tiger Moth On the Air

This morning I was half listening to an NPR news article about moths outwitting bats. All of a sudden, my nephew Matt who is visiting from Wyoming said, “They’re talking about one of your books!”

Actually, the announcer was talking about Bertholdia trigiona, the tiger moth. The creature can confuse a chirping bat by creating its own mothy (mothish? mothesque?) rattles that interfere with the hunting bat’s echolocation. My nephew thought he was hearing about Tiger Moth, a costumed superhero created by author Aaron Reynolds for one of our Graphic Sparks series. Tiger Moth is an insect ninja who, with the estimable aid of his pillbug sidekick, Kung Pow, fights against the baddies of the bug world. Tiger also narrates his books in a funny, noir style, introducing young readers to mysteries, bugs, and a clever, cool vocabulary.

I thought it was great that my nephew made such a quick connection between what he had heard on the radio to one of the books he had read. It pays to have lots of fun books lying around for your relatives to pick up and enjoy.

Free Comic Book Day

362 days! If you missed Free Comic Book Day last Saturday, May 2, that’s how long you’ll have to wait until the next celebration. I, for one, will be marking my calendar. Since 2002, this annual freebie frenzy has gotten bigger and better every year, and this past weekend was no exception. Not only has the list of available comics grown (40 free comics this year!!), but the variety of comics has expanded as well. From Drawn & Quarterly’s retro pick Nancy & Melvin Monster and laughs for the little ones with The Simpsons to DC and Marvel’s contemporary superhero fare and more grown-up graphics like Mercy Sparks and Love and Rockets, Free Comic Book Day has something for everyone. So this coming week, I’ll be rereading my freebies, and hopefully kids (and adults) around the country will be doing the same. And, if you didn’t get your grab bag last weekend, there’s still a chance to pick up some great free reads (including Stone Arch Books) before next year . . . at the library.

Donnie Lemke
Senior Editor, SAB

Comic-Con New York 2009

Our friend Batman, posing for fans at Comic-Con New York

The Stone Arch booth, showcasing our graphic novels

Art of all kinds is featured at Comic-Con

SAB Creative Director Heather Kindseth and her husband, Aaron

From the silver screen to the library

Looking for a way to draw your movie-fan readers into the library? The (PG-rated) movie version of Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth opens this Friday, July 11, and our graphic novel version of the classic book is a perfect complement—and a great way to introduce movie lovers to classic fiction. Check out our version of Verne's novel, and the rest of our Graphic Revolve set, here.

A Visual Change

For the past several years, I’ve presented at the Young Authors, Young Artists Conference in Rochester, MN. The event, sponsored by the Southeast Service Cooperative, is a gathering of 800 talented, energetic, and artistic fourth through sixth graders from schools in southeastern Minnesota. My presentation, “Creating Graphic Novels,” discusses the steps involved in creating graphic stories.

Initially, when the event was called the Southeast Young Writers Conference, my presentation was about poetry. After I wrote my first graphic novel, Matthew Henson: Arctic Explorer, on the cusp of the recent graphic novel boom, I switched to my current presentation. After all, these students are the same age as I was when I first delved into comics. I brought in samples of each step involved in the creation of a graphic novel, from my outline and script to the storyboards, inks, and final colors, and discussed the reasons and importance of each of these steps. And I always ended the presentation with an activity where we’d create and share
a one-page comic. At first, few students really understood what a graphic novel was, and usually only a handful hands would raise when asked if they read graphic novels, but the final activity was always a hit.

A lot has changed, visually, over the years. I now show art from my Eek and Ack books. The name of the conference has evolved to include “Young Artists”, and there are nearly as many art sessions as there are writing ones. In each of my eight presentations, nearly all the students raised theirs hands when asked if they read graphic novels. Young readers get the idea of telling a story through pictures, and understand the concept of sequential art. And they can’t get enough. They’re also excited to create their own comic stories and learn the art of storytelling through illustrations. During my most recent presentations, I was continually asked, “Is it time to draw yet?” “Can we start drawing now?”

It thrills me, as an author of graphic novels, knowing that they are not only getting kids more excited about reading, but they are also animating their creative talents. Graphic novels can cultivate reading skills as well as energize artistic ones.

--Blake A. Hoena
Production Manager, Stone Arch Books
and author of the Eek and Ack series

Graphic Novels in New York City (and your library)

Are you still having trouble getting your administration behind your graphic novel purchases? We know that not everyone understands why and how graphic novels are revolutionizing reading. But here’s more ammunition if you need help convincing the powers-that-be: the New York City Department of Education has launched a new program focusing on graphic novels. (Check out the SLJ article here.)

Our graphic novels even have curriculum hooks, like our Graphic Flash books, fiction based on major events in American History, and our Graphic Revolve, which retell the world’s best stories in graphic novel form. Science classes will love Buzz Beaker (use any of the Buzz books to get kids fired up for science fairs), and units on outer space will be brightened up by a visit from Eek and Ack, two twins from the Great Goo Galaxy.

See? Graphic novels aren’t such a stretch after all. New York City knows it, and soon, your school will too.

More graphic novel news

We’ve been looking forward to March for a long time—and not just because the temperatures are finally starting to rise. This month is the first time one of our books is a Junior Library Guild pick. Frankenstein, one of the graphic-novel retellings in our Graphic Revolve set, was chosen as one of the March Junior Library Guild selections. It’s just the first of many of our books that the JLG has honored in this way (look for upcoming selections in the next few months), and we’re thrilled! The Junior Library Guild looks through more than 3,000 manuscripts each year before determining its 288 selections, so we feel very honored to have been chosen.

Have no fear!

Last week, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on a new graphic novel course offered at Hazel Park Middle School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Not surprisingly, at least to Stone Arch staffers, the instructor, Linda Morrison, raved about her students’ interest in the course and their reading progress. All was good in the world . . .

The real story, however, came the day after the article’s publication. In several follow-up responses, a number of people voiced strong opposition to the course, stating, “Comic books have no place in a curriculum.” This type of public feedback shocked us, to say the least. Hadn’t graphic novels secured their place as a respected literary genre? Didn’t the New York Times, the National Book Foundation, and even the Pulitzer Prize Board embrace the format long ago? Wasn’t the Maryland State Department of Education Comic Book Initiative enough to prove the benefits of graphic novels for reluctant readers? Maybe we’ve read too many comic books, but it sure felt like we’d slipped into the Bizarro world.

Have no fear! We were rescued from the depths of disillusionment by the most likely of heroes—the students themselves. In the original article, one of Morrison’s students, Noushoua, exclaimed, “Reading graphic novels makes you want to read more.” Can entertaining, inspiring, and educating students really be that simple? Well, at Stone Arch Books, we believe it can!

Check out our website for tons of graphic novels your readers will want to read. And while you’re there, browse our Educator Resources, sure to help calm any, um, unearthly fears.


--Donnie Lemke
Senior Editor, Stone Arch Books

Great Graphic Novels

Two of our graphic novels are featured in an School Library Journal article this month. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, from our Graphic Revolve set, and Tiger Moth, Insect Ninja, from our Graphic Sparks set, are spotlighted in Michele Gorman’s list of 25 great graphic novels for young readers. The books are among some great company--our sister company Capstone Press's The Shocking World of Electricity with Max Axiom, Super Scientist! is listed, as are a bunch of other great books.

Check out our website to see the other graphic-novel retellings of classic books in our Graphic Revolve set, and other funny, goofy books in our Graphic Sparks set.

The next you-know-who?

Check it out. We recently spotted our books on store shelves surrounded by some very good company.

More teaching tools

We know it’s hard to gauge a student’s reaction and comprehension after reading a book. And book reports, while useful for you, can be boring and frustrating for the student. That’s why we created our handy book report form (opens PDF). It’s a simple handout, with areas for students to fill in the information they need to show that they understood a book. But with its fun design and clear areas for information, it doesn’t feel like an assignment.

Try it out in your classroom, library, or home, and let us know what you think! If the student agrees, send us a copy of any book report on one of our books—we love to hear what kids think, too.

For a great final project, you can combine the book report form and the blank graphic novel page we’ve created. Ask the student to read a graphic novel, write a book report on it, and then draw a graphic novel page of their own, using our create-your-own-graphic-novel page (opens PDF).

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.