home


 * Graphic Novels and Comics** – Elizabeth Schuster

In his book, //Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative// (2008) Will Eisner states, “since comics are easily read, their reputation for usefulness has been associated with people of low literacy and limited intellectual accomplishment. And, in truth for decades the story content of comics catered to that audience. Many creators are still content with furnishing little more that titillation and mindless violence” (p. xvii). Acceptance of this medium by the educational field was less than enthusiastic. Comics were known more for their artistic visuals than for their literary content, but the thinking has changed.

Scott McCloud, in his book //Understanding Comics// (1993), described comics as “ a vessel, which can hold any number of ideas and images. In a wider view we must consider this vessel as a communicator. It is in every sense a singular form of reading” (p. 11).

Eisner discovered the following:

The reading process in comics is an extension of text. In text alone the process of reading involves word-to-image conversion. Comics accelerate that by providing the image. When properly executed, it goes beyond conversion and speed and becomes a seamless whole. In every sense, this misnamed form of reading is entitled to be regarded as literature because the images are employed as a language. There is a recognizable relationship to the iconography and pictographs or logographic (or character-based) writing system, like Chinese //hanzi// or Japanese //kanji//. When this language is employed as a conveyance of ideas and information, it separates itself from mindless visual entertainments. This makes comics a story-telling medium. (p. xvii)

What better way to convince yourself and your student readers to try comics as medium than to follow the advice of a masterful comic artist, Will Eisner as he explains his philosophy behind his wisdom.


 * The following list is a beginning into the journey of discovering the comic and graphic novel:**

Austen, Jane & Grahame-Smithe, Seth. **//Pride and Prejudice and Zombies//**. Adapated by Tony Lee, Illustrations by Cliff Richards. Del Rey, 2010. ISBN 0345520685. Unpaged. Grades 6-12. The //New York Times// Bestseller is now an eye-popping graphic novel of manners, morals, and brain-eating mayhem.

B., David. **//Epileptic: a memoir//**. Pantheon Books, 2005. ISBN 0375423184. 361 p. Grades 6-Adult. Hailed by The Comics Journal as one of Europe’s most important and innovative comics artists, David B. has created a masterpiece in //Epileptic//, his stunning and emotional resonant autobiography about growing up with an epileptic brother.

Barry, Lynda. **//One! Hundred! Demons!//** Sasquatch Books, 2002. ISBN 1570613370. Grades 6-8. Inspired by a 16th-century Zen monk’s painting of a hundred demons chasing each other across a long scroll, and encouraged by a 20th-century editor at Salon.com, Barry’s demons jump out of these pages and double-dare you to speak their names.

Brennan, Michael. **//Electric girl//**. AiT/PlanetLar, 2002. ISBN 0970355513. 160 p. Grades 6-8. This volume collects the stories from issues 5 through 8 of the //Electric Girl// comic book by Eisner-nominated cartoonist Mike Brennan.

Briggs, Raymond. **//UG: Boy Genius of the Stone Age//**. Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. ISBN 0375916113. 24 p. Grades 4-8. Ug, boy genius, is on the hunt for materials that are more useful than stone. What he really wants is trousers that are soft.

Buckley, James Jr. **//The Amazing Spiderman: Spider Man’s Amazing Powers//**. DK Publishing, Inc., 2001. ISBN 0789479222. 49 p. Grades 4-6. Dorling Kindersley Readers uses stunning photographs with lively illustration and engaging, age-appropriate stories in this multilevel reading program.

Busiek, Kurt. **//Astro City: Life In The Big City//**. Homage Comics, 1995. ISBN 156389551X. 192 p. Grades 6-8. Visit scenic Astro City and see the sights. Travel to a world of fantasy and adventure…and find out what it’s like to live there.

Dixon, Charles & Deming, Sean. **//J.R.R. Tolkien The Hobbit: An illustrated edition of the fantasy classic.//** Illustrations by David Wenzel. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0345445600. Grade 6-8. First published in the United States more than sixty years ago. //J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit// has become on of the best-loved books of all time.

Ellis, Warren. **//Planetary//**. Illustrations by John Cassidy. Wildstorm Productions, 1998. ISBN 1563896486. Unpaged. Grades 8-Adult. Three people walk the world for strangeness and wonder, uncovering things others wish were left covered. They are the mystery archaeologists, explorers of the planet’s secret history, charting the unseen borders of a fantastic world.

Gaiman, Neil. **//Coraline//**. Illustrations by P. Craig Russell. Harper Collins Publishers, 2002. ISBN 0060825447. 185 p. Grades 4-up. The day after they moved in Coraline went exploring.

Hague, Michael. **//In the Small//**. Illustrations by Michael Hague. Little Brown and Company, 2008. ISBN0316013234. 124 p. Grades 6-8. The blue flash has reduced mankind to feeble insignificance-a mere one-twelfth of it former size. The remnants of civilization are everywhere, but civilization as it was is gone…forever.

Kafka, Franz. **//The Metamorphosis//**. Adapted by Peter Kuper. Hampton-Brown, 2003. ISBN 0736231787. 83 p. Grades 8-12. At the beginning of the story, Gregor Samsa transforms into an insect. Gregor is quite disturbed by this transformation. He was the only one working in his family. How will he continue to support them now that he is a cockroach?

Kovac, Tommy. **//Wonderland//**. Illustrations by Sonny Liew. Disney Press, 2008. ISBN 4432104513. 160 p. Grades 6-8. “And what is the use of a book,” thought Alice “without pictures or conversation?” –Lewis Carroll.

Mignola, Mike & Fegredo, Duncan. **//Hellboy: Darkness Calls//**. Mike Richardson @Dark Horse Books, 2008. ISBN 1593078966. Unpaged. “//Hellboy// is more akin to the hero of dark fantasy literature: strong, suffering, self-aware, ready for what Tolkien has called ‘the eucatastrophe,’ where self is willingly sacrificed for the good of all humankind.” –Jane Yolen

Moore, Alan. **//The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Volume One//**. Illustrations by Kevin O’Neill. America’s Best Comics, LLC, 1999. ISBN 1563898586. Unpaged. Grades 8-Adult. London, 1898. The Victorian Era draws to a close and the twentieth century approaches. It is a time of great change and an age of stagnation, a period of chaste order and ignoble chaos. It is an era in need of champions.

Moore, Alan. **//WATCHMEN.//** Illustrations by Dave Gibbons. DC Comics, 1986. ISBN 0930289232. Grades 8-Adult. This is the book that changed an industry and challenged a medium. If you’ve never read a graphic novel, start with //WATCHMEN//. And even if you have, it’s time to read it again.

Patterson, James. **//Maximum Ride//**. Illustrations by NaRae Lee. Yen Press, 2009. ISBN 0759529519. 251 p. Grades 6-8. Join the adventure as renowned author James Patterson’s internationally bestselling series comes alive in its first Manga rendering.

Pini, Wendy & Richard. **//ElfQuest.//** DC Comics, 2003. ISBN 1401201288. Grades 6-8. The first five issues of the original, now-classic //ElfQuest// comic are presented here with all new coloring and lettering. The book also features an introduction by Mercedes Lackey and an afterword by the Pinis.

Runton, Andy. **//Owly: The Way Home & The Bittersweet Summer//**. Top Shelf Productions, Inc. 2004. ISBN 1891830627. Grades 4-6. Follow Owly on his adventures as he discovers the meaning of friendship and learns that saying goodbye doesn’t always mean forever.

Shanower, Eric. **//Age of Bronze: A Thousand Ships//**. Image Comics, Inc., 2005. ISBN 1582402000. 224 p. Grade 6-8. Twice winner of the Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist! Eric Shanower presents //A Thousand Ships//, the first of seven volumes telling the complete story of the Trojan War.

Small, David. **//Stitches: a memoir//**. W.W. Norton & Company, 2009. ISBN 0393068573. Grade 6-Adult. In //Stitches//, Small, the award-winning children’s illustrator and author, re-creates this terrifying event in a life story that might have been imagined by Kafka. As the images painfully tumble out, one by one, we gain a rinside seat at a gothic family drama where David – a highly anxious yet supremely talented child – all to often became the unwitting object of hi parents’ buried frustration and rage.

Smith, Jeff & Sniegoski, Tom. **//Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book One//**. Illustrations by Jeff Smith. Graphix, 2011. ISBN 0545141017. 218 p. Grades 4-8. Something evil has poisoned the Dreaming and is now invading the Waking World. As the darkness spreads, the people of the Valley – even Queen Thorn – are caught in the grip of nightmares, and it’s up to one boy to save them all.

Tan, Shaun. **//The Arrival//**.Arthur A. Levine Books, 2006. ISBN 0439895294. Unpaged. Grades 4-8. In this wordless graphic novel, a man leaves his homeland and sets off for a new country, where he must build a new life for himself and his family.

Thompson, Craig. **//Blankets//**. Top Shelf Productions, 2003. ISBN 1891830430. 582 p. Grades 6-Adult. In the purest narrative form, Craig Thompson tells a highly charged personal story, crammed with pain, discovery, hi-jinx, penance, religious conviction and its loss…and along come self-loathing.

Waid, Mark. **//Kingdom Come//**. Illustrations by Alex Ross. DC Comics, 1987. ISBN 1563893304. 230 p. Grades 8-12. //Kingdom Come// is the winner of Five Eisner and Harvey Awards, including Best Limited Series and Best Artist. In Elseworlds, heroes are taken from their usual settings and put into strange times and places – some that have existed or might have existed, and other that can’t, couldn’t or shouldn’t exist.

Wang, Jen. **//KOKO Be Good.//** First Second, 2010. ISBN 1596435551. Grades 6-8. Honest, wrenching, and sharply funny, Jan Wang’s //Koko Be Good// is a stunning debut about human nature and the inhuman efforts we make to find ourselves.

Willingham, Bill. **//FABLES: The Mean Seasons//**. Illustrations by Mark Buckingham and Tony Akins. DC Comics, 2005. ISBN 1401204860. 166 p. Grades 6-Adult. //Fables// is the Winner of 3 Eisner Awards. With the Battle of Fabletown won, and the surrounding city of New York one the wiser, the Fables have gained a little time for rebuilding and reflection – in between the interrogation of the Adversary’s agent and the anticipation of Snow White’s impending motherhood.


 * Websites:**

library.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/guides/graphicnovels/ Graphic novel resource for teachers and librarians [|www.listal.com/list/101-best-graphic-novels] Stephen Weiner’s The 101 Best Graphic Novels list [|www.menomonielibrary.org/teens_books.html] Menomonie Public Library’s Teen Zone Book List site [|www.noflyingnotights.com] Robin Brenner’s 2002-2008 list for children through 12 [|www.scottmccloud.com] Four-time Harvey and Eisner Winner Scott McCloud’s website


 * References:**

Eisner, Will. **//Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative//**. W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. ISBN 0393331271. 170 p. Grades 8-Adult. In a work that will prove invaluable for comic artists and filmmakers, Eisner revels how to construct a story and the basics of crafting a visual narrative.

McCloud, Scott. **//Reinventing Comics//**. HarperCollins, 2000. ISBN 0060953500. 237 p. Grades 8-Adult. This is a massive comic book that explores the inner workings of the world’s most misunderstood art form. Now, McCloud takes comics to the next level, charting twelve different revolutions in how comics are created, read, and perceived today, and how they’re poised to conquer the new millennium. = = =ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE UNIT – Elizabeth Schuster=

This list contains environmental book titles and websites made available to my 6th grade reader’s during this unit. I run a classroom lab/reader’s workshop style to incorporate fictional and non-fictional books as an environmental study during the months of April/May. I try to time this with my building’s Earth Day Celebration. My fictional offerings include sets of books from Jean Craighead George’s **//Who Really Killed Cock Robin?//**, Hiaasen’s **//Scat//** **,** **//Flush//** , and **//Hoo//** //t// , and Jill Paton Walsh’s **//The Green Book//**. I include single copies of additional titles as well.
 * 6th Grade Environmental Science Unit** :

Students access the non-fiction titles to research environmental issues that surface in their fictional titles. The culminating project involves researching an issue and presenting an informational/persuasive poster, slideshow or speech. Students use traditional books, Internet sites and local specialists for help. We spend roughly three weeks to accomplish reading the fictional titles and supporting the researched facts with citable sources. Presentations follow the conclusion of the unit.

The non-fiction titles are accessible and aid in verifying facts during this unit. Students can browse all titles and gain knowledge in other topics of interest. I have a few students each year that choose water quality because of the local lake issues. During the late summer months, usually August, an algae bloom prevents swimmers and boaters from enjoying the lake. This has an immediate impact on their world. Students recognize a problem and want to become active in the solution

Baines, John//. **Protecting Our Planet: Keeping the Air Clean.**// Lexile Level: 1060L. //Protecting Our Planet// series was designed to expose young readers to environmental issues and realize the immediacy of our actions. Without air there would be no life on our planet, yet we are now poisoning the air we breathe.

Friedman, Katherine. //**What If the Polar Ice Caps Melted?**// Lexile Level: 830 L. A high-interest book about the melting of polar ice caps.

Gore, Al. **//an inconvenient truth//** //.// Lexile Level: 1070L. Recommended for middle school. Al Gore is a long time advocate for the environment and warns that if we don’t recognize that global warming as a real crisis and take action, the consequences will only get worse.

Hare, Tony. //**Save Our Earth: Toxic Waste.**// Lexile Level: 1070 L. The //Save Our Earth// series has been designed to appeal to the inquiring minds of “planet-friendly” young readers and this volume addresses where waste comes from and how we can safely store it to keep it away from living things.

Holly, Cefrey. //**What if the Hole in the Ozone Layer Grows Larger?**// Lexile Level: 810 L. A high-interest book about losing the ozone layer.

Litvinoff, Miles. //**The Young Gaia Atlas of Earthcare.**// Lexile Level: 1060 L. //The Young Gaia Atlas of Earthcare// is the most comprehensive and up-to-date “blueprint for out survival” drafted for young people.

McLeish, Ewan. **//Protecting Our Planet: Keeping Water Clean//** //.// Lexile Level: 1060 L. Protecting Our Planet series was designed to expose young readers to environmental issues and realize the immediacy of their actions. Water is one of the most vital resources for all living things, yet we waste and pollute it.

Morris, Scott E. //**Using and Understanding Maps: The Endangered World**//. Lexile Level: 1060 L. //Using and Understanding Maps// is a series of 12 volumes designed to introduce young readers to conventional maps and atlases.

Parker, Steve. **//Protecting Our Planet: Waste, Recycling and Re-Use//** //.// Lexile Level: 1060 L. Protecting Our Planet series was designed to expose young readers to environmental issues and realize the immediacy of their actions. Almost every aspect of our modern lifestyle causes waste, and we throw away vast quantities every day.

Reef, Catherine. //**Rachel Carson: The Wonder of Nature**//. Lexile Level: 1160 L. Carson studied the impact of chemical pesticides on nature and turned it into a national crusade to save the earth.

Scarboraough, Kate. **//Our Planet in Peril: Nuclear Waste//** //.// Lexile Level: 920 L. Recommended for middle school. //Our Planet in Peril// presents the truth behind major environmental issues giving facts/figures, explanations and real life solutions.

Wilcox, Charlotte**. //Earth-Friendly Waste Management//** //.// Lexile Level: 900 L. Recommended for middle school//.// People are throwing away more than ever before and we can help make our planet healthier by reducing, reusing, recycling, and recovering waste in Earth-friendly ways.

[] GOOD: How do we achieve harmony? This interactive site poses questions for the environment and beyond. [] Ocean Portal by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History informs and interacts. [] The Why? Files answers questions about the science behind the news. [|www.dnr.state.wi.us/runoff/] A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources site to search runoff issues by county or location. [|www.dnr.state.wi.us/wetlands/] A Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources site to search wetland issues by county or location. [|www.enn.cesom] Environmental News Network site allows students to search environmental policies, breaking news, and top stories. [|www.enviroliteracy.org] Environmental Literacy Council site offers b ackground information on common environmental science concepts. [|www.exploratorium.edu] The Exploratorium isn’t just a museum, it’s an ongoing exploration of science, art, and human perception—a vast collection of [|online interactives] [|,] [| web features] [|,] [| activities] , [|programs] and [|events] that feed curiosity. [|www.kids.niehs.nih.gov] National Institutes of Health Department: Health & Human Services provides information about environmental health topics. [|www.science.gov] United States Government Science site that provides 45 databases and over 2000 selected website links for searchable data. [|www.usgs.gov/science/] United States Geological Service provides topic searches related to environmental issues and our geology.
 * Environmental Science Websites:**

=Welcome to Your New Wiki!=

Getting Started

 * Click on the edit button above to put your own content on this page.
 * To invite new members, click on **Manage Wiki** and **Invite People**.
 * To change your wiki's colors or theme, click on **Manage Wiki** and **Look and Feel**.
 * To set who can view and edit your wiki, click on **Manage Wiki** and **Permissions**.

Need Help?

 * Click on the help link above to learn more about how to use your wiki.