Great Graphic Novels

I don’t always mention graphic novels on TeenSpace, and I’m not exactly sure why. I read them. I love them. I think they’re awesome. And so, apparently, do a lot of other people. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) compiles a list every year of Great Graphic Novels for Teens. Here are some of the titles that we own from the 2008 list:

• Laika by Nick Abadzis
  How a small dog became the first cosmonaut.
• Re-Gifters by Mike Carey
  Win the championship or get the guy?
• The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg
  Forced to move to the burbs, Jane starts a renegade art club.
• The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming
  Ann Marie traces the path of her great-grandfather’s life, uncovering her roots and the magic behind them.
• The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis
  When your hairstyle, music and art are regulated, how do you find your voice?
• Stuck in the Middle: 17 Comics from an Unpleasant Age
  Painfully true stories about middle school.
• The Arrival by Shaun Tan
  How do you build a new life when everything around you is so strange?

Interested? Check our catalog.

Beowulf, adaptation by Gareth Hinds

Okay, so you’ve been assigned to read Beowulf for English class. Or maybe you’ve seen the previews for the movie and think, hmmmmm….. that looks pretty good. Oh my gosh! It’s based on a poem! I might want to actually read that.

Well, Gareth Hinds has taken the epic poem Beowulf and put it into graphic novel format (for those of us who like to look at pictures).  Having never actually read the original work, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. But I have to say, the artwork is pretty amazing.  The reader is immediately swept into Viking lore and legend and the fighting scenes definitely leave you sitting (or reading) on the edge of your seat.

If you have been afraid to tackle Beowulf before, I would not hesitate to read it in this format. The story is easy to follow and accompanied by powerful illustrations. Hooray for comics! Um… I mean, graphic novels!

Come see “Amelia Rules!” cartoonist Jimmy Gownley

Amelia Rules! cartoonist and author Jimmy Gownley will be at the Hyattsville Branch on Sunday, October 14 at 1:30 pm. In celebration of Teen Read Week, Mr. Gownley will be presenting a workshop on turning your real-life experiences into a comic book.

For those of you who are interested in or like to draw, this is a great program for you! It’s not always easy coming up with ideas for what to draw, but having someone show you that your own life can actually be interesting and funny, is a good place to start