Banned Books Week starts this weekend, and one way to help prevent challenges and bans is to make sure you’re informed! CBLDF has a number of resources that inform librarians and educators about comic books and graphic novels, and ways to prevent and react to challenges. Let’s take a look!
CBLDF Presents Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices
Manga is worldwide phenomenon: One of the most widely read types of literature in its home country of Japan, it has crossed the world to become a very popular category here in the United States. With burgeoning collections in libraries and bookstores around the U.S., manga has faced an increasing number of challenges and bans.
Made possible with a grant from the Gaiman Foundation and published by Dark Horse, CBLDF Presents Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices is a handbook designed to provide a concise and informed overview of manga — its history, genres, and issues. This educational work delves into the history of manga, its major demographic divisions, its most significant creators, and the challenges it has sometimes faced in North America. An expert panel of writers, including not only scholars of the medium but veterans of the manga industry itself — professionals who have worked from both the North American and Japanese sides of manga in publishing, editing, review, and library services. Edited by Melinda Beasi of Manga Bookshelf, CBLDF Presents Manga is written by Manga Bookshelf columnist Sean Gaffney, Ed Chavez of Vertical, Erica Friedman of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, Shaenon Garrity of Viz Media and Otaku USA, and Robin Brenner and Katherine Dacey of School Library Journal.
If your child or students are interested in manga and you want to learn more about the category, you can pick up a copy of CBLDF Presents Manga here!
Raising a Reader! How Comics & Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love to Read!
How can you use comics to get your kids reading from a young age? CBLDF’s publication for parents and teachers – Raising a Reader! How Comics & Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love To Read! — offers tips on how comics can foster a love for reading! Written by Dr. Meryl Jaffe with an introduction by multiple Newbery Medal honoree Jennifer L. Holm (Babymouse, Squish), this resource includes illustrations by Eisner Award winner Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Drama) and Eisner Award nominee Matthew Holm (Babymouse, Squish).
Raising A Reader! answers the questions parents and educators bring to using comics: What skills do graphic novels offer kids? What resources are available for using graphic novels in education? How do you teach reading with a comics page? How can graphic novels create reading dialogues? And much more!
Raising a Reader! was made possible by a grant from the Gaiman Foundation and is available on the CBLDF website and also from comiXology.
Using Graphic Novels in Education
Using Graphic Novels in Education is an ongoing feature from CBLDF that is designed to allay confusion around the content of banned books and to help parents and teachers raise readers. In this column, we examine books that have been targeted by censors and provide teaching and discussion suggestions for the use of such books in classrooms.
At least one title is covered each month, and each article includes discussion points, teaching tips, and correlations to the Common Core Standards. The books covered so far:
Using Graphic Novels in Education: Persepolis
Using Graphic Novels in Education: American Born Chinese
Using Graphic Novels in Education: The Silence of Our Friends
CBLDF is a sponsor of Banned Books Week. Please help support CBLDF’s important First Amendment work by making a donation or becoming a member of the CBLDF!