Bone

Bone is the quite popular graphic novel about the Bone family, Fone Bone, Phoney Bone & Smiliy Bone. This first book follows the cousins as they are exiled from their home and then become separated in a vast dessert. Each of them separately end up wandering into a mysterious wooded valley where they meet strange creatures and even stranger happenings...

Much humor and action are the trademark for this series. These books never last a day on the classroom shelf. Once someone is done reading one, it quickly gets snatched up by the next eager Bone fan.

Great for grades 3/4 and up.

Rachael - 4th/5th teacher

Amelia Rules! The Whole World's Crazy

The Whole World's Crazy, is the first in the "Amelia Rules!" series, a graphic novel about a Amelia, a nine year old girl. The first book follows Amelia as she settles into life in a new place after her parents split up. She makes some new friends Reggie (who she likes, but "not like that!"), Rhonda (who Amelia really doesn't like all that much) & Pajamaman (yes he wears pajamas all the time). Amelia is a strong character who's got a bit of an attitude, but is likable at the same time. Because of the pictures, this book would be great for struggling readers as the illustrations can help them make meaning. Even though this book has a heroine, I think it will appeal to boys as well. A must have for an elementary classroom from about 2nd -5th grade!

Rachael - 4th/5th Teacher

Rapunzel's Revenge
by Shannon and Dean Hale

We all love a good fairy tale, but sometimes we have to question the messages they deliver. I often want to replace the sweet, compliant, sleeping beauty with a smart girl who can rescue herself.
Newberry award-winning author Shannon Hale and her husband Dean present a humorous re-telling of the tale of the princess with outrageously long hair. I especially love that the burdensome tresses of the traditional tale become both Rapunzel's tools and weapons in this story. Rapunzel sets out to save not only herself, but a whole society enslaved by the same woman who trapped her and tried to control her. This tellling is set in a mythical western landscape, and Rapunzel speaks in the vernacular and idioms of a cowboy movie.
I gave it to middle school girls who gravitate to books about cliques of boy-crazed girls, and they each read it through in a night and passed it to a friend. Sixth grade boys also read it through voraciously, with no objections to the female heroine.
Graphic novels provide a visual hook for kids to enter the story, and the illustrations offer clues to the meaning for struggling readers. Rapunzel's Revenge also offers good evidence that a graphic novel can demand the same reading skills of a traditional novel. Students can practice with narrative structure, symbolism, use of puns and inference while reading Rapunzel's Revenge . This story is a hero's quest, filled with fun and adventure.

by Lauren , secondary English teacher