1.
“A picture is
worth a
thousand
words.”

2.
How do photographs
and pictures make it
easier to understand
a story?

3.
What are graphic novels?
• Tell the story through
pictures
• Look like comic books
• Contain dialogue balloons,
panels, sound effects
• Can be any genre—humour,
classic literature, romance,
adventure, mythology…

4.
El Deafo
• Panda Award book for this
year
• Main character= Cece
• Author = Cece
• All characters are human-
ish rabbits

5.
Smile
• Sixth grade Raina wants to
be a normal girl, but an
accident at camp severely
injures her two front
teeth.
• Also autobiographical

6.
Sisters
• Panda Award book for this
year
• Sisters learn to get along
when their parents start
having problems

7.
Big Nate
• Several in series (including
on Overdrive)
• Trouble seems to find Nate
everywhere he goes

8.
Robot Dreams
• Dog and Robot become
friends, but they are
separated (Dog leaves
Rusty Robot stuck in the
sand)
• Dog tries to make new
friends but has difficulty
• Robot dreams of far away
places

9.
Jellaby
• Portia just moved into a new
neighborhood with her mom
(father has disappeared)
• She has trouble making
friends until she meets a
purple monster in the woods
behind her house.

10.
Ghostopolis
• Garth gets zapped into a
world of ghosts, called
Ghostopolis
• He finds he has powers
the ghosts don’t have
• The evil leader of
Ghostopolis wants to use
Garth’s power against the
ghosts

11.
Cardboard
• A boy must save his
community when cardboard
creatures come to life

12.
Babymouse
• Bored with her
unglamourous life,
Babymouse tries to get
invited to an exclusive
sleepover party
• 18 in the series (we have
first 5)

13.
Squish
• Adventures of a school
amoeba who loves
Twinkies
• We have first six (#7 just
came out in August)
• About the
author/illustrator…

14.
Middle School is Worse
Than Meatloaf
• Very unique format—told
entirely in “stuff”
• Like going through
someone’s trash can and
learning about their life!

15.
Eighth Grade Is Making Me Sick
• Sequel to Middle School is
Worse Than Meatloaf

16.
Boxers & Saints
• Set in China in 1898 (The
Boxer Rebellion)
• Tells two sides of the conflict
in two books

17.
Maus
• Story of a father and son
captured during Holocaust
• Different races are
represented by animals
(Jews are helpless mice;
Germans are vicious cats;
Polish are pigs

18.
Boxers & Saints
• Set in China in 1898 (The
Boxer Rebellion)
• Tells two sides of the conflict
in two books

19.
The Arrival
• No words at all
• Man leaves his wife and
family, boards a ship, and
travels to make a new life
for his family
• Immigrant experience