Graphical Text: Series that Changed What Textbooks Looked Like

by Glen Downey, Comics in Education, www.comicsineducation.com

It's quite possible that graphic novels would not have taken the foothold they did in education were it not for the movement towards offering students, especially reluctant readers, a more visual experience of reading. This was not an exercise in oversimplifying curriculum; rather, it was one aimed at engaging a generation of readers who inhabited, and were conversant with, a far more visual culture than their parents. As Sir Ken Robinson notes in his landmark Ted Talk on Changing Educational Paradigms, gone are the days when students can simply be told to sit and do because that's what's good for them.

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing with you a number of series that I had the privilege to work on over the course of the last decade--series that sought to do what I've just described. Their success, however, should not simply end with us looking back contentedly and seeing that we've served the needs of reluctant readers. Graphical text and visual narrative must be more fully understood and embraced by teachers whose students are already highly motivated and able readers.

So, here's the first series we'll look at: Rubicon / Harcourt's Boldprint:

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Boldprint

Boldprint books are a series of titles designed with reluctant readers in mind. Built around engaging themes that have both an historical and contemporary focus, the books feature articles, poems, graphic stories, illustrations, and personal accounts that captivate young readers. In 2009, Boldprint received the Teacher’s Choice Award for Classroom Magazines from Learning Magazine. I wrote 6 titles for the series, which is also published in French as A La Une.

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Games

by Glen Downey

People have been playing games for a long long time. Games takes a look at the games people play. Read a news article about how one woman toppled the dominoes record by tipping more than 300,000 dominoes. There are radio transcripts, song lyrics, articles, and graphic stories about chess, street hockey, pinball, paintball, snooker, and more.

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Famous Trials / Les Proces Celebres

by Glen Downey

Famous Trials looks at some of the most dramatic and gripping moments in legal history. There are dramatic articles, stories, reports, and transcripts. Find out what happens when an heiress is kidnapped and brainwashed or when a man goes to jail for a crime he didn't commit.

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Images of War / Memoires de Guerre

by Glen Downey

Travel through history with Images of War as it delivers tales from the Crimean War to the War in Iraq. This powerful book includes an article about Florence Nightingale, Lincoln's stirring words at Gettysburg, paintings and poetry from WW1, eyewitness accounts from Juno beach, recollections from the Korean War, Vietnam, Rwanda, and how 9/11 led to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

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Medieval Warfare / Guerres Medievales

by Glen Downey

Knights in shining armour? Damsels in distress? Think again. Medieval Warfare brings you the chaos and terror of war in the Middle Ages. Deadly weapons, strange rules, legendary battles -- it's all here. Check out the graphic story about a magical knight who avoids beheading, experience the haunting song of an African warrior, and read about women who defied convention by going to war!

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Motorbikes / Les Motos

by Glen Downey and Mark Treleaven

Ready to ride? Satisfy your need for speed with Motorbikes -- the next best thing to hitting the open road. Whether you like Harley Fat Boys, speedy sport bikes, or sporty scooters, this book has it all. Unleash your inner biker and check out the articles and accounts of death-defying daredevils, horrifying tragedies, a slang term glossary, and more!

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Suspense

by Glen Downey

The original master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, said it best: "There is no terror in the bang. Only in the anticipation of it." If you've ever felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up suddenly in the middle of a creepy movie, then you should know exactly what Hitchcock was talking about.Suspense picks the brains of the best for you, from Mary Shelley to M. Night Shyamalan to Stephen King, and many more.

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