Pernille Ripp and Graphic Novels in the Classroom

     I am convinced that Pernille Ripp and I are book mates. I have an appreciation of  graphic novels that developed later in life. As a child, I preferred novels over graphic novels, comic books, and even cartoons. I dismissed books with pictures because I believed they were too "easy" and that I was far to superior in my reading skills to read a book with pictures. I did not pick up and read a graphic novel until my teaching reading course during undergrad. It was recommended that we read a young adult graphic novel named The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang. I was immediately drawn into the story by the artwork and how it brought to life elements of fiction in creative form. Upon reflection, I believe that I resisted against graphic novels as a young adult because I believed I was a strong reader. In reality it actually takes a skilled reader to actually appreciate reading a graphic novel  in the way that it should be read.
   We all have students that will resist or struggle with reading in any form.  For me it was a student named A and he literally missed two weeks of school to avoid reading an in class novel. As a student teacher, I felt hopeless in this situation. However, Pernille Ripp makes a point to demonstrate the benefit of having graphic novels as a buy in to reading for struggling or disinterested students. She states,"So it is time for us all to realize that while comic books, graphic novels, or any other medium that has pictures in it may seem “easy” at first glance, I think the word we are really looking for is enticing, not easy.  Is inviting, not fluff.  Gives courage, not a cop out of reading" (Ripp 2018).   Ripp emphasizes the importance of student engagement and graphic novels do this in a way that reaches students that are reluctant to read.

  For this reason, I have been buying graphic novels for students with a variety of interests. I now own around twenty five graphic novels that I cannot wait to put in the hands of my students. I have graphic novels such as Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, Smile, Sisters, and Drama by Reina Telegmeir. I have comic books and graphic novels that deal with sexual orientation. I have novels that deal with topics such as immigration and police brutality. My classroom library will feature a variety of graphic novels and pictures books, because I truly believe that they can be engaging for students like A.

References

Pernille Ripp. (2019, April 14). Why Graphic Novels Belong in All of Our Libraries.  Retrieved July 17, 2019