It's Perfectly Normal

by Robie Harris

This illustrated book is about the human body, how we are all different, how our bodies change and grow, and how to take care of our bodies to keep us healthy.

At first, I was shocked by this book and I thought it was way too graphic for kids at the elementary and even the middle school level. The book is actually recommended for children 10 and up. Drawings of naked bodies and of naked people in bed and of the sex organs, etc. - I really thought it was too much, but once I got over the initial shock of all the nakedness, I found the book well-written and professional without being clinical. It covers a lot of information and addresses questions that a lot of kids have about body changes and where babies come from and all those things that kids wonder about.  I like that the book explains how a person should take care of himself or herself, like personal hygiene. It addresses the meaning of sexual abuse and lets kids know that “your body belongs to you” and not to keep sexual abuse a secret.

You Hear Me?

Poems and writing by teenage boys

Edited by Betsy Franco

This book is a collection of writings (poetry and prose) in the voice of the adolescent male. The topics of the writings include a wide range of topics: school, dads, children, drugs, love, and more.  The writings in this collection are true and honest and they, at times, typify the voice of the young adolescent male. At other times they are the voice of a much wiser, more mature and experienced person, as in the poem “Carabao Dreams” by Timoth Arevalo, “sadness is not the absence of happiness/but your incapacity to witness its presence”. Another example of adolescent wisdom from “I Refuse” by Steven Hill, “When I see the word ‘father’, the first person that comes to mind is myself…I refuse to be a deadbeat dad because no excuse is a good enough excuse to abandon your own creation.” I found most of the writings insightful and valuable.

Twilight The Graphic Novel Volume II

Volume II is the graphic novel for the second half of the Twilight novel. I liked the beautiful artwork in Volume I and the artwork in Volume II is equally beautiful.  I like the cover design of both books and the way that they join together to form one picture. The books are that way too. Both books joined together tell the whole Twilight story. The artwork develops the characterization and setting throughout the novel. The action scenes are especially interesting and the use of color gave scenes a very nice touch. 

Twilight The Graphic Novel Vol I

I was not a big fan of Twilight and only recently have have become a fan of graphic novels, but the combination of the two in Twilight The Graphic Novel really worked well. The drawings in this book are of high quality and the composition is beautiful and detailed. The drawings gave me plenty of information to help develop the setting and the characters throughout the story, with help from the dialogue bubbles of course. I think one of the reasons I liked the graphic novel is because the drawings add to the mystique of the characters and I did not have a particular image in my mind about the characters when I read the novel and I haven’t seen the movie so I the images were fresh for me.  The drawings featured lots of gorgeous, whispy hair, freakishly large, but perfect eyes, sepia coloring, and several extreme close ups. All of it worked for me.

I would recommend the book to students, especially reluctant readers who have not yet read the novel.  Volume I feels like the first half of a novel so the story feels incomplete and I think it would need to be quickly followed by Volume II. 

Tales From Outer Suburbia

by Shaun Tan

This book is written as several different vignettes written in different styles, some of which I liked better than others. I liked “Distant Rain” the poem that appears to be pieced together and goes over several pages. The artwork, drawings, and varied handwriting throughout that poem made it visually interesting and fun to read. I especially liked “Undertow” and “Grandpa’s Story”. In the story “Broken Toys”, there is a beautiful two-page spread drawing of one of the characters but turn the page and there are two pages of solid text with no pictures. I found myself wanting pictures, wanting to find something in those pages other than words.

I don’t know if I would call this book a graphic novel because the stories have a common theme, but the characters and plot are not the same throughout. Even so, the book is interesting and fun to read. 

American Born Chinese

By Gene Luen Yang

In this graphic novel, the Monkey King studies the four major heavenly disciplines to achieve immortality; a young Chinese boy, Jin Wang, starts at a new school and wants to fit in; Chin Kee, Chinese cousin of a boy named Danny, makes it his personal responsibility to humiliate Danny as much as possible. These three seemingly unrelated stories converge to deliver a really important message in a very entertaining way.

I loved the way the stories were brought together in this book. I found the characters very interesting and funny and found myself laughing out loud at several parts of the book. The comic book/super hero component in the Monkey King’s story worked well with the more realistic story of Jin Wang and the outlandish story of Chin Kee. When the stories converge, as I knew they would, it’s a little contrived but still funny with a powerful punch.

     

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

By Sherman Alexie

Art by Ellen Forney

Arnold Spirit lives on a reservation but decides to transfer to the white school in town because a teacher tells him he has a future but only if he gets out of the reservation, forever. Though Arnold, also known as Junior, is confused, he looks around at the people on the rez and decides he needs to leave. The novel is Junior telling the story of how it all happened.

One of the most outstanding qualities of the book is the voice of Arnold. He is honest, confused, adolescent, and funny.  He is honest and open about all the beautiful and ugly things about his family and the reservation. The story is peppered with drawings that Arnold is supposed to have drawn and they add to Arnold’s character development and, sometimes, to the books humor. His raw commentary about the tragedies that surround him makes the reader sympathize with his plight without feeling sorry for him. When he recounts events in their ironic truth, it helps the reader understand how Arnold is making decisions and choices that will impact the rest of his life.  I really enjoyed this book and I think adolescents will appreciate its wit and honesty.