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We Love Graphic Novels! by Jordan and Jen Vincent
Being a parent isn’t always easy. Even though there are lots of books out there about parenting, kids don’t come with a manual. So much of parenting is trying something and seeing how it goes; reflecting and refining going forward. When I had kids, I remember hoping that I could help them love reading. I asked for them to be healthy and happy and to share my love of reading. We have books all over our house, we read every single day and we make regular trips to library, bookstores, and comic book stores. My oldest son, Jordan, is in 1st grade now and has been reading more on his own this year than last year. I asked Jordan about doing a Nerdy Book Club post with me to talk about reading and my husband said, “Jordan has a reading club at school.”
I was surprised! And elated! Really?! Why had no one told me? I asked Jordan to tell me about his reading club and what he loves about reading right now. Here’s what he had to say:
“At school I have a reading club. My friends in my reading club are Finnegan, Jackson and Julian. We hang out under these tables and we read the books that I bring to school. They also bring books to school. Finnegan and Julian like Magic Tree House Books but I don’t. Jackson brings Elephant and Piggie. I read The Big Fat Cow that Goes Kapow and graphic novels. We are best friends.
“I love graphic novels. They are fun to read because they have a lot of chapters and they have good pictures. The pictures are funny and have a lot of colors. Super Pets are very colorful. The Boris books are really colorful, too. I can read the pictures.”
Jordan is really loving graphic novels right now. I think he likes that they are like chapter books but give him lots of visual support. I asked him about graphic novels.
Me: Why do you think graphic novels are good for kids who are just learning to read?
Jordan: Easy to read the pictures.
Me: Do you like graphic novels more than picture books?
Jordan: Yes
Me: Why do you like graphic novels more than picture books?
Jordan: Because you get more time to read. They take longer to read so you get more reading and you can get better at reading. I learn the words by sounding them out.
Then I asked Jordan how he felt about his friends reading different books than him, if that was okay, if it mattered what they were reading compared to him but he said, “Anyone can read what they want. If there is nothing to read at your own school you can bring your own book. I like my reading club because it’s really fun to read. The end.”
I love that Jordan is comfortable reading whatever he likes to read and that he has friends that like to read. It makes me insanely proud as a Nerdy Book Club member, a reader, and a mom to hear him talk about his love of books.
I wish everyone could be as proud of what they read. Being in the Nerdy Book Club is about being a reader. It doesn’t matter if you love to read fiction or non-fiction, novels or articles, blog posts or magazines, graphic novels or comics. Reading is reading. No one should ever have to apologize for what they are reading. No one should ever have to feel forced to read something they don’t want to read. No one should ever think that their kind of reading doesn’t count as reading. All reading counts. All readers count.
Jordan Vincent is a 1st grader who loves to read graphic novels. He also likes to make loom band necklaces and bracelets. He loves pizza and he would eat a hundred giant pizzas in one whole day if he had enough.
Jen Vincent is a mom of two awesome sons, one of whom is Jordan Vincent. She is a Coordinator of Instructional Technology in the suburbs of Chicago. She tweets at @mentortexts and blogs at http://www.teachmentortexts.com. She would eat a hundred homemade, vegan, pumpkin muffins if only someone baked them for her.
Nerdy Book Club 
Looks like you have a young book reviewer on your hands! Great article; thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Dave! It’s so much fun to share books with him. It makes my heart sing. 🙂
Jen, I loved this, “It doesn’t matter if you love to read fiction or non-fiction, novels or articles, blog posts or magazines, graphic novels or comics.” I think we have to remember as educators that reading means a lot of different things. We have to broaden our definition and be understanding of differences. There are different kids if artisans, athletes, mathematicians — and readers.
Loved Jordan’s thoughts on his peers as readers. Most of all, I was excited about his thoughts on graphic novels. As a first grade teacher, I realized I need to get more of these books into my classroom library.
I plan to share this post with my first graders. I expect it will spark a few posts about the kinds of books readers like, several requests for graphic novels, and a few book clubs!
Thank you both,
Cathy
Yes! Too often people tell me they don’t like reading but then they read a lot…just not fiction. So many people still think that reading has to be novels or fiction and that’s just not the case.
I shared your comment and your tweets with Jordan and told him that because he shared his story, you are going to get more graphic novels for your students. That’s pretty awesome. He thought that was cool. Most of the time, I read them with him first and then he reads on his own.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us!
Love hearing this from your son, Jen. I loved hearing your ideas about the good things about reading, Jordan. I think everyone should read what they want too, and enjoy every single book! Good for you for having a reading club!
Thanks, Linda! He’s proud of his little reading club and we talked today about maybe inviting his friends over for a secret reading club party. 🙂
This is a great article, thank you for publishing it! As an author of a graphic novel series for children, I like to share other well-thought of books with my friends and fans. Education combined with a sense of adventure is my key as an author, and I like to stay in good company with that. Thank you! http://bit.ly/HD0qaR
That’s awesome! We are definitely graphic novel fans in our house!