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This social issue–centered series focuses on everything from Barack Obama’s vision of hope to the Boston Tea Party. The 21 volumes in this series mix fictionalized stories with actual facts and standard sequential art with traditional text to delve more deeply into powerful issues. Two good choices that cover unusual subjects for the format and age group are Storm of the Century, about Hurricane Katrina, and After the Challenger, about the space shuttle disaster (both 2009).
Children's Literature Comprehensive Database
Books written in graphic format are favorites of mine. They are perfect for students who are reluctant readers and never seem to finish a book on their own. They are also a wonderful way to introduce nonfiction books to young people. Young adults who want to read anything they can get their hands on will enjoy the graphics, exhilarating stories, and fast paced text. The full-color graphics make an enormous influence on the story. The author includes a box on most pages that includes narration that gives extra information to the reader to help with comprehension. This book is part of a new series about disasters in history, and this particular book deals with the horrific explosion of a space shuttle carrying astronauts and a teacher named Christa. This nonfiction book takes the reader from the time Ronald Regan announced that a teacher could go into space, to the time of his State of the Union address when he spoke to the world about the dreadful explosion. Students will learn what caused the explosion, as well as information about the wonderful work done by the Challenger families. There are four chapters in just twenty-seven pages and all key facts are well covered. Vocabulary has been well selected, and this book is an excellent resource that could be used for writing a summary, a book report, or a source for research. At the end of the book the author includes two pages of additional information. In addition, there is a “Glossary,” “Read More” section, “Internet Sites,” “Bibliography,” and an “Index.” I highly recommend this book for children who want to start their own personal libraries, for classroom and school libraries, and for enticing the reluctant reader.
