Graphic Novel

Graphic novels with social justice messages

Canadian

Books for Red Dress Day

May 5th is Red Dress Day, a day that brings awareness to the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit People. In Canada, Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people are more likely to be the victims of violence due to racism and the ongoing effects of colonialism.

Antiracism

Continental Drifter

Continental Drifter, by Kathy MacLeod, is a graphic novel memoir about the author's childhood where she navigates two different worlds. With a Thai mother and an American father, Kathy feels like she doesn't quite fit in with the other kids in her Bangkok neighbourhood. She dreams

LGBTQ

Homebody

Homebody is a graphic novel memoir about Theo Parish's life as a nonbinary person. This coming of age book shows how they navigated their own identity and came out as a transgender and nonbinary. They called this process "coming home to myself wherever that may be"

Graphic Novel

Dungeon Club

It is a pleasure to find books that connect with students' interests, so I was delighted with the Dungeon Club series by Molly Knox Ostertag and Xanthe Bouma. This graphic novel series initially focuses on main characters Olivia and Jess, two friends who enjoy the role playing game Dungeons

Antiracism

Graphic Novels by Asian Authors - Improving Representation in my Classroom Library

I have the feeling that students are looking for mirror books that reflect their own experiences as Asian Canadians. As a result, below are four new graphic novels that reflect in different ways the experiences of Asian students at my school.

Graphic Novel

Books about Japanese Incarceration in WW2

Recently I have been trying to update the novels in my human rights literature circle, focusing on themes relating to power and privilege. These days there are a wider selection of human rights themed books to choose from, ones where the author's own experiences or history help inform

Graphic Novel

Popular Graphic Novels with 2SLGBTQ+ Characters

In the past few months, my students have become entranced with the Heartstopper series. They have binged the Netflix series, read through the webcomic online, and devoured the copy of Volume One that is in our classroom library. They have convinced their parents to buy them copies and asked the

Courage

I Am Not Starfire

There are a lot of reasons to love I Am Not Starfire [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56120074-i-am-not-starfire?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=2xSshJEVzN&rank=1] , written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani. The art is fantastic, the characters are sharp, and

Graphic Novel

A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era

A Girl Called Echo: Road Allowance Era [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57907128-road-allowance-era?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=4sXAsT0TQd&rank=4] , written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, is the fourth and final volume in the Girl Called Echo series [https:

Indigenous

Graphic Novels and Indigenous Rights

Every year I try to improve how I include Indigenous voices and perspectives in my classroom. A unit I developed this year was a mini-literature circle that focused on graphic novels by Indigenous authors and artists. I am grateful for the many powerful works by these storytellers, which explore both

Graphic Novel

The Magic Fish

The Magic Fish [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42394599-the-magic-fish?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=kyzNs1EE29&rank=1] , written by Trung Le Nguyen, is a beautiful graphic novel about Tiến and his mother, a Vietnamese refugee. Tiến wants to come out to his parents as

feminism

The Cardboard Kingdom

The Cardboard Kingdom [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30623090-the-cardboard-kingdom] is a graphic novel by Chad Sell about the power of imagination and being yourself. The book is a collection of short stories that follows children of the cardboard kingdom, a neighbourhood where kids go on adventures and take on

Antiracism

New Kid and Not Talking About Race

This year, I was able to teach my identity literature circle [https://teacherbees.ca/identity-literature-circle/] for the first time. Having put together the text sets before going on parental leave, I was excited to finally dive into a unit that explored identity in a variety of ways. As a final

Human Rights

When Stars Are Scattered

When Stars Are Scattered [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51864234-when-stars-are-scattered?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=aWe9uJ4YrO&rank=1] , by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed, recounts Omar Mohamed's childhood in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Separated from his mother, Omar and his

Canadian

Surviving the City: From the Roots Up

Surviving the City Vol. 2: From the Roots Up, written by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan, is a graphic novel that explores the intersections of Indigenous culture and gender identity. It builds on the previous volume [https://teacherbees.ca/surviving-the-city/] to show the struggles of an Indigenous teen

Indigenous

A Girl Called Echo - Volume 3

For teachers looking to bring Canadian history to life, with particular emphasis on Métis history, be sure to check out volume three of A Girl Called Echo [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42667980-northwest-resistance], written by Katherena Vermette and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson. The series [https://teacherbees.ca/a-girl-called-echo/

Young Adult Books

The 7 Generations Series

The 7 Generations Series [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8070816-stone], a graphic novel series written by David Alexander Robertson and illustrated by Scott B. Henderson, recounts the life of seven generations of an Indigenous family, stories that span from the beginning of the 19th century to 2010. The series

feminism

Crush

I am not a big fan of romantic comedies. I find the characters in these types of books or films often engage in manipulative behaviour. The resulting relationships rarely strike me as particularly healthy and leave a lot to be desired. When it comes to my classroom library, I don&

Indigenous

This Place: 150 Years Retold

This Place: 150 Years Retold [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39351184-this-place?ac=1&from_search=true] is an ambitious project that aims to retell Canadian history by centering Indigenous perspectives and experiences. With over a dozen Indigenous authors and artists, the graphic novel anthology delves into stories from

Indigenous

Surviving the City

Surviving the City [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41215879-surviving-the-city?ac=1&from_search=true] , written by Tasha Spillett and illustrated by Natasha Donovan, tells the story of two girls dealing with the dangers of growing up Indigenous in Winnipeg. When main character Dez's grandmother becomes sick,

Indigenous

A Girl Called Echo

When I pick up a book set in my own province, it feels like I have found something special. Seeing my home in print on the page gives me a feeling of connection to a text that I don't often get with other books. Even rarer is finding

Environment

World Without Fish

The past few weeks, I have been reviewing books that help promote environmental awareness for middle school students. World Without Fish [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9423723-world-without-fish?from_search=true] , by Mark Kurlansky, is another excellent addition to a classroom library. The book describes the dangers facing Earth'

Courage

The Power of Visual Texts

Visual texts are great jumping off points for discussion and reflection during literature circles. Since students are reading a variety of books, it is useful to have common texts to help anchor the unit and teach specific skills and ideas. Of course, mentor texts and read aloud texts are essential

Courage

Nimona: Heroic Journey Lit Circle Book 4

One of my favourite books in our heroic journey literature circle is the graphic novel Nimona [https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/0062278223/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=15121&creative=330641&creativeASIN=0062278223&linkCode=as2&tag=ebees-20&linkId=b5b2ad05e90cda5b343cb9f02f77dcda] , by Noelle Stevenson.

LGBTQ

Lumberjanes: A Book for Hardcore Lady Types

When I was a kid, good comic books were just for boys. The only comics I ever managed to read were Archie comics, and even back then I was pretty skeptical about Betty and Veronica. Best friends whose main function was to fight over the same boy week after week