Category Archives: graphic novels

Of Mice and Middle School

Posted on March 1, 2018 by rosinskynatalie

Babymouse is growing up! I recently learned that the perky heroine of twenty graphic novels for young kids started this school year as a middle schooler. Yet the safe haven that school provides this fantasy character is not what students actually … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, hybrid books | Tagged Babymouse, Babymouse Tales from the Locker, Forgive Me Leonard Peacock, friendship, Gail Sidonie Sobat, growing up, guns, humorous books, hybrid novel, Jamie's Got a Gun, Jennifer L. Holm, Kerlan Award, Lights Camera Middle School!, Matthew Holm, Matthew Quick, Miss Communication, Mouseketeers, Parkland Florida, school shootings, Shaun David Hutchinson, Spyder Yardley-Jones, teen age shooter, Violent Ends: A Novel in Seventeen Points of View | 1 Comment

In War and Peace

Posted on February 1, 2018 by rosinskynatalie

What happens when peacetime resembles war? I will be pondering this question in coming weeks as we celebrate Black History Month, also known as African-American History Month here in the U.S.A. This year there will be a special focus on the … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, war | Tagged "Hamlet", African-American History Month, All-American Boys, Amadou Diallo, Angie Thomas, Anthony Baez, Black History month, Black Lives Matter, Brendan Kiely, Canaan White, Damian Duffy, Eleanor Bumpurs, Harlem, Henry Dumas, hip-hop "Hamlet", How It Went Down, I Am Alfonso Jones, Jason Reynolds, John Jennings, Kekla Magoon, Kindred, Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, Max Brooks, Michael Stewart, New York City, Octavia Butler, police violence, racism, Sergeant Henry Johnson, Stacey Robinson, teenager, The Harlem Hellfighters, The Hate U Give, Tony Medina, World War I | Leave a comment

States of Mind

Posted on December 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

What is your state of mind right now? Festive . . . as you think of upcoming winter holidays? Fearful . . . as you contemplate current political events and crises? Or are you calm and content because you enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in biographies, picture books | Tagged Ana Juan, Andrew Standing Soldier, Ann Nolan Clark, architect, artist biography, Christmas, Duncan Tonitiuh, Eve Chwast, Frida, Frida Kahlo, Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos, Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras, George Lawrence, Georgia O'Keefe, Grandma's Latkes, Hanukkah, Jeanette Winters, John Parra, Jonah Winters, Malka Drucker, Monica Brown, My Name is Georgia: A Portrait, Native American picture books, Native American Picture Books of Change, New Mexico, painter, Rebecca C. Benes, Rosemary Zibart, The Hen of Wahpeton, The Night of Las Posadas, The Slim Butte Raccoon, The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid, Tomie de Paola, True Brit--Beatrice 1940, winter holidays, Zaha Hadid | Leave a comment

Korean Tales

Posted on November 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

North Korea remains forefront in U.S. news, as both countries’ boastful, ambitious leaders toy childishly with nuclear threats. We here in the U.S. can only hope and work within our political system to avert such disaster. Novels such as Adam … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, manga | Tagged Adam Johnson, adolescence, Booklist"s Top Ten Graphic Novels for Youth, fantasy, frequently challenged book, goblins, Hangul, Julie Kim, Kim Dong Hwa, Korea, Korean American, Korean folk tales, Korean folklore, manhwa, Moon Rabbit, mother-daughter relationship, nine-tailed fox, North Korean, Sejong Cultural Society, sex, sexuality, South Korea, The Color of Earth, The Color of Heaven, The Color of Water, The Orphan Master's Son, Where's Halmoni, writing competition, YALSA Top Ten Graphic Novels for Teens | Leave a comment

Hurricane Times

Posted on October 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

Cartoonists around the globe responded swiftly to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Some artists focused on the political or scientific conflicts that swirled around these storms, while others focused on the disasters’ human dimensions. Now Maria has entered the fray. I … Continue reading →

Posted in comics, graphic novels | Tagged A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge, controversy, Dark Rain: a New Orleans Story, FEMA, government leaders, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Maria, Hurricane Sandy, hurricanes, Josh Neufeld, Lee Loughbridge, Mat Johnson, natural disasters, neighbors, New Orleans, Pat Brosseau, relief efforts, Simon Gane | Leave a comment

Trending–Heroes and Icons

Posted on September 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

“Popularity” changes and is rarely “one-size-fits-all.” We could see such trending last month in back-to-school clothing sales and, more significantly, the toppling of Confederate monuments that lionized slavery’s defenders. Heroism is time and culture-sensitive. This is equally true of the … Continue reading →

Posted in comic book collection, comics, graphic novels | Tagged aliens, Amy Reeder, Black Captain America, Brandon Montclare, Confederate monuments, diversity, Genius, girls in science, Hispanic Spiderman, Hulk, Huntington's Chorea, Huntington's Disease, icons, It's a Bird . . ., Kamala Khan, Lunella Lafayette, Marco Failla, Moon Boy and Devil Dinosaur, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Ms. Marvel, Natacha Bustos, outsiders, popular heroes, President Trump, Ray-Anthony Height, science, Steven T. Seagle, superheroes, Superman, Tamira Bonvillain, Teddy Kristiansen, the Thing, Travis Lanham | 1 Comment

Not Just “For the Birds”

Posted on August 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

Saying something is “for the birds” is an old-fashioned put-down. It means “not worth much” and actually refers to the horse droppings on city streets that birds once ate. (So my saying that President Trump’s policies are “for the birds” … Continue reading →

Posted in biographies, graphic novels, picture books | Tagged Annette LeBlanc Cate, anxiety, Audubon On the Wings of the World, Audubon Society, bird-watching, birds, Birds Art Life, Birds of America, book collaboration, claire ligne, climate change, Depression, Etienne Gilfillan, Fabien Grolleau, French immigrant, Jerem Royer, John James Audubon, Kenard Pak, Kyo Maclear, Look Up! Bird-Watching in Your Own Back Yard, ornithologist, The Fog | Leave a comment

Beyond Graduation: Leaving and Returning Home

Posted on July 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

June brings proud smiles and commencement speeches for graduates of all ages. For many older grads, another rite of passage will soon follow: leaving home for college or that first full-time job. At least, this is the idealized version of … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, labor | Tagged 1930s, Cecil Castellucci, college, Dan E. Burr, Depression, girls in disguise, graduation, high school graduation, hobo justice, hobo signs, hobos, Jack Vance, Jose Pimienta, Kings in Disguise, On the Ropes, riding the rails, Soupy Leaves Home, Sullivan's Travels, teen-ager, teens, The Journey of Natty Gann, USA Depression, Wild Boys of the Road, William Wellman, women's education | Leave a comment

Bigger Than Life? Tall Tales and “Fake News”

Posted on June 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

We Minnesotans love tall tales—especially ones about Paul Bunyan. Kids read about how his huge feet supposedly stomped out our 10,000 lakes and how the giant chopped down thousands of trees with one ax stroke. The communities of Bemidji and … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, picture books | Tagged "fake news", American folk lore, Audrey Wood, Bemidji, Brainerd, Carrie McIntie, Cathy Malkasian, David Shannon, dreams, Eartha, epitaphs, fairy tale, Kevin O'Malley, legendary heroes, Lucette Diana Kensack, Maine, Marybeth Lorbiecki, Minnesota, Ojibwe, Paul Bunyan, Paul Bunyan Day, Paul Bunyan's Sweetheart, Paula Bunyan, Phyllis Root, picture book, President Trump, quest, Renee Graef, social media, tall tale hero, tall tales, teen readers, The Bunyans, tween readers, tweets | Leave a comment

Today’s Tomorrow

Posted on May 1, 2017 by rosinskynatalie

“May Day! May Day! May Day!” That desperate radio call for help—once the best way for airplanes to signal disaster—is such an appropriate beginning for this May 1 blog post. Today’s inspiration is neither the traditional spring holiday nor the … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels | Tagged 1984, Adam Rapp, consumerism, cults, Decelerate Blue, dystopia, fifteen year-old, future, George Orwell, Grandfather, hospitals, Jonestown, language change, May Day, megamall, Mike Cavallaro, parents, resistance, schools, science fiction, shopping malls, speed, technology, teens, tweens, Vulcan Celestial Supply Shop | Leave a comment

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