Category Archives: picture books

Let’s Be Visually Literate!

Posted on March 2, 2016 by rosinskynatalie

“Comics are the gateway drug to literacy.” This remark by Art Spiegelman, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the graphic memoir Maus, A Survivor’s Tale (1980-1991), is not as controversial nowadays as it would have been in the 1950s. Back then, some … Continue reading →

Posted in comics, graphic novels, picture books | Tagged A Birthday Cake for George Washington, Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman, black face, book burning, Carol Borden, Comixology, cultural literacy, Daniel Torres, diversity, Ebony White, Fagin the Jew, Francoise Mouly, Gilbert Stuart, Hansel & Gretel, Hercules, Jet Heer, Liniers, Lorenzo Mattotti, minstrel show, Neil Gaiman, Nick Sousanis, racial stereotypes, Ramin Ganeshram, reading curriculum, reluctant readers, Scholastic, Scott McCloud, The Spirit: A Celebration of 75 Years, The Spirit: The New Adventures, TOON Books, Understanding Comics, Unflattening, Vanessa Brantley-Newton, visual literacy, Will Eisner, Written and Drawn by Henrietta | Leave a comment

Diversity: The December Dilemma and Beyond

Posted on December 3, 2015 by rosinskynatalie

The month of December has long foregrounded issues of diversity in multicultural countries. As Christmas approaches in predominantly Christian countries, how do we acknowledge the presence and holidays of other religious groups? Some non-Christian parents even call the problems raised … Continue reading →

Posted in comics, graphic novels, picture books, Uncategorized | Tagged A Fine Dessert, Adrian Alphonsa, Adrian Wallace, Akiko Shimojima, Amazing Spiderman, Barry Deutsch, Beautiful Yetta's Hanukkah Kitten, Beautiful Yetta: The Yiddish Chicken, Buddhist, burqua, Chasidic Jews, Christians, Christmas, Cold Mountain: The Legend of Han Shan and Shih Te, comic books, controversy, Daniel Pinkwater, December dilemma, diversity, E.B. White, Emily Jenkins, Footnotes in Gaza, G. Willow Wilson, graphic novel, Hanukkah, Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Fish, Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Hereville: How Mirka Met a Meteorite, hijab, historical events, holidays, Islam, Islamic terrorist attacks, Israel, Israel's independence, J.P. Seaton, Jake Richmond, Jews, Jill PInkwater, Joan Sfar, Joe Sacco, Kamala Khan, Kelly Starling Lyons, Ms. Marvel Volume 4: Last Days, Ms. Marvel: Crushed, Ms. Marvel: Generation Why, Ms. Marvel: No Normal, multicultural countries, Muslims, Na'ima B Robert, Pakistanti-American, Palestine, Paris, picture book, Ramadan, Ramadan Moon, Sean Michael Wilson, Shirin Adl, slavery, Sophie Blackhall, Spanish, superhero, Tea Cakes for Tosh, teen, terrorist recruiters, the Catastrophe, The Rabbi's Cat, ultra-Orthodox, Yiddish, Zen Buddhism | Leave a comment

The Marvels and Pleasures of Rereading

Posted on November 1, 2015 by rosinskynatalie

I am smiling as I sit down today to share thoughts inspired by The Marvels (2015), the newest beautiful book by award-winning author/illustrator Brian Selznick. The Marvels continues the hybrid format—interspersing pages of prose with pages of wordless visual narrative—that … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, hybrid books, picture books | Tagged A Wrinkle in Time, AIDS epidemic, Brian Selznick, British characters, compulsive rereading, Deaf Culture, deaf education, Dennis Severs House, early movie history, Great Expectations, Gunflint Trail, Hugo, hybrid novel, Kidnapped, London, Martin Scorsese, Minnesota, picture book, rereading, Shakespeare, The Adventures of Hugo Cabret, The Boy of a Thousand Faces, The Hugo Movie Companion: A Behind the Scenes Look at How a Beloved Book Became a Major Motion Picture, The Marvels, tween and teen readers, Wonderstruck, wordless storytelling | Leave a comment

Sunny Side Ups and Downs

Posted on September 1, 2015 by rosinskynatalie

Life’s ups and downs for ten-year olds are very different from those of senior citizens. Yet there is also common ground that ultimately unites ten-year old Sunny Lewin and her Gramps in Sunny Side Up (2015). This brand-new, semi-autobiographical memoir … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, memoir, picture books | Tagged 10-year olds, 1970s, 7 to 10 year olds, 8 to 14 year olds, A Year Told through Stuff, BabyMouse Goes for the Gold, Babymouse series, collage, drug abuse, Eighth Grade is Making Me Sick, Elicia Castaldi, Faith Ringgold, Florida, Ginny Davis, granddaughter, Grandfather, Jennifer Holm, Lark Pien, Matthew Holm, memoir, Middle School is Worse than Meatloaf, Newberry Award Honor Book, retirement community, school year, semi-autobiographical memoir, senior citizens, Squish series, start of school, suggested reader ages, Sunny Lewin, Sunny Side Up, superhero comics, Tar Beach, The Fourteenth Goldfish, Turtle in Paradise, tween literature | Leave a comment

Recognizing Words . . . Reading Stories

Posted on April 2, 2015 by rosinskynatalie

Being illiterate was frustrating! In Japan last May, I could not read package labels in grocery stores and pharmacies, follow the directions posted on street maps, or understand the background information displayed on many museum exhibits. Japan’s written language is … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, picture books | Tagged all-ages picture book, Allen Ginsberg, Art Spiegelman, Bill Thomson, Blood Song--A Silent Ballad, Chalk, David Weisner, Erik Drooker, Flood! A Novel in Pictures, Frans Masereel, Franz Kafka, Gods' Man, Howl, illiteracy, illiterate, immigrant, immigration, Japanese, Kanji Pict-O-Graphics, Lynd Ward, Maus, Michael Rowley, New York City, Otto Nuckel, Peter Kuper, picture book audiences, picture books, reading, Shaun Tan, Si Lewen, The Arrival, The Metamorphosis, The System, Tuesday, wordless books, Wordless!, World War III Illustrated | Leave a comment

Summertime Lessons

Posted on August 8, 2014 by rosinskynatalie

It’s summer and school vacation time here in the Northern Hemisphere. In Australian author/illustrator Shaun Tan’s ‘neighborhood,’ though, December through February are the warmest months, bringing students their long school vacation. Regardless of this geographical difference, both Tan and the … Continue reading →

Posted in graphic novels, picture books | Tagged Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Jillian Tamaki, Mariko Tamaki, Oscars, Rules of Summer, Shaun Tan, The Lost Thing, This One Summer | Leave a comment