The 10th annual NEA Big Read is off and running and, for the first time ever, one of the 2023 chosen books is a graphic novel.
The Middle Read book this year is “New Kid” by Jerry Craft. Published in 2019, it has won three major awards, including the Newbery Medal, Coretta Scott King Author Award and Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature. “New Kid” not only shows the tumultuous experiences of middle school, but also thoughtfully unpacks how race and class can influence these experiences for kids and those who perceive them. Ultimately, it is a story of growing up, fitting in, and learning how to find what we believe.
When many people think of graphic novels, they envision superheroes or action adventures with entire pages dedicated to sound effects. These kinds of texts fit under the graphic novel umbrella, but so many others. Like any type of art, graphic novels span a variety of genres, approaches, and audiences. Graphic novels can be fiction or non-fiction. They can be memoirs or science fiction. They can be written for elementary-age readers or adults.
Graphic novels are engaging because they require two skills to be active at once by asking the reader to use both reading and visual comprehension skills. Doing both tasks at once is challenging enough to keep readers engaged, but neither skill is overworked, so readers don’t tire easily. Despite popular belief, having pictures in a book doesn’t make the words easier to read, and the words don’t make the pictures unnecessary. In graphic novels, both elements come together to build something greater than the sum of its parts. graphic novels and comics use pictures intentionally. There is a specific language in the illustrations, and when readers are mindful of what they’re seeing, it’s incredibly rewarding to learn this language. As movies, TV shows, and online videos take up more space in the media landscape, we need mediums like graphic novels that help us develop visual literacy skills.
Because graphic novels can be finished quickly, they are often reread. This allows for a greater depth of understanding. Small details, subtext, and finer style details jump out on a second read or viewing of any text. Many traditional novels are worth rereading, but few people feel they have the time, even if it is a worthwhile practice. Ideally, young readers of graphic novels will build the habit of rereading and as they diversify their reading they will apply the habit to other texts. Graphic novels have the potential to make the next generation of readers allow books to be something that lives in their minds, not just on their shelves.
When I ask kids about the graphic novel in their hands, their faces light up, even if the older teens try to hide their excitement. One student told me he had read the graphic novel at least five times, the truth of his statement in the broken spine and torn pages of the graphic novel he held in his hands. Another student opened the graphic novels she was reading to show me an illustration that looked just like her. Everything about the character’s posture, expression, and something indescribable in the art spoke to what she was feeling and it deeply resonated with her. Older students have told me that non-fiction graphic novels helped them “really get” history in ways that textbooks didn’t.
So, why should we read graphic novels? We should read graphic novels because they are highly regarded in the literary community, have meaningful storylines, themes, and character development and offer a different way to tell a story. If you’ve never read a graphic novel before, use the Big Read’s 2023 program as your excuse to read one! Pick up a copy of “New Kid” at a bookstore or library. Meet Jerry Craft at one of the Big Read author events. Best of all, read a great story that encourages readers of all ages to think about identity and community. You’ll be better for it.
— Hannah Lever is a senior at Hope College studying English secondary education and has been an avid reader of all things, but especially comics and graphic novels for as long as she could read.