Year's Best 2012 Non-Fiction or Historical Fiction Graphic Novels

3 days ago

3 days ago

In line with ABC Wednesday's "Y" week and the close of 2012, I thought I'd share my favorite non-fiction and historical fiction kids' graphic novels with you.  Each of these works would be assets to home and school libraries and lessons. For those of you interested in a wider reading list, I have also included links by other librarians and graphic novel aficionados listing their 2012 favorites as well.


I thank you all for your visits this past year, and wish for all of us that 2013 be a year of peace, prosperity, good health, happiness and success.

Silence of our Friends by Mark Long, Jim Demonakos and Nate Powell (First Second Books, Grades 6+) - a true story about a while male reporter and his family living in Texas during the Civil Rights Movement. The father must make career and life choices while trying to do the 'right thing.' The struggles of segregation and the Civil Rights movement are clearly and sensitively depicted.

Baby's In Black by Arne Bellstorf (First Second Books, Grade 6+) tells the story of the early Beatles (pre-Ringo) and their life in Germany before Ed Sullivan and their rise to fame.  It is a wonderful look at Europe in the 1960's pop culture and the significant cultural 'happenings' and salons that shaped our modern culture today.

Marathon by Boaz Yakin and Joe Infurnari (First Second Books, Grades 6+) tells the story of Eucles and The Battle of Marathon. Eucles, an Athenian messenger in the year 49 ran over 300 miles to save Ancient Greece from being subjugated into the Persian Empire. The Battle of Marathon was the turning point in ancient history, and the foundation of the modern Olympic games.

Victory - Book 3 of the Resistance Trilogy by Carla Jablonski and Leleand Purvis (First Second Books, Grade 5+) Relates how a family in France, torn apart by World War II must deal with decisions made in Books 1 and 2, and the consequences each member faces as a result as the war draws to an end. 

XOC by Matt Dembicki (ONI Press, all ages) follows the journey of a great white shark from the Farallon Islands off the coast of San Francisco to Hawaii and back. The author uses exceptional prose, vocabulary and alliteration as he describes the life of a female shark and the perils (natural and man-made) she must face on her journey to spawn her pup.

Sumo by Thien Pahm (First Second Books, Grades 9+) is a wonderfully affirming story for teens and young adults that things will work out as told through an aspiring football player turned sumo wrestler.  Readers learn about the sumo wrestling culture and discipline while following the story of Scott's move from the US and his NFL dreams to Japan.

Little White Duck: A Childhood in China by Na Liu and Andres Vera Martinez (Graphic Universe, 2012) is a collection of eight moving stories based on the author's life of her childhood in China during the 1970' and 80's.  Here is an excerpt of a review from The New York Times ( "A Child's View of China" November 9, 2012 by Gene Luen Yang)

"“Little White Duck” isn’t Communist propaganda. It is at once more innocent and more sophisticated. What Liu and Martínez do is convey a child’s-eye view of a country in transition. Politics, culture and history play into their stories, but the reader’s awareness of them is a child’s awareness. The mural of Mao and the ancient gods and the colorful posters encouraging patriotic behavior are probably important, but fireworks, schemes to catch rats and pretty jackets with soft little white duck-shaped patches are so much more interesting."

I'm Not a Plastic Bag by Rachel Hope-Allison (Archaia, All Ages) is a wordless graphic novel that illustrates human impact on our oceans as it follows a used plastic bag that begins as refuse on the top of a leafless tree in the city and ends up as part of The Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  There is an extensive  appendix at the end of the book with information on The North Pacific Gyre (Great Pacific Garbage Patch),  Top Ten Items Found in Ocean Debris, Descriptions of Threatened Marine Wildlife, and How You can Help.

Continuing Non-fiction/Historical Fiction Series of value for home and school:

• Squish Series (Ages 7+)  Jennifer and Matt Holm continue to weave marvelous adventures and challenges for Squish, Peggy and Pod, our favorite single-celled 'young adult' characters.
• Hades by George O'Connor Olympians series (Ages 8+)  a collection of books each focusing on a different Greek God/myth.  These books contain detailed, accurate myths and stories, breathtaking art, suggested lesson plans, suggested supplemental reading lists, and a family tree of the Greek gods.
• Crogan's Loyalty by Chris Schweizer (ONI Press, Grades 4+) Schweizer uses the Crogan family tree to  relate famous historical events through the Crogans' perspective. This year's tale, Loyalty focuses on two brothers one who fights for the British and the other for the Coloniesin the American Revolution and must deal with their own issues of family and country loyalty.

"Best of 2012" links for further reading:

• Crave OnLine's The 21 Best Graphic Novels of 2012 
• NPR's "Graphic Novels That Flew Under the Radar in 2012
• GraphicNovelReporter: "The Best Graphic Novels of 2012"
• Bookshelf: Top Ten Graphic Novels of 2012 for Schools and Libraries
• http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-comics-of-2012-graphic-novels-art-comics,90282/ 

Thanks again for your visit.  Please leave your favorite 2012 reads in the comments.  I look forward to many fascinating visits and comments, to reading stimulating posts, and wish you all the very best in 2013!

XOC, Ancient Mayan Word and Awesome Non-fiction Graphic Novel

From: www.onipress.com

Did you know that XOC is the ancient Mayan word for shark? This is one of the facts I learned in XOC: The Journey of a Great White (Matt Dembicki, ONI Press, 2012) an awesome graphic novel written by Matt Dembicki and should be seriously considered for home, school or classroom use for kids of all ages.

More specifically:

"XOC (pronounced "shock") is an ancient Mayan word for demon fish (though there are other translations) and likely the origin of the English word shark. The story behind how it entered the English language is rather interesting. Capt. John Hawkins was said to have brought a carcass of a beast that killed some of his crew while they were pirating off the coast of Mexico. He heard some of the local people call it "xoc" and he apparently brought that term back to the Old World with him. The specimen was exhibited in London in 1569...according to Languagehat.com, a broadsheet post about the fish read:

"There is no proper name for it that I knowe but that sertayne men of Captayne Haukinses doth call it a sharke. And it is to bee seene in London, at the Red Lyon, in Fletestreete."

This alone hooked me in terms of the book's value.  This one page peeked my interest in pirates (and their indirect influence on our modern culture), Captain John Hawkins, Old English, and the origin of "shark." But, read on my friends, because this gem of a graphic novel goes even further.

Xoc is about nature, conservation,  and the story of a female great white shark's voyage to give birth to her pup as told through a combination of 3rd-person narrative and dialogue between seals (about to be hunted), a sea turtle, and Xoc. But this book is more than that:

• It is an outstanding resource of vocabulary (with words such as ferocious, piques, impending, denizens, turbulent, bravado, venture, euphoria, lieage, deftly, satiated, intrigued, exuberance, and silhouettes- for example).
• Dembicki uses alliteration ("this pack of predators...the broadtooth behemoth...the pennipeds (seals)  panic...a cold current hints at impeding change... ), personification ("the blue titan basks in the warm sun...")  and other literary devices to capture our minds and imaginations.
• It is a tremendous resource when learning about :

•  sharks and their prey
• shark migration and the spawning female
• the underwater perils sharks face (orcas, starvation, exhaustion, storms disorienting sea creatures, parasites, pollution and debris of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch)
• how the sun and Earth's magnetic field help the shark navigate and keep her course
• life at the bottom, light-less depths of the ocean off the continental shelf
• how dolphins and hammerhead shark feed and their relation to the great white

In terms of the story, it begins off "the Farallon Islands--some 30 miles off the coast of San Francisco--[which] tend to serve a generous breakfast menu. it is a favorite haunt of this pack of predators [who] arrive with ferocious appetites." As  readers continue we see the sharks' hunting tactics in action. Once (temporarily sated) Xoc's journey continues to Maui where she spawns her pup. Along the way we read about the natural and man-made challenges she must face and maneuver around. We see how pollution, boats, orcas, and storms all  effect her travels and how all under-sea creatures must learn to survive. The art, graphics, panel placements and language are all used to create real tension throughout the tale.

While there is an ending to Xoc's story (which I don't want to spoil), Dembicki provides the reader with other additional resources:

• Author's note - providing additional information about the "Great pacific Garbage Patch" and pollution's effect on the ocean and its inhabitants;
•  "Did You Know?" with fascinating facts to whet anyone's appetite for more;
• More information on sharks and conservation links; and a
• Bibliography worth further exploration

As the teaching suggestions are fairly obvious (and teaching points were noted above when discussing the resources this book offers), I have decided to spend the rest of this post with additional links worth exploring further:


For more information about the book and to read a short story about Xoc's pup, readers should visit http://xocing.blogspot.com/

For more information about XOC and great white sharks visit:

• http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/great-white-shark/ - for information and video links
• http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=38#.UM5Yuba1kaA- for information, maps, video links and additional resources
• http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/species/Greatwhite.shtml - for great information (but non-interactive)

For more information (and extraordinary links) about the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" readers should visit:

•  http://greatpacificgarbagepatch.info/ for information and additional links
• http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/oceanography/great-pacific-garbage-patch.htm - information and additional links
• http://marinedebris.noaa.gov/info/patch.html - for additional links, questions and answers, and locations of numerous 'garbage patches"
• http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/?ar_a=1- for information, additional links and videos

Maybe another new year's resolution might be to make our kids more award of ecological and environmental issues and/or deciding as families and communities to make greater efforts towards minimizing our carbon footprints and polluting agents.

I thank you for your visit and wish all of you a wonderful 2013 - may it bring you and your families joy, peace, good health and success.  I look forward to you comments now and future visits.