Graphic Novels: New Shoes and Stargazing
- harrisonse
- Sep 8, 2020
- 8 min read
New Shoes
Summary:
This week I read New Shoes by Sara Varon. This graphic novel takes the reader straight into South America with information and pictures about the different plant and animal species native to the land. The main character in this book is Francis, a shoemaker who is given a very important job at the start of the book; to make shoes for his favorite celebrity. He needs to visit his friend, Nigel, who always supplies him with materials for the shoes he makes. Surprised when he cannot find Nigel, Francis decides to venture into the jungle with his friend Rhoda to try and find the materials himself. While on this journey, the two learn that Nigel was captured for stealing materials and may need their help. Eventually they are able to free Nigel by negotiating with his capturers. Francis made a deal that he would grow his own materials, so they did not have to bother their new jungle friends anymore. In the end, Francis was able to make the best shoes, or vehicle, for his favorite celebrity and enjoyed her concert with all of his friends, new and old.
My Thoughts:
While reading this book I noticed a wide variety of text features being utilized by the author to aid the reader in navigating a graphic novel. Sara Varon often uses arrows to show that a reader is doing something, moving a certain direction, or is looking at something. These arrows can be very helpful for the reader in noticing things going on in the story, aside from what the text on the page tells them. Another text feature I noticed frequently in this book were motion lines to represent a character moving in the story. She also uses lines around a character’s face occasionally to show that they are surprised or worried. These features help the reader better understand how the character is feeling without using words to do so. Another text feature I noticed and appreciated were the labels Varon included when introducing the reader to new plants or animals Francis experienced while in the jungle. Since a lot of the species saw would be unfamiliar to young readers these labels are very helpful in keeping the reader informed. When reading a graphic novel, the words and pictures both play a crucial part in telling the story, using text features, as previously mentioned, can help the reader decipher the full story the author is trying to tell. In the picture I have included below you see a lot of these textual features being utilized, the arrows to direct the reader, motion lines to show that they were hot from running, and “sound words” like “thump” and “pant” for their hearts beating fast.
There were a few social issues I noticed being discussed throughout the story. These issues were subtle but could lead to a deep discussion in the classroom through a lesson. One of the issues I saw being discussed was stealing. In the story it is revealed that Nigel had been stealing materials for Francis from someone in the jungle. Within the story Nigel shared why he did what he did and apologized, which I think is an important thing to teach students. Although it is not okay to steal from someone, you must apologize for your wrong doings in order to move forward. Another social issue I noticed was that going to new places can be scary but also worth it. Francis was able to learn so much while exploring the jungle. He never would have this new knowledge or this exciting experience if he did not step out of his comfort zone. This shows the reader that even though it can be scary to go somewhere new, you could learn a lot of new things! Francis was able to learn how to swim, how to grow his own tiger grass, and about a lot of new plants and animals just by being brave enough to go on this journey. You could have your students share an experience where they tried something new even if they were a little scared to try it in the beginning. Once students have shared, then you could have them write about something they would like to try but have been too nervous to. This could be an interesting prompt for students because it will allow them to think about pushing themselves to try something new and everyone’s story would be so different.
I have also been reading the textbook titled Reading to Make a Difference and wanted to discuss some connections I made between this text and New Shoes. Chapter 7 in this text talks about how important it is to be kind and considerate to people you encounter in your life, whether it is a friend or someone new. This text also mentions that reflection is important for a reader to practice after finishing a book but also in their everyday life. At one point in New Shoes, Francis was going over what Nigel had done in his head. He took the time to try and understand why his friend did what he did but also that stealing was not okay. This is a good example of reflection for young readers because it shows them that if you do not fully understand something that has happened, it could be beneficial for you to take some time to think about it on your own.
For more information on the author please visit the website below:
Stargazing
Summary:
Another book I read this week was Stargazing by Jen Wang. This is a graphic novel that tells the story of two young friends who shared many differences but also quite a few similarities. The main character, Christine, meets Moon, who will become her best friend by the end of the book, in the beginning of this novel. Moon’s family was struggling so they were going to rent out a guest house that was in Christine’s yard. Although the two seemed very different and you would not have expected a friendship to blossom, once they began talking they became friends quickly. Throughout the book the two encourage each other to try new things, like listening to new music, Chinese language classes, and dancing. Their friendship continued to grow as they became closer and spent more time together, but a conflict arose when another friend came into the picture. This new friend upset Christine because she was worried she would lose her friend, Moon. At the end of the story, it is revealed that Moon has a tumor in her brain that has caused her to see many visions that were described throughout the story. In the end, the two work out their differences and share how much their friendship means to one another.
My Thoughts:
Throughout this story I noticed a lot of text features that were frequently implemented to support the story that was being told. You can see this being done in almost any graphic novel, but each varies depending on the style of the author. In Stargazing I noticed a lot of motion lines to signify when a character or an object was moving. These lines were used to signify a character dancing, pushing something across the table, or throwing a sock. None of these actions would have been as noticeable without the author utilizing these motion lines. Another text feature I noticed in this book were “sound words” placed in certain areas to show that an action was happening. You can see this in the book when someone is knocking on a door, the author used “knock knock” by the character’s hand to show she was knocking. Also, in the story a character was holding a stress ball to help her calm down, to show the reader what was happening the author included “squeeze” by the ball. In the image below, you will see a spread from this book where a lot of text features, such as “sound words” and motion lines, are used. In addition to this, you can see a lot of emotion being displayed by each character although there are very few words to tell you how the characters are feeling. If you look at Moon (the girl wearing the green shirt) you can see that she is angry, hitting another character, and her red face shows that she is very worked up. You can tell that she was so upset by her friends making fun of her, which occurred on the previous page, by the events taking place in these illustrations. More than just being angry, Moon felt betrayed and embarrassed because of what her friends had said, which can clearly be noticed by looking at her face throughout this spread. Before reading this section of the book, I would have students work in a group to analyze this spread because there is a lot to look at. They would work their way across the spread analyzing each of the characters' feelings through just using the illustrations and text features. Are they scared? Are they angry? Why do you think that? This activity could help students analyze books using more than just the text, which is a crucial literacy concept for students to begin developing. Once the students finished analyzing this image, I would then read this section from the book so they could then compare and contrast their inferences with what actually occurred in the story. How was your inference similar? How was it different? Is there anything you notice in this image after reading that you didn't notice before?
I also noticed quite a few social issues being discussed in this book, but they differ from those I noticed in New Shoes. One of the bigger social issues I noticed in this book was the expectation for young girls to look and act a certain way in Chinese culture. Although this is typically discussed using stereotypes, this book portrays this issue well. Christine’s father expected her to excel in school, wear certain clothes, and to stay away from accessories like nail polish and makeup. He became upset when he saw that she was wearing nail polish and said to her “But you know, things like clothes, makeup, and nail polish are just things to keep smart girls like you from succeeding” (pg. 114). Towards the end of the book Christine shares her dismay with this expectation to her father and I was happy to see that he took the time to listen and understand her rather than continuing to push his high expectations onto his daughter. This is something that all young girls, especially those who are culturally similar to Christine, experience at some point in their lives with their father, or father figure. I thought this was a very mature way of incorporating this ideal into the story and would be beneficial for young girls to read.
While reading this book I was also able to make some connections to what I read in chapter 7 from Reading to Make a Difference. As mentioned previously this chapter speaks a lot about how important it is to be kind, and that can be seen in this story. In the beginning Christine learned that Moon would be staying in her family’s guest house. She was worried because she heard her classmates sharing negative stories about this new girl. Although it was not something Christine wanted to do, her parents told her that it was important to help this family in any way they could because they were in need. This was a very kind act for Christine’s family, but also choosing to put aside the negative stories she had heard and giving Moon a chance was a kind act in itself. Christine could have treated Moon poorly because of what she had heard, which is what many young girls in her situation would have done, but instead she chose to give her a chance and it led to her making a new best friend. This shows young readers how important it is to not judge a book by its cover and to give new people a chance before making any judgements.
For more information on the author please visit the website below:
Below I have included a Book Comparison Chart I filled out that analyzes each of these texts across a wide range of topics.
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