We interupt your homeschool schedule for this...

A while back, Big Sister had stumbled upon a Warriors graphic novel at Barnes and Noble. She really, really, really wanted the book, and despite the fact that I was skeptical of her ever reading it (many a book has come home, only to be set aside when she quickly loses interest - that's why we love the public library), I went ahead and bought it for her. She devoured it. She couldn't pull herself away. All too quickly, the story was over - and the next one in the series wasn't due out for months. I was totally excited because I assumed a huge breakthrough had been made and she would suddenly be reading everything. I was only partially right - it really was a huge breakthrough, but it didn't carry over into further reading of much else.

Thankfully the second book was released a couple weeks ago, and we were finally able to go pick it up yesterday. Again, she's glued to this book. Anything that has my kid riveted enough that she reads for two hours straight totally gets two thumbs up from me. A few weeks back (during the infamous discussion) she had expressed to me that there wasn't anything she was interested in reading. These books are obviously the exception. The words can be challenging, but she's inspired to work through them, and the drawings provide enough visual clues that she can sort it all out.

There are multiple series in the Warriors "manga" collection (I think they are more accurately described as graphic novels, or 80+ page comic books to you old folks out there). I found a good description of the first couple of books in an earlier series at the Graphic Novel Reporter.

While searching the internet, I also found more info on graphic novels and education:
"Comics in the Classroom" from UNC at Chapel Hill

Using Graphic Novels in the Classroom, for teachers and librarians (.pdf) is a great resource for answering questions about what graphic novels are, and how they benefit young readers, especially struggling readers. "Graphic novels can also help improve reading development for students struggling with language acquisition, as the illustrations provide contextual clues to the meaning of the written narrative. When graphic novels are made available to young people, even those deemed “poor readers” willingly and enthusiastically gravitate towards these books. Providing young people with diverse reading materials, including graphic novels, can help them become lifelong readers.

The Graphic Classroom - includes reviews of graphic novels for kids, as well as links to other similar websites.

So, in short (ha, ha, ha...) I was more than willing to set aside my homeschool plans for the morning, and let my reluctant reader sit on the couch devouring "Tigerstar and Sasha: Escape From the Forest" for two hours straight. I LOVE seeing her do that.