Comics – First Steps To Happiness

One fifth of teenagers in England leave school functionally illiterate, a recent study has shown, meaning that their literacy levels are below those expected of an eleven year old. This is causing widespread concern among teachers, employers and the government especially in light of research which undeniably links a person’s literacy levels with their success and happiness in life – with ramifications for the health and economic stability of the nation.

Reading for pleasure has been revealed by research as the most important indicator of the future success of a child. It demonstrates that people with poor literacy skills are less likely to find work, be promoted or own their own home – and even that they are more likely to get divorced and to view others with mistrust.

This can be a worrying issue for parents who may feel powerless to encourage reading for pleasure against a backdrop of other strong media temptations such as the games console and the television. It is often boys who are the most at risk.

Speaking at the London Book Fair in April 2010, successful crime writer Ian Rankin spoke passionately of his belief that one of the key reasons teenage boys are not reading more for pleasure is the demise of the pocket money comic book on the newsstand. He believes that in previous years a great number of boys were introduced to the pleasures of reading through poring over a comic book and that we need to look to them as a way to re-inspire a love of reading.

Rankin advocates comics, not necessarily as the whole solution – but certainly as a ‘rung on the literacy ladder’ - as well as a stepping stone to otherwise potentially inaccessible works. He described how his own son, initially disinterested in Shakespeare, had been given a graphic novel version of one of his plays. Having read this in a single sitting, the boy then astonished his dad with a suggestion that they go to see the play performed in the theatre.

Rankin is not alone in his conviction. Nobel Prize Winner Bishop Desmond Tutu once confided “One of the things I am very grateful to my father for is that, contrary to conventional educational prin­ciples, he allowed me to read comics. I think that is how I developed a love for English and for reading.â€�

The power of the graphic novel lies in its ability to easily engage young readers who are drawn to the frames of visual, fast paced action which closely reflect the familiar visual appeal of the screen. As a medium, graphic novels are less threatening and more accessible, not to mention cooler, than their chapter book counterparts.

This does not mean that they need be educationally unworthy, however – although you do need to choose carefully.

The graphic novels from Raintree Publishing are widely used within schools as a valuable literacy tool. This is not just because of the way they catch the students’ attention and fly off the library shelves, but also because of their educational value: Raintree’s graphics have been carefully crafted to ensure that the layout of the frames is clear, not confusing, with an linear reading order which reflects that of a chapter book; the speech within the speech bubbles is in normal lower and uppercase text, rather than in the capitals seen so often in graphic novels, which can be difficult to read; the book is divided into chapters. Everything is devised to support learning and to allow young people to progress onto reading and enjoying chapter books. There are even discussion and creative writing tasks at the end to invite analysis of the text and self expression.

Click for details on great graphic fiction and non-fiction from Raintree Publishing