Current:Home > FinanceMore books are being adapted into graphic novels. Here's why that’s a good thing. -Wealth Empowerment Academy
More books are being adapted into graphic novels. Here's why that’s a good thing.
View
Date:2025-04-14 02:42:58
Classic novels are getting a makeover.
You may have noticed familiar titles such as "The Baby-Sitters Club" series, "The Jungle," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Parable of the Sower," and "Watership Down," rereleased in recent years as graphic novel adaptations.
Graphic novels are long-format books that, like comic books, use illustrations alongside text as the method of storytelling.
Here's why publishers are leaning more into the graphic novel format – whether adaptations of literature and well-loved series, reimagined classics or original titles – and why it's a good thing for readers.
Graphic novels bring new audiences to old stories
Many of the graphic novel titles that have been big hits with readers are adaptations of previously published novels, says Kaitlin Ketchum, editorial director for Ten Speed Graphic, an imprint of Penguin Random House that launched in 2023.
Check out: USA TODAY's weekly Best-selling Booklist
"They see that it's a way to expand their readership and to get their content into different people's hands. It's a way to make the content a lot more accessible and approachable," Ketchum says.
The “Baby-Sitters Club” adaptations are a good example of new young readers finding the series via the graphic novels and “jump-starting the series again,” helping open the door for more adaptations, says David Saylor, vice president and publisher for Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic.
More:20 book-to-screen adaptations in 2024: ‘Bridgerton,’ ‘It Ends With Us,’ ’Wicked,’ more
Younger readers embrace graphic novels like never before
When the Graphix imprint launched in 2005 “there were still mixed feelings about graphic novels,” Saylor says.
That’s not surprising. When I was growing up, I was told comic books, Japanese manga and graphic novels didn’t count as “real books.” It’s a sentiment that may be a holdover from decades ago when the government conducted investigations into the comic book industry in the 1950s, during which a US Senate subcommittee was even created to see if there was a link between comic books and juvenile delinquency.
But graphic novels are real books, and they have real value for literacy growth. Graphic novels can be appealing and familiar for some readers, in particular young or reluctant readers. And literacy experts agree.
“The acquisition of skills begins with engagement and enjoyment,” says author, education expert and counselor Tracee Perryman. “Literacy strategies are more effective when we build connections between the content and the child's interests.”
Graphic novels present a learning opportunity and can be a way to appeal to a young reader’s interest through illustration. For young or reluctant readers, graphic novels can a gateway to the wider world of reading.
“Librarians were at the forefront of it, they've embraced graphic novels for years,” Saylor says. “Back in 2005, they were telling us that the most checked out books in their collections were the graphic novels.”
How graphic novels can aid literacy growth
Because graphic novels, in particular adaptations, can be more approachable for some readers, “we see a lot of pickup in educational markets for books like that, which is really cool and gratifying to see,” Ketchum says. “We'll actually create teacher's guides that include not just stuff about the content of the book, but also about the graphic format.”
And graphic novels and comic books can actually help young readers expand their imagination around what they are reading.
More:What is Afrofuturism and why should you be reading it? We explain.
“Graphic novels are a way for children to use context clues to dig deeper into a plot,” Perryman says, “and then that sets the stage for better understanding of the main ideas and the theme of the story.”
The format can even encourage re-reading. Illustrators adapting classics or working on original titles must bring visual context to the storytelling, weaving nuance (and often Easter eggs) from the world-building in previous prose. Graphic novels are more than pictures on a page. Sometimes words are not enough.
“We live in this incredibly visual world where we have to be very media literate,” Ketchum says, “but we also have to be visually literate.”
veryGood! (8139)
Related
- Family of explorer who died in the Titan sub implosion seeks $50M-plus in wrongful death lawsuit
- Wildfire forces Alaska’s Denali National Park to temporarily close entrance
- More evaluation ordered for suspect charged in stabbings at Massachusetts movie theater, McDonald’s
- Police officer fatally shoots man at homeless shelter in northwest Minnesota city of Crookston
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- Over 100 stranded Dolphins in Cape Cod are now free, rescue teams say − for now
- Klay Thompson is leaving the Warriors and will join the Mavericks, AP sources say
- Hurricane Beryl maps show path and landfall forecast
- Audit: California risked millions in homelessness funds due to poor anti-fraud protections
- Napa Valley Wine Train uses new technology to revitalize a classic ride
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Napa Valley Wine Train uses new technology to revitalize a classic ride
- Messi injury update: Back to practice with Argentina, will he make Copa América return?
- Horoscopes Today, June 30, 2024
- USA women's basketball live updates at Olympics: Start time vs Nigeria, how to watch
- West Virginia governor pushing for another income tax cut as time in office winds down
- California budgets up to $12 million for reparations bills, a milestone in atoning for racist legacy
- Trump seeks to set aside New York verdict hours after Supreme Court ruling
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Beyoncé's influence felt at BET Awards as Shaboozey, Tanner Adell highlight country music
Lawsuit accuses Iran, Syria and North Korea of providing support for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel
Richardson, McLaughlin and Lyles set to lead the Americans to a big medal haul at Olympic track
Drones warned New York City residents about storm flooding. The Spanish translation was no bueno
Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on July 4th? Here's what to know
Nelly Korda withdraws from London tournament after being bitten by a dog
Will Smith returns to music with uplifting BET Awards 2024 performance of 'You Can Make It'