Graphic Novels for Kids: Why They Count and How to Read Them Together

Ask a room of parents about graphic novels and someone will say, with some worry, “It’s all my kid wants to read.” The worry is understandable, and it is mostly misplaced. Graphic novels ask a lot of readers. They are also, for many children, the books that make reading feel like theirs.

Are graphic novels “real reading”?

Yes. A graphic novel is a book-length story told in comics form: sequential panels combining pictures and words. The format can carry memoir, history, fantasy, humor, and literary fiction, and it does so at every level from early reader to adult.

The skepticism persists anyway. In Children and Libraries, a journal of the American Library Association’s children’s division, two librarians describe teachers, librarians, and other adults who still regard graphic novels as “fluff” or not “real books.” Their argument in response is that comics teach visual literacy — the ability to draw meaning from images — and require comprehension not only of words and pictures but of the empty space between them. They also point out that the format can open doors for English language learners and readers with learning differences.

It helps to notice what a comics reader is actually doing:

• Combining two streams of information. The words and pictures often say different things, and the meaning comes from putting them together.
• Inferring what happens between panels. The reader fills in the action that isn’t drawn.
• Reading faces and body language. Much of a character’s feeling is shown, not said.
• Tracking pacing. Panel size, page layout, and wordless sequences slow a story down or speed it up.

The literary establishment has noticed. In our catalog alone, El Deafo received a Newbery Honor, New Kid won the Newbery Medal in 2020, and American Born Chinese won the Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature in 2007.

That doesn’t mean a child should read only graphic novels forever — any reader benefits from variety. But a child devouring comics is a child who reads, and that is the foundation everything else is built on. If you’re working with a child who resists reading, our guide to helping reluctant readers has more ideas.

How to read comics with a child

Children who grow up with comics usually figure out the conventions on their own. Others, especially younger readers and children new to the format, benefit from a little guidance. Adults who didn’t grow up reading comics often find these tips useful too.

Panels and reading order

A panel is one box on the page — a single moment. In English-language comics, panels are generally read left to right and top to bottom, like text. But layouts vary: a tall panel might span two rows, or panels might be arranged in an unusual pattern for effect. When a page looks confusing, trace the order with your finger together.

Within a panel, speech bubbles are also generally read left to right and top to bottom. A bubble placed higher is usually spoken first.

Gutters

The gutter is the space between panels. It looks like nothing, but it’s where a lot of the reading happens: the reader has to imagine what happened between one moment and the next. A good question to ask a young reader is, “What happened in between these two pictures?”

Speech, thought, and narration

• Speech bubbles have a tail pointing at the speaker.
• Thought bubbles are often cloud-shaped, or connected by small circles.
• Caption boxes usually hold narration or a description of time and place.
• Lettering carries tone: big bold letters for shouting, small or wavy letters for whispering or uncertainty, jagged bubbles for alarm.

Sound effects and wordless panels

Sound effects (“BOOM,” “creeeak”) are part of the art. Wordless panels are not blank spaces to skip; slow down and ask what’s happening, and how the character feels.

Reading comics aloud

Graphic novels are harder to read aloud than prose, because so much of the story is in the pictures. A few approaches:

• Sit side by side so you can both see the page.
• Read the speech and let your child narrate the pictures, or take turns playing characters.
• Pause on wordless sequences and let your child describe what’s happening.
• Point to each bubble as you read it, so your child connects the voice to the speaker.

Graphic novels by age

The ages below are editorial and approximate. Children vary, and so do families’ preferences about content.

Comics-style early readers (about 4 to 7)

Early readers that use speech bubbles are a natural introduction to comics conventions. The Elephant & Piggie books are written almost entirely in dialogue:

• My Friend Is Sad: Piggie’s costume parade for a gloomy Gerald is told entirely in speech bubbles, so a child practises tracking who is talking, the first skill comics ask for.
• We Are in a Book!: Gerald and Piggie realize they’re being read, and decide to make the reader say a funny word.

A bridge for confident readers (about 8 to 12)

• Flora & Ulysses: not a graphic novel but a prose novel with comic-panel sections, about a squirrel who gains superpowers after an encounter with a vacuum cleaner. It won the Newbery Medal in 2014, and the mix of formats and big vocabulary make it a fun stretch.

Middle grade (about 8 to 13)

• Smile: Raina Telgemeier’s memoir of a sixth-grade dental injury, the braces that followed, and friendships that shifted along the way. A common first graphic novel for upper-elementary readers.
• El Deafo: Cece Bell’s memoir of losing her hearing as a child, in which a powerful hearing aid makes her feel like a superhero. It is honest about feeling different, and very funny.
• New Kid: Jerry Craft’s story of Jordan Banks, an aspiring artist starting seventh grade at a mostly white private school instead of art school. Funny and observant about race and class.

For teens (about 12 and up)

These are teen titles, and each includes content worth knowing about in advance.

• American Born Chinese: Gene Luen Yang ties together three separate stories, one drawn from the Monkey King legend, about identity and belonging. One strand uses an exaggerated stereotype on purpose, to criticize it; plan to discuss it.
• March: Book One: nonfiction in comics form, in which John Lewis, with co-writer Andrew Aydin and artist Nate Powell, begins the story of his years in the civil rights movement. It includes depictions of violence.
• The Iliad: Gareth Hinds retells the Trojan War in pictures, which makes a famously long poem manageable. The battle scenes are violent.

Making room for graphic novels at home

• Don’t ration them. Treating comics as a reward for reading “real” books sends the message that comics aren’t real books.
• Read them yourself. Pick up the one your child is rereading. You’ll understand the appeal, and you’ll have something to talk about.
• Talk about the art. Ask why the artist made a panel so big, or what a character’s face is telling you.
• Follow a favorite creator. A child who loved one book by an author-illustrator will often read everything else they’ve made.
• Pair formats. A graphic memoir can lead to a prose memoir; a graphic adaptation can lead to the original.

For more, browse the graphic novels topic, the 9–12 and teens age pages, or filter by format in the book finder. The compare tool can help you weigh two titles side by side.