I’m taking part in the Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Ruth and Stacey over at Two Writing Teachers. I hope to write every day for the month of March and then continue weekly each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slices. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.

Nonfiction is one of the book gaps I have been trying to fill this year.  Graphic novels are another gap.  It has been harder for me to fill this book gap.  It’s not because there aren’t quality graphic novels out there.  There many, with more coming every day.  It’s not that my students don’t read them.  They do, especially the groups I have this year.  My graphic novel shelf is usually empty, or nearly so.  No, the problem is with me as a reader.  I forget to slow down and look at the pictures.  Since half the story is told through the pictures in a graphic novel, I miss a lot until I remember, “Look at the pictures before you go to the next frame.”  I wonder if that’s how some of my students feel when reading a text novel if they haven’t learned to visualize while reading.  No wonder they don’t enjoy it.

During spring break, I’m catching up on graphic novels that I can take back to share with my students.  They are going to love these even more than I did.

The Red Pyramid Graphic Novel (Disney Hyperion 2012) by Rick Riordan, adapted by Orpheus Collar

I loved The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, but it’s hefty page count can be intimidating to some readers.  This graphic novel version will pull in those readers looking for lots of action and danger.  New dangers wait for Sadie and Carter Kane around every corner as they discover secrets of their family’s past and seek to reawaken the paths of the gods, the Egyptian gods.  Along the way they have to rescue their uncle and stop Set from destroying the world in chaos.  Did I mention the magicians who are trying to kill them, too?  I enjoyed the vivid pictures and fast-moving panels, but I missed the voices of Sadie and Carter, who alternate telling the tale in the original.

I love George O’Connor’s Olympians series.  So far I have four of them, and I just saw on GoodReads that the fifth one is out.  There goes more money to a bookstore.  Even though each book focuses on one of the Olympians, the stories include so much more that help draw connections between the Greek myths.  A chart in the beginning of each outlines the family tree of Greek gods and goddesses.  The author’s note in the back explains how O’Connnor chose his retelling.  Each book also includes discussion questions and a fact sheet on each god or goddess.  I like the modern connections given on each.  The vivid drawings and fast-moving panels show these gods and goddesses as the first superheroes

Zeus:  King of the Gods (First Second 2010)

Zeus’s story begins before his birth with the existence of Kaos, Gaea, and Ouranos.   It continues with the birth of the Titans and the eventual battle between the Titans and the Olympians.  Don’t worry, Zeus reappears many times in the later books as well.

Hera:  The Goddess and Her Glory (First Second 2011)

Hera not only claims her place as queen beside Zeus, she is the only one who has any chance of keeping him in line.  Her story is interwoven with that of Heracles, or “the glory of Hera.”  Why would a goddess intent on punishing a human charge him with challenges that would lead to his immortality?  Heracles and Hera may not have liked each other, but their stories are forever linked.

Hades:  Lord of the Dead (First Second 2012)

The story of Hades cannot be complete without the story of Demeter and Persephone.  I like O’Connor’s take on these stories.  Maybe Hades is not completely a bad guy (even if he does rule over the dead).  Maybe Persephone found good reason to remain in the Underworld for part of the year.

Athena:  Grey-Eyed Goddess (First Second 2010)

Not only is Athena my favorite goddess, but this is my favorite book so far.  The three fates oor Furies take turns telling stories of Athena, from her birth to her exploits as a warrior. Athena is smart, strong, and cool under fire.  Not only all that, but we get to admire the hero Perseus as well, as he seeks to find and behead Medusa.