By Monika Trzeciakowski
This month we’re reading a comic by an author from a marginalized community! Comics are one of my favourite formats for reading books and they have great benefits. Comics are a great format for reluctant readers, but they’re also great for any reader who wants to improve their visual literacy. Looking at the images in a comic helps readers to figure out the context of a scene and catch small details about characters, their relationships, and their personalities. What can you learn from reading our suggestions below?
1) Wallpaper by Thao Lam (Picture Book)
This wordless picture book uses comic book panels to tell the story of a young girl whose family moves into a new house. Outside, she can hear other kids playing, but she’s too shy to say hello. So she picks at the old wallpaper in her room—revealing an entryway to a fantastic imaginary adventure world behind the walls.
There, she runs between the vibrant and varied environments—surrounded by birds, swimming in a frog pond, in a herd of art-deco sheep—as she finds herself chased by a monster. He is frightening at first, until it becomes clear he simply wants to be her friend. When it comes time to go back to reality, the girl feels inspired with the courage to approach the other kids and say hello.
2) Gamerville by Johnnie Christmas (Middle Grade)
A video gamer’s championship aspirations are dashed when his parents send him to Camp Reset, where electronics are forbidden and you’re forced to socialize, eat healthy, and spend time outside. Gamerville is a timely and vulnerable exploration of the importance of human connection and what it means to run in a pack, brought to you by award-winning author Johnnie Christmas.
Max Lightning is howling at the moon—he’s finally qualified for Gamerville, a championship where players compete to be top dog in the multiplayer video game Lone Wolf of Calamity Bay. But his dreams of domination are doomed when his parents send him to Camp Reset. Gone are the long nights of downing energy drinks and getting copious amounts of screen time. They’ve been replaced with fresh air and group activities under the hot sun—a shock to the system for a lone wolf like Max. Can Max escape Camp Reset and level up at Gamerville, or has he finally played his last match?
3) Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa (Young Adult)
Award-winning author Jen Ferguson has written a powerful story about teens grappling with balancing resentment with enduring friendship—and how to move forward with a life that’s not what they’d imagined.
Before that awful Saturday, Molly used to be inseparable from her brother, Hank, and his best friend, Tray. The indoor climbing accident that left Hank with a traumatic brain injury filled Molly with anger.
While she knows the accident wasn’t Tray’s fault, she will never forgive him for being there and failing to stop the damage. But she can’t forgive herself for not being there either.
Determined to go on the trio’s postgraduation hike of the Pacific Crest Trail, even without Hank, Molly packs her bag. But when her parents put Tray in charge of looking out for her, she is stuck backpacking with the person who incites her easy anger.
Despite all her planning, the trail she’ll walk has a few more twists and turns ahead…
