SISTERS by Raina Telgemeier

Raina, her sister, brother and their mom drive from California to Colorado and back for a family reunion. Includes flashbacks to previous moments in Raina's life like Raina's desire for a little sister, and what it's like when she gets her wish.

I received an electronic Advanced Reader Copy of this from the publisher. The art was not in color in my version. This is a family story all about siblings, parents and children, extended family, and growing up. My students have been clamoring for this since May - and they won't be disappointed. I know I am going to need multiple copies to keep them satisfied!

4 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at the time of this writing

* I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher for free in the hope that I would review it honestly on my blog. Regardless, I only review books I enjoyed. I don’t believe in passing on negative reviews. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

EL DEAFO by CeCe Bell

Author and illustrator CeCe Bell (wife of author Tom Angleberger) is releasing an autobiographical graphic novel this fall about her experience growing up deaf in the 1970s. I received an Advance Reader Copy of this book at the nErDcampMI conference this summer. Of all the ARCs I received, this was the one that made me giddy! I was halfway through it before the conference even started for the day.

This was great!  It's also a story about childhood - crushes, social roller coasters, schools, etc. It's a friendship story. It's a family story. It's a story of being deaf - and all the well-meaning, clueless and mean responses of others. There's a great author's note about deaf culture and cautions about lumping her experiences into "all deaf people" stereotypes. There's a great "side story" about "El Deafo," Cece's alter-ego superhero figure pictured here on the cover.

I think a teacher with several students reading El Deafo could have some great discussions about relating to people who have different abilities and what it means to be a good friend.

4 out of 5 stars.
Match this one with Smile by Raina Telgemeier. Both could be used as mentor texts for visual story telling as well as autobiographical stories.

El Deafo should release on September 2, 2014.

Graphic Novel Week: SMILE and DRAMA by Raina Telgemeier

Author Raina Telgemeier shares some of her personal story in Smile, a graphic novel about a tween who loses her two front permanent teeth in a fall and the dental work that consumes her life for a season. It's also a story of friendship and finding out who you are - and who you want to be.

In Drama, Callie joins the stage crew for the school production of Moon over Mississippi, but there's more drama than just what is happening on stage. In typical middle school fare, a lot of the drama has to do with relationships. Who likes whom? Who does Callie like? What happens when the boy she likes is really interested in other boys instead?

Both stories were well told in pictures and words. As a middle schooler, I would have loved both of these books. The friendship dramas and crushes all felt very "real" compared to what I remember from those days. I would recommend Drama for older readers than Smile, at least for the students I relate to from day to day (Accelerated Reader rates Drama as a "Middle Grade +" interest level, which means for students in 6th grade and older).

4 out of 5 stars for both
AR Reading level of 2.6 for Smile and 2.3 for Drama.