The Vietnamese American author Bao Phi based this prize-winning graphic novel on his childhood memories of fishing with his father at a pond near their home in Minnesota, and his father’s boyhood memories of fishing in Vietnam. The novel is illustrated by the Vietnamese-born American artist Thi Bui.
Credit: © Capstone Publishers

July is Graphic Novels in Libraries month. This holiday started in 2019 to celebrate graphic novels, comics, and manga that can be checked out at the library. A graphic novel is a book-length story that combines pictures and text. Graphic novels resemble comic books. However, graphic novels are much longer and often bound in heavy paper covers like paperback books. Graphic novels can be any genre, including action, crime, comedy, fantasy, and horror.

Many graphic novels are created specifically for young readers from elementary school through middle school or high school. Authors usually create both the text and illustrations, though some only write the stories and collaborate with artists on the visual material. Graphic novels aimed at adult readers generally tell more complex stories than comic books, and their subject matter is often more serious like in Maus: A Survivor’s Tale (1986-1981) by Art Spiegelman.

In the graphic novel New Kid, the American author and illustrator Jerry Craft combines humor and social commentary in a story about an African American seventh-grader entering a largely white middle school.
Credit: © Harper Collins

Graphic novels became the fastest-growing segment of book publishing in the early 2000’s. Their popularity spread with the success of several motion pictures adapted from graphic novels.

Spotlight on: Raina Telgemeier

Raina Telgemeier, American Graphic and writer.
Credit: © Leonardo Cendamo, Getty Images

Raina Telgemeier is an American author, cartoonist, and illustrator. She gained recognition for four graphic novel adaptations of the “Baby-Sitter’s Club” series of novels, written by Ann M. Martin. Telgemeier’s adaptations are Kristy’s Great Idea and The Truth About Stacey (both 2006), Mary Anne Saves the Day (2007), and Claudia and Mean Janine (2008).

Telgemeier has also created several original best-selling graphic novels for teens, including Smile (2010), Drama (2012), Sisters (2014), Ghosts (2016), and Guts (2019). These works have been praised for Telgemeier’s ability to sensitively portray the challenges that middle schoolers and high schoolers face.

Telgemeier was born on May 26, 1977, in San Francisco, California. She was interested in comics from a young age and wanted to become a cartoonist. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2002. From 2002 to 2005, she created her first published comics, seven short stories in the series “Take-Out.” Her work has appeared in many other comic series and anthologies.

February 10, 2020

On Feb. 10, 1940, 80 years ago today, the classic animation comedy duo “Tom and Jerry” first appeared in the cartoon, “Puss Gets the Boot.” Created by the famous animation team of William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, the ongoing slapstick rivalry between Tom, the cat, and Jerry, the mouse, has entertained generations of viewers. Hundreds of episodes of the cartoon have been made, as well as films, direct-to-video productions, and even a stage musical. Originally made at a time when cartoons were shown before motion pictures in cinemas, “Tom and Jerry” won eight Academy Awards between 1940 and 1952.

Tom and Jerry first appeared in the cartoon “Puss Gets the Boot” 80 years ago today on Feb. 10, 1940. Credit: © Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The “Tom and Jerry” series was the first big hit for Hanna and Barbera and the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) cartoon studio. Originally a one-shot deal, “Puss Gets the Boot”—in which the cat was named Jasper and the mouse was named Jinx—was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. The short proved popular enough to warrant the duo’s return—now as Tom and Jerry—in 1941′s “The Midnight Snack.” Hanna and Barbera and MGM producer Fred Quimby then made over 100 more “Tom and Jerry” shorts until competition from television forced the closure of MGM’s cartoon studio in 1957. Hanna and Barbera then formed their own studio, where they created such cartoon classics as “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons,” and “Scooby-Doo, Where are You!”

In the 1960′s, various producers—including Looney Tunes animation legend Chuck Jones—continued to make “Tom and Jerry” shorts, which had migrated to the Saturday morning television cartoon lineup. Tom and Jerry found their way home to Hanna-Barbera Productions in the 1970′s before moving to the networks of Ted Turner in the 1980′s. The show continued sporadically under various producers in the 1990′s and 2000′s. Since 2006, “The Tom and Jerry Show” has appeared on the Cartoon Network and the Boomerang streaming service.

Tom and Jerry made cameos in the Hollywood musical films Anchors Aweigh (1945) and Dangerous When Wet (1953). The duo finally got their first theatrical feature-length animated film, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, in 1992. A new animated-live-action movie, Tom and Jerry, is due for wide cinema release in December 2020. In Japan, the live-action stage musical Tom and Jerry: Purr-Chance to Dream debuted in 2019, and the pair’s 80th anniversary is being celebrated in a special exhibition at Tokyo’s Matsuya Ginza department store in 2020.

January 8, 2016

This week, the librarian of Congress named American cartoonist and author Gene Luen Yang as National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Yang is the first graphic novelist to be so honored. The ambassadorship is awarded every two years to an American children’s author or illustrator. The position is intended to raise “national awareness of the importance of young people’s literature as it relates to lifelong literacy, education, and the development and betterment of the lives of young people.”

American cartoonist and author Gene Luen Yang was named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature on Jan. 7, 2016. He is the first graphic novelist to be so honored. Credit: © Gene Luen Yang

Yang was born on Aug. 9, 1973, in California, the son of Chinese immigrants, and grew up in the San Jose area. He began drawing and writing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, Yang received a grant for his comic Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, which was eventually published by a comic book company. Yang completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of California—Berkeley in 1995 and worked as a computer engineer for two years. He then began teaching computer science at a high school in Oakland. Yang earned a master’s degree in education from California State University at East Bay in 2003. His first graphic novel, American Born Chinese (2006), was enormously successful. It won the 2007 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association for best young adult book. It was also the first graphic novel to be named a finalist for the National Book Award. The book includes three stories about struggles with one’s identity, a theme common to many of Yang’s works. Boxers & Saints (2013), a two-volume graphic novel about the Boxer Rebellion, was also a National Book Award finalist. In the fall of 2015, with illustrator Mike Holmes, Yang began writing the “Secret Coders” graphic novel series for middle-graders. The series follows a group of students who use their computer programming skills to solve mysteries. Yang was a high school computer science teacher until 2015, when he became a full-time writer.

The position of national ambassador was established in 2008 under the direction of the librarian of Congress. The award is sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress; the Children’s Book Council, a publisher’s organization; and Every Child a Reader, an independent foundation. The first national ambassador was Jon Scieszka, who served in 2008 and 2009. He was followed by Katherine Paterson (2010-2011), Walter Dean Myers (2012-2013), and Kate DiCamillo (2014-2015).

Other World Book articles: 

• Literature for children
• Literature for children (2007) – A Back in Time article
• Literature for children (2013) – A Back in Time article