Cartoons and Comics

Graphic novels play an important role in the literary world! Without comic books, some readers would not be able to enjoy all the wonders that reading has to offer! It is important to always have books that all of your patrons will enjoy. 

ToonDoo

http://www.toondoo.com/Home.toon

To access ToonDoo you need to create a free account. This site is very colorful and very visually appealing, especially for the young user. The drop-down menu for each category makes it user-friendly. To create a comic, you first select a layout based on how many panels you want to have. All of the accessibility features, characters, backgrounds, props, Text bubbles, and special features are easy to access, simply by clicking the desired image. It is very easy to save your comic strip, you simply title it and then publish it, you can choose to make it public, keep it private or share with friends. There are limited backgrounds, but that's where customization comes in place and you have the option of uploading your own personal images. Students as young as 3rd grade through high school will be able to use it fairly easily. 

Pixton

https://www.pixton.com/

To access Pixton you need to create an account. This site is designed in a clean-cut style, it is aesthetically pleasing, and would appeal to older students, grades 7-12th graders. To create a comic strip you have to customize each panel, this site does have limited features, and not a lot of variety in characters, themes, or backgrounds. The comic strip was moderately difficult to create, younger students might find this a bit challenging to do. To save it you would have to upgrade your subscription. Overall, this site would be most beneficial to middle school to secondary students. 

MakeBeliefComic

https://www.makebeliefscomix.com/Comix/

It is very easy to access MakeBeliefComic, all you do is type up the website and start creating your comic strip. This site is very bright and colorful and grabs the user's attention. It has a scrolling menu in which you can choose characters, masks, balloons and prompts, greeting cards, words, objects, and backgrounds. It is fairly easy to use, I can see students who are in the first grade all the way through high school students being able to use it and navigate the site without much assistance. Once you create your comic strip you have the option to print, email or save it and you can also publish it, as well. However, there is not a big variety in characters and backgrounds, but you are still able to make a quality comic strip with the free features it offers. All students would be able to use it since it is a free site and you don't have to create an account. 

As the librarian, I would dialogue with my teacher-colleagues regarding how comics can be used in the classroom to help students with low reading levels and/or those who are visual learners. Highlighting that there are graphic novels based on all genres of literature and that they contain the same elements found in prose combined with film features to help students develop literacy. Moreover, graphic novels help students develop varied insights and to make inferences based on their interpretation of the images. Essentially, graphic novels are of high interest to students and can help increase world connections through them. 

Fun Fact: I am the Department Head of our English Department at Martin High School in Laredo, Texas. My mentor is our school librarian Mrs. Deborah Garza-Garcia (who won librarian of the year in our district last school year) and in speaking to her, she said our Martin High School Library has 3,874 graphic novels making it the largest collection of comic books in our school district.