Do you have a favorite picture book from childhood, or a comic book hero that you wanted to be? The images in children's books help even the youngest children connect with a story's characters and understand the process of reading, even before they know how to read the words on a page. This idea still applies when children grow into young adults. For at-risk city kids with special education needs and reading difficulties, pictures can help students translate the meanings of difficult vocabulary words and understand topics with which they would typically struggle. I teach these types of students in an inner-city middle school. Teaching a graphic novel (a novel that's written in comic book form) is the perfect way for me to get them interested in reading while bridging their reading/learning difficulties at the same time.

Although my students live in a city, the student body is primarily Caucasian. Recently, there has been an influx of new students moving to the district from other parts of the United States or other countries all together (i.e. Chechnya, Bosnia, Kenya, Vietnam). The Caucasian students don't understand the cultures of the new students, and often times this ignorance causes them to discriminate against these other kids and mistreat them. When I read the graphic novel "American Born Chinese" by Gene Yang, I saw it as a golden opportunity to spark their interest in reading and teach tolerance of other cultures at the same time. The problem is, graphic novels tend to be more expensive than a typical paperback novel, and my school district does not have the funds for me to purchase a class set of these novels for use in my classroom.

If you purchase a class set of these graphic novels for my classroom, you will benefit my students in several ways. First of all, many of these kids have stopped reading as they've grown older. Their reading difficulties have made it hard to read stories at their grade level and understand them. Graphic novels can overcome this problem by providing comic book-style pictures that help the reader understand vocabulary by seeing the actions and emotions the words convey. My students’ reading comprehension will improve through these visual cues, and I think this will reignite their interest in reading. Furthermore, this specific novel, "American Born Chinese," will teach my students to empathize with people who relocate to our area from other parts of the country or the world. By connecting with the main character of the novel, they will see the negative impact that name-calling and stereotyping can have, and they will learn to be more accepting of people from other cultures.

Your purchase of these novels for my students will make it possible for them to learn tolerance and acceptance of other cultures. These are traits that won't just make them better students; they will make them empathetic human beings in our global community. Furthermore, reading this novel in graphic form will develop their reading comprehension skills and make them excited about reading again. These are benefits that will last a lifetime.