*Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels* Reviewed in Multi-Lingual Journal

Tiffany A. Flowers calls Maupin House's Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels a "great resource" in a recent volume of Education Review/Resenas Educativas. Read the full review here.

Young Adult Graphic Novel Faces Another Censorship Challenge

Stuck in the Middle: Seventeen Comics from an Unpleasant Age, a collection of comics shorts edited by Ariel Schrag and featuring selections from top comics artists, has come under fire from folks wanting to remove it from public school libraries twice since 2009.

The first case resulted in the book's removal from shelves in districts in South Dakota, and, last month, a committee in Maine's RSU 10 serving schools in Dixfield, Mexico, and Buckfield responded to a parent request to remove the book from its secondary schools' library shelves by moving the book to its professional section and requiring parental permission for access.

Read more about these instances here.

In both these instances, students' rights to read have been compromised. While any text can become a victim of censorship at any time, comics and graphic novels may be especially prone to attacks because of their perceived novelty, concepts of literary merit, and other general misunderstandings regarding them.

Maupin House knows this and wants to help teachers teach from an informed professional stance and certainly wants to preserve students' rights to read. This is one reason why Maupin House published Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels, a collection of summaries, reviews, lesson ideas, thematic pairing ideas, and overt discussion of " hot button" issues in 108 different graphic novels.

Each rationale is written by a practicing k-12 teacher who has used comics in his or her classroom or by teacher educators who focus on comics and education.

Rationales for Teaching Graphic Novels is available as a CD-ROM, as an E-book, and, in by-grade-level chunks via the new a la carte feature.

While Stuck in the Middle was not one of the 108 included in the project, and while this case regarded library use rather than classroom use, I can't help but imagine how useful a rationale might have been in either keeping the censors at bay or aiding in the fight to keep the text available for interested students.

Maupin House and Katie Monnin work with Round Table Companies to develop curriculum for comic book adaptation of The Constitution

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Emily Gibbs
Allison+Partners
EmilyG@allisonpr.com

The U.S. Constitution brought to life in graphic novel adaptation from Round Table Companies

New comic book features 100 percent of the document’s original text along with additional narrative and detailed illustrations that further clarifies the founding fathers’ work

CHICAGO (Jan. 9, 2012) – Round Table Companies, a publishing and storytelling company that works with thought leaders to inform, educate and inspire, announces the release of The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic, a graphic novel adaptation of the supreme law of the United States. The Constitution comic launches in bookstores nationwide, on Amazon.com, and all digital formats in March 2012 for $12.95 (print) and $6.99 (digital).

Scripted by adapter Nadja Baer and illustrated by Nathan Lueth, Round Table Companies created an original storyline to showcase the making of history and communicate concepts from one of the United States’ most important documents. Narratives and illustrations of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Thomas Paine and James Madison, among other historical figures, allow readers to understand and engage with the process and development of each article in The Constitution.

“Whether you are a student or just need a refresher, the illustrated format allows readers to better understand and retain the concepts in the Constitution,” said Baer. “The powerful illustrations coupled with effective narrative and the complete text from the original document helps capture and relive an important part of our country’s history.”

Dr. Katie Monnin, an assistant professor of literacy at the University of North Florida, and Maupin House, a publisher specializing in K-12 teacher resources, developed a tailored curriculum to supplement the comic book in classrooms. The curriculum will be readily available to teachers at no cost in March, when the book launches.

“While the comic book adaptation of The Constitution can be enjoyed at any age, we developed the free curriculum to work together with the comic book to help teachers get students more interested in the framework of our government,” said Dr. Monnin. “The comic itself is fun and easy to read, but students will be able to further comprehend the concepts with the supplemental material.”

Round Table Companies believes in the power of story to impact lives and brings others’ visions to life. For more information about the company, visit www.roundtablecompanies.com/.

###

About Round Table Companies

Round Table Companies (RTC) uses a filmmaker’s approach to storytelling to inform, educate, and inspire readers. Founded in 2006 as a writing company, RTC quickly evolved into a storytelling company that uses the talents of artists all over the country to deliver entertaining content that demands attention. RTC’s approach to creating high quality content eliminates the traditional publishing gatekeepers and allows thought leaders to engage in a fully collaborative team approach to distilling their ideas into either word based or illustrated formats. Author partnerships include WIRED magazine founder Chris Anderson, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, childhood cancer survivor Alesia Shute, and Latino author and humanitarian Robert Renteria.