By Christa Protano
While there are plenty of official days to celebrate books throughout the year, perhaps the most important is International Literacy Day. Celebrated each year on September 8th, this global observance was created by UNESCO in 1967 and serves as a reminder that literacy is a fundamental human right for adults and children alike. As this day approaches, UNESCO reminds us that “millions of children are struggling to acquire minimum levels of proficiency in reading, writing and numeracy, while some 250 million children of 6-18 years old are out of school.”
So what can you do to ensure that your child is set up for literacy success? Introducing books and the idea of reading early on is a good start. “Children’s literacy foundations are established as early as infancy and grow throughout early childhood when the brain is at its greatest plasticity levels,” according to research by the Center for Education Policy Analysis, Research, and Evaluation at UCONN.
And while it’s easy to read aloud a board book when your child is a newborn or toddler, keeping them engaged in reading and encouraging them to read on their own gets harder as they get older. So when your grade schooler is ready to level up, consider graphic novels and chapter book series. These epic reads from Silver Dolphin will keep them turning the page and asking for more.
GRAPHIC NOVELS
As my son began to read on his own, he became obsessed with graphic novels. As a parent, I was torn. On the one hand, he was reading. On the other hand, how much could his literacy skills be improving just by reading short sentences in a cartoon-inspired format? Turns out, my assumption that a graphic novel was not a “real book” was way off. “With graphic novels, students use text and images to make inferences and synthesize information, both of which are abstract and challenging skills for readers,” according to research conducted by Northwestern University. In layman’s terms, reading text with lots of images helps a child develop visual learning skills, as well as understand character development and plot lines.
Fans of the superhero genre and graphic novels alike won’t want to miss the adventures of this all-new good guy. He lives for danger. He lives for excitement. He lives with his mom because he’s nine years old. Action Dude makes his exciting debut in this illustrated tale that is jam-packed with hilarious jokes, thrilling explosions, and plenty of fun. Written for readers ages 7 and up, this light-hearted story follows Charlie Munderdrew as he morphs into his brave alter ego and saves a theme park from a bunch of robots going haywire.
A School Library Journal Weekly Pick, this graphic novel is perfect for emerging readers because it’s chock full of illustrations and humor sure to keep kids entertained and asking for more.
Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates
For ages six and up, we recommend Bumble & Snug and the Angry Pirates. Filled with pages of bright and bold illustrations and short captions, these graphic novels feature a couple of Bugbops who have to work together to outsmart the bad guys. With exploding cotton candy factories, a forest of unicorns, dragon caves and sleeping giant mountains, this series will appeal to both boys and girls alike.
“My boys are reluctant to read and this book may have converted them into readers! It’s a graphic novel so it includes really fun art along with the text,” says one Amazon parent. “I heard them laughing out loud reading this book. Can’t wait to get them the next Bumble & Snug book!”
CHAPTER BOOK SERIES
Another way to keep you child motivated to read? Three words: chapter book series. Even though there are less pictures and more words, chapter books are great for all reading levels because they boost reading comprehension, critical thinking, and more. Find a series that interests your child and watch as they work their way through page after page, book after book.
Rabbit & Bear: A Bite in the Night
The Rabbit & Bear series follows eponymous characters along with other silly animals as they go about their lives in the woods. Each of these early chapter books teaches a valuable life lesson disguised within a hilarious story (did we mention occasional poop jokes?) in which different species work together to achieve peace and harmony in their forest community.
A perfect read for the cooler, spookier nights of fall, Rabbit & Bear: A Bite in the Night takes its readers on a not-so-scary journey through the late autumn woods, as trees inexplicably start to go missing! With winter on its way, worrisome Rabbit enlists his friends Bear and Woodpecker to help solve the mystery, but what they ultimately discover is so much more than a pile of bark.
Rainbow Magic Special Edition: Brianna the Tooth Fairy
With the best-selling Rainbow Magic series, independent readers can follow along with best friends Kirsty and Rachel as they help a team of magical fairy sisters deal with all the age-appropriate drama in Fairyland. While the series is pretty low stakes, we appreciate the way all of the fairies are diverse in terms of interests, style of dress, and personalities.
The newest edition to the series follows Brianna the Tooth Fairy as she tries to get her magic back from the evil Jack Frost. This Rainbow Magic special edition includes three books in one that are full of friendship and adventure.