Using Graphic Novels to Connect with Classic Literature

This book provides background, specific examples, and pedagogical structures for using graphic novel adaptations in the study of more traditional literature. Graphic novels can introduce a wide range of voices, strengthen student understanding, deepen interpretive skills, and teach students about the constraints and affordances of different formats and genres. The pairings and techniques explored in this book will unlock those immense benefits for today’s teachers.
Teaching graphic novels helps us to break down the disciplinary distinction between Art and Literature, drawing on current trends in the Humanities to focus on making meaning through and interdisciplinary approach. As well as pairing classic texts with their adaptations, this book goes further, exploring more thematic pairings and how graphic novels can be paired with unrelated books to provide depth and historical context. Readers will find a wealth of teachable ideas, and specific advice on how to pair texts, from assessing the quality of adaptations to pairing for different learning outcomes. Theoretically sound and pedagogically engaging, this is an essential toolkit for using graphic novels and canonical literature to reinvigorate the literature classroom.