Discussion Unit 8

Discuss how the reading experience is different/similiar when reading in alternative formats. Include commentary on the role of graphics (text messaging language, icons in ttyl).

Until this last summer when I took Materials for Teens, I had never read a graphic novel. I was always interested in the fact that children and teens who read them would check out so many at a time. I am not the fastest reader because I like to digest my books so I just thought they must be faster than I was. When I started reading graphic novels, I finally understood. Because there are pictures there is less imagination needed to be involved with the story. I found that I could be less engaged as well. I could be interrupted and there would be no problem getting back into the flow of the story. I found this interesting because I like to submerge myself in my reading. 

I have read all three of the books assigned for this week and I find them all interesting but very different from each other. The Invention of Hugo Cabret felt very different to read than the other two. There was something captivating about the pictures because they were so detailed. This book creates a world where the reader still needs to use his or her imagination to understand the story and characters. There is a lot of thinking going on because the story is told in two different ways. I was fascinated with the way the story flipped back and forth. I also really enjoyed the author's other book, Wonder Struck. This book tells one story with words and the other with pictures then they both collide. 

TTYL is all written in text speak. There are emoticons and screen names. This was interesting to read because the setting was not very clear. The only things the reader knew is what the characters talk to each other about. Something I found interesting was the emotion words. There would be a symbol followed by an action such as ~smiling ear to ear~ instead of an emoticon. This was hard as a reader in some respects because the details were so few but in others it was simple. It was just like having a texting conversation without knowing the background content. 

Smile is a classic graphic novel. It reads like a comic book and is full of colorful detailed pictures. The lack of detail in the words is made up for with the pictures. I read this book in an hour because of the lack of words and thought it needed. Many children love this book because they can relate to it and see how it is played out. Comics have been popular for generations. It has just branched out from superheros to other stories. There are actually history books I have found in graphic form for the kids in my school.