like it was more important….You’re like, that’s going to be impor-
tant because of how they present it.” This student responded to the
text and the images indicating that the graphic novel afforded a
vehicle to demonstrate both print and visual literacy skills.
Only thirty percent of the class had ever read a graphic novel
before the study. When asked what they knew about graphic novels
prior to participating in the study, one girl responded, “Absolutely
nothing.” Initially, she thought it meant books with lots of action,
sex, and violence. She later admitted that she had seen graphic
novels before, but she did not know what they were called. The
term “graphic novel” was new to many students. Based on circula-
tion statistics, graphic novels were popular in my library, but they were
popular with only a small percentage of students.
Another student questioned why they were being asked to read a
comic book. When observed reading
American Born Chinese
by someone
