Tea, Tales, and Tomes

Why That Whoosh, Bonk, and Splat Matter More Than You Think

• Natasha • Season 1 • Episode 5

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Reading comic books and graphic novels with children creates joyful literacy experiences that build lifelong connections through stories while developing critical visual literacy skills.

• Slow down when reading comics aloud to allow children time to explore illustrations and decode visual information
• Place your finger under characters who are speaking to help kids follow dialogue
• Make sound effects dramatic and fun – children often learn words like "bonk" and "crash" before traditional sight words
• Give silent panels enough time and attention, asking questions about what might be happening
• Invite children to look at facial expressions, scene details, and panel sequences to build comprehension skills
• Toon Books offers excellent leveled readers from simple single-panel stories to chapter-style graphic novels
• Elephant & Piggy books provide simple, funny stories perfect for all ages with clean illustrations
• Series like Zita the Space Girl, The Investigators, and Marvel Superheroes Adventure work well for ages 7+
• South African graphic novels like Kwezi and Shaka Rising offer culturally relevant stories with local flavor
• Consider emotional maturity rather than just reading level when selecting graphic novels for children

If you know of any great South African graphic novelists or comic book artists, please drop me a note in the comments.


Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don't forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder.

Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

Speaker 1:

can I just go ahead and call this episode the graphic novel comic book takeover, because that's what we're gonna do. Hello, bookish friends. This is natasha and you're listening to tea tales and tomes where we are living our favorite lives talking books and drinking hot beverages. So grab your cuppa and let's talk books. I'm pretty new to this whole podcasting scene, so I'm not really sure whether it's normal to experience such sheer joy from simply creating the content. Is it? Can the veteran podcasters please stand up? Can you tell me if it's cool to look so forward to talking to a mic and potential listeners and having my heart be filled with such joy? I particularly enjoy chatting about graphic novels and comic books in the last episode and hope that you, like me, feel some comfort in the interest that our children are showing in these books. Today we are digging a little deeper into these types of books and I'm going to talk about how we can enrich the whole experience of reading these, whether for ourselves or out loud to our children, and how to nurture the appreciation of what we are reading. I'm also going to be giving you recommendations of some of my favorite tried and tested graphic novels and comic books. This is particularly important because, as you know, not all books are equal, and anything that I recommend here I have read and enjoyed for myself and for the younger reader. My kids have also read, enjoyed, re-read and enjoyed again. So all the books that I'm recommending are definitely ones you want to stick around for.

Speaker 1:

Today's episode is brought to you by overwhelmed adults the world over who have no time for judgment but could do with some help in choosing books for the kids in their lives. Let's go deep. So now we know that graphic novels do count as reading. Let's just summarize very quickly. They have been called gateways to the worlds of stories. They've been described as storyteller quicksand Once you're in, you can't get out, and in episode two I spoke about how they are actually one of the few forms of storytelling that offers such a multi-modal storyteller experience. Insert the waxing lyrical tunes right here. So how do we engage wholeheartedly with this amazing medium? I'm mostly going to be talking about reading to and with kids of all ages, but this 100% applies to us adults as well. I've learned quite a few things in my comic book reading journey and I'm stoked to be here sharing that with you today. So, now that you've chosen that perfect comic book for your young reader. We'll get to those recs a little later.

Speaker 1:

How do you, as the parent or primary caregiver, actually read this out loud or engage meaningfully and joyfully? I'm going to be using these two words, meaningfully and joyfully, a whole lot in the podcast. Now I'm by no means trying to imply that all reading experiences must be profound. You always have to have this. You know light bulb moment when reading. No, all I mean here is that books are meant to be enjoyed and we read to and with our little people, to build those lifelong connections through stories. So how do we do this in a way that brings them and us joy?

Speaker 1:

To be very honest with you, comic books can feel a little weird to read aloud. It's not like you're reading a paragraph of text that contains the majority of information, like in chapter or picture books. So in a picture book, the information that you just read as words in that paragraph or stanza or few sentences, may then be reiterated or supplemented using illustrations, and then you're all good to move on. But with a comic book, the text that you're reading out loud is probably giving you the least amount of information about what's happening on that scene, and then so much depends on the ability to decipher illustrations and understand the use of panels. The pictures in comic books are not merely supplementing the information. These illustrations are contextualizing the words that are on the page and giving you way more information than just the speech balloons provide. And that's only the one aspect. The other is the use of the panels. Now, these are there to show moments of time and space, and then they also provide delicious bits of information about the story, moving the narrative forward in often subtle, very frequently humorous and always important ways. So there may also be sound effects and other bits of text, of information. That's all serving to tell this amazing story.

Speaker 1:

So how do you read this aloud when the words actually are not the most important part? So let's imagine, say, you and your child have selected the right comic book or graphic novel for you guys. You've sat down for some gorgeous read aloud time. You've read the title of the story, always read the title. You've read the title of the story, always read the title. You've read the author's name, always read the author's name. You've turned the page and immediately you have your first panels. And here's your scene. And you dive right in and read the speech balloons Excellent.

Speaker 1:

Now the first tip I have is that when you are reading those speech bubbles or speech balloons or whatever you want to call them, place your finger, as a guide, just under the character that is doing the talking. This is something I learned from experience with reading to kids that have not yet learned how to read for themselves, and it was wonderfully reaffirming when I saw a guide on how to read comic books also mentioned this. It was actually a Toon Books guide, t-o-o-n Books, and I will link to this in the show notes. I also am talking about Toon Books a little bit later, so don't stress out Now. Kids, especially the littlest, will really appreciate you guiding the speech with your finger under the character that is talking, so that they know who's speaking right now and at this stage. If your child is anything like my children, they're already looking at the pictures, they're racing ahead. They may even have questions about something that's happening way further on than the panel that you're currently reading Breathe, take a moment. Mom or dad, don't feel like you need to rush through this, and this is honestly the mistake that I made. So if you take nothing away from today's show except to slow down, that's going to be a huge win for you, for me and for your little readers.

Speaker 1:

I initially didn't just sit with this and let them go through the page and decode and decipher in their special way, because I felt in error that we need to get through the story. You see their curiosity, those questions, that engagement. That's where the magic lies. Now is the perfect time to get them guessing. And, trust me, as you know, children are remarkably perceptive. They will take in the pictures, the panels, they will guess at what is happening, even if they cannot read. So let them deepen their ability to decode here. Invite them to look at the facial expressions of the characters, the scenes that are drawn, explain to them that panels are used to show moments in time and in space and see if they can understand the series of events that the panels are depicting.

Speaker 1:

Imagine you have three panels. One picture or one panel shows a monkey peeling a banana and throwing the peel on the floor. You got that Picture that the next panel shows a gorilla walking and talking on the phone. So here's a gorilla, he's busy jabbering on the phone. And then the last panel shows the gorilla falling down with the words ouch prominently displayed. So there's only one word that you're going to read aloud ouch. But there's so much context. Now, this is a brilliant way to enhance verbal communication in our kids and their ability to tell a story using only pictures. So here, the monkey dropped a slippery banana peel. The gorilla was super distracted and slipped on it and hurt his bottom Ouch.

Speaker 1:

And now that brings me to when you are reading the words. Make sure you are giving the correct amount of emphasis and drama to those sound effects. Feel free to really sound out the exciting words, Really act them up. Invite your kids to do the same. So if a character is falling and the words are whoops, say it as the author intended whoops. If the character is wailing or crying and the words on the page say wah, say it like a giant whale Wah.

Speaker 1:

The magic of this is that because comic books are so engaging for our kids, your over-the-top expressions will not only mean an extremely enjoyable reading experience. It's going to create hilarious core memories for them and it's going to have them coming back for more. But you know what else it means? It could actually mean that these words are going to be super easily read by them in the future. Trust me on this. My kids started reading words like bonk and crash and vroom. Kids started reading words like bonk and crash and vroom, splat, plop, eek, way before any other traditional words like cat, dog, mat, bat hat, and they can actually spell and use these in their own storytelling. Now, you know, you could teach phonics in that old, boring way cat, dog, mat, bat hat or you could show them phonics in action through these amazing comic books Vroom. Okay, now that I've made a total fool of myself with my silly sound effects, let's go to something that I know.

Speaker 1:

A lot of adults, including me, when I read aloud, struggle with, and this is silent panels. So these are the panels in which there are absolutely no words or there are very few words and it's just pictures. Sometimes it could be an entire page. So six or seven or nine panels where it's just pictures that have slight differences and subtle differences and clearly showing that something's happening. What am I going to do here? Truly, this stumped me originally. I'm somebody who loves reading out loud and I was stumped here. I am, quote unquote, reading aloud to my kid, but there's no words.

Speaker 1:

You know what I found to be the best thing? You just take your time with them, you slow down. Point to the pictures in a relatively slow way. Let your kid take them in, take them in yourself, then maybe go hmm, interesting, what do you think? Ask them Do you understand what's going on here? Or, if it's funny, maybe laugh at the joke. And, if you want, you could maybe add some storytelling, although it's not necessarily, it's not entirely necessary. The pictures will speak volumes by themselves. Just let yourself and your little person mark the time with these panels and give them the time that they're meant to take, and, trust me, all of that stress and that feeling of being stumped will fly out the window and you'll turn the page and your child will fully understand exactly what happened there. Because that is the beauty, the magic of good comic books and good graphic novels. Lastly, when the creative juices are flowing and your bucket is full and you are okay for some mess, perhaps let your kids draw their own comics and share them with you and others. So this way you could go through all these wonderful concepts that we just spoke about, but in a way that cements them for the future and also lets your little people feel like they too can be authors and graphic novel artists themselves.

Speaker 1:

So you know, there are a few things that we take for granted as adults. Reading comic books, and in those early stages of reading or creating comics, you know there's some interesting things happening, like, for example, the notion that the tail of a speech balloon goes to the mouth of whoever is talking in a panel. That is knowledge that we take for granted. Also, the manner in which speech balloons are drawn can mean very different things. Dotted lines or cloud speech balloons usually means thoughts or dreams. Jagged lines usually conveys a harsh or a scary or quite a big emotion. And as we move our eyes over the illustrations, maybe let our children notice how the artist uses straight lines behind an object to mean that something's going really fast. Vertical lines on top of an object may mean that something or someone's falling down and something may be spinning around. If the lines are in a circle, puffs could mean winds or more gross gaseous things. I think you get the picture. So there really is so much going on in these amazing books, and the reading world truly is your oyster once you start your journey.

Speaker 1:

So do allow me to take a little break, a little tea break, and I'll be back with all the recommendations. Ah, yes, my favorite part of any blog post or bookish podcast is the book recs. Of course I said this before not all books are equal, and certainly not all graphic novels and comic books are equal either. So me reading Archie and Friends at five years old should probably not have happened. Not because there was anything really explicit In the books. It's just that the themes are definitely more for teenagers or more for mature kids. But sometimes, as parents, if we see something that has illustrations or that looks cartoonish, we can very easily assume that it's kid-friendly. So if you think about the show South Park, my brother and I watched that show when it came out and we were tweens and teens and I guess my parents just figured it was a cartoon for kids. But nope, not for kids.

Speaker 1:

So my recommendations today are based on a few things. These are all books that I have read myself or out loud to my kids and have loved enough to read again and again. Very importantly, I am a huge proponent of protecting young eyes and hearts and not exposing kids to things that might be better engaged with when they are a little older. So in all my recommendations I tend to age up, meaning that if you see a list for 8 to 12 year olds, and there's a bunch of books. It's sometimes very likely that when I look at that list or I've read those books I would find them more suitable for the age group that's above that one, so the 13 and up age grouping. So, and again, I'm not really speaking here about reading proficiency and ability to decode and decipher language. Rather, I am speaking about the emotional reading level of children that are reading these books. So most of my recommendations today are going to be for books that you can actually enjoy as a whole family the majority of them and I will tell you when that's not the case.

Speaker 1:

The topics I've also chosen here are quite varied. Some do deal with quite serious issues, but humor and fun and comfort and hope form the basis of most of my books. Some of my recs do have toilet humor, but that's me meeting my boys where they are currently at. My kids love fart jokes and poop jokes. Don't ask me why. They just love all of the gross stuff, but for me that's okay if it's not the entire subject matter. There needs to be things that are less degrading to being human, to the human experience, things that are more uplifting, and there needs to be a lot more substance. Lastly and I've kept this list really, really small because here at Tea, tales and Tomes, we like to reduce the overwhelm, remember so if you want more recs, just drop me a message in the comments or on Instagram and I will give you whatever you need. Okay, that's enough, let's get on to it.

Speaker 1:

So, in the sea of graphic novels and comic books available to you, you will not, cannot, shall not, go wrong with Toon Books. That's T-O-O-N Books. These are high quality, funny, relatable, expertly written, witty, educational, not didactic books filled with heart and hope and excellent storytelling. They are also infinitely re readable. I'm willing to bet that if you were to pick up a toon book and read it to your young child, you will undoubtedly love it. They too will fall in love with it. What's also really really great about toon books is that they have these categories, and their categories are really meaningful and will help you to make great choices.

Speaker 1:

And the best part, all the books for the littlest book dragons can still be read to your oldest and your most hormonal readers too. So how are they divided? They've got level one readers. These have few words, short sentences, usually just one character, one or two panels per page and quite a small amount of words, so maximum 200 or 300 words. The one book that I really loved is called Little Mouse Gets Ready, and my kids adored this book when they were two and three and it's all about a moment in time in which a mouse is getting ready to go to the barn with his mom. He's putting on his shirt and his shoes and it is hard. This would be perfect to read to your littlest book dragons, because it is fully relatable to them Learning to put on their shoes, learning to put on their clothes, how to do up buttons, knowing left from right, knowing mom is waiting. It also has quite a funny twist at the end and some really cool information about what a mouse would do in a barn, so in Toon Books, about what a mouse would do in a barn, so in Toon Books. That's your level one reader. The level two readers have short sentences, lots of repetition, and this is really great because this is how incidental learning happens.

Speaker 1:

There are about one to four panels per scene and the story is set in that smaller world of kids. So whereas level one was sort of a moment in time, one to two panels and you know very few words. Here you're getting up into the 300 to 500 words, and the smaller world is referring to kids' gardens, neighborhoods, maybe even schools. My first engagement with them was when my eldest was five and my youngest was two, going on three, and I picked up Benny and Penny by Jeffrey Hayes. I just based it on some research I did on comic books for kids, and Benny and Penny was when I thought let me give it a try. So Benny and Penny are brother and sister. They're a mouse duo that play in their garden. They're a mouse duo that play in their garden, make friends, deal with loss, explore the outside world, manage sibling relationships and ultimately come back home to mom for meals and naps. I can't tell you how much my kids have loved these books. There are a few in the series, which is also really good for developing that relationship that our children can feel towards these fictional characters. There was actually a stage where I hid the Benny and Penny books from my kids because it was all that Kai and Jazz wanted to read. But they're back in circulation now and the best part is that these books don't get old. My kids are eight and six now and they still love these tales.

Speaker 1:

Another one from the Toon Book's level two category that is just beautiful, hilarious and heartwarming is Stinky by Eleanor Davis. It's about a monster that lives in a swamp on the outskirts of a city and loves all things smelly and messy like mud and pickled onions and smelly socks All things smelly and messy like mud and pickled onions and smelly socks and he has a wotty frog as a pet. A boy then comes to explore the swamp and Stinky is terrified of him, because children are gross, because they love baths and eat apples and don't like mud. So this is essentially a tale of friendship and diversity and adventure, and it is perfect. It's so funny, it's truly just an amazing read.

Speaker 1:

Once we get to the level three toon books, we're now moving into the chapter book format. The world is a little bigger, scenes may move in time and place. You're looking at about a thousand words and above here and there's a level of speculation that's needed with these level three books. A book that we have loved is called Otto's Backwards Day by Frank Camuso. Otto is a cat that is transported to a world in which everything is backwards. Things like rats chase cats and you go to jail for picking litter up. There's a really sweet message about the importance of family and valuing people instead of things.

Speaker 1:

But the best part for me was that in this whole story, children are introduced to the concept of palindromes. So in case you've forgotten English 101, a palindrome is a word that sounds the same spelt backwards and forwards. So words like dad, mom, peep, poop. How amazing that through a story, children are learning about palindromes. But all that matters to us reading this tale is that it is a good story, well told, a huge win in my book. So in this level three book, another one that our kids have enjoyed is the Shark King, which has themes of coming of age and growing and becoming oneself. Again, humor and lightness are a trend, even when dealing with themes that are, in bold, important. So I think you get the picture here. For me, I know what to expect with toon books, so this is a really good go-to. If you are wondering where to start, go, have a look at all the offerings and I promise you this is the gateway to books and readings that I have been mentioning.

Speaker 1:

Moving on from Toon Books, now another hit series that you will never regret adding to your shelves, and again suitable for all, all ages, is Elephant and Piggy by Mo Willems. This is our favorite comic book friend duo. Very few words, simple drawings of an elephant and a pig who are best friends and infinitely re-readable. This is actually the perfect books for you if you and your child do not like overly busy drawings or too much happening on a page. The books are super funny, wholesome, intelligent and a guaranteed hit. So these friends have moments in time, conversations, they plan adventures, they have a romp and occasionally they break the fourth wall with hilarious results. You will literally be laughing out loud. The whole family is going to ask for more of Elephant and Piggy.

Speaker 1:

So all the books that I've mentioned up until this point are for the whole family. They can be enjoyed with your littlest book dragons all the way up to your teenagers. But the next few recs are better suited for the 7 and up age group Maybe 6 and up, but you know your child so you can decide. The first one that we love is called Zeta, the Space Girl by Ben Hatka. This is a science fiction story with excellent language, beautiful drawings and a really strong female protagonist. There's also few words, so there's a lot more to interpret with the images on the page. So it's really nice if you have a child that is in that reluctant reader category or is just learning how to read. You know full sentences and stuff, so it's a really good book for those groups. But if you've got the most proficient reader, he or she is going to love it as well.

Speaker 1:

So my kid read this at six and he tore through it and is currently rereading because I got him the next one in the series. There is no unnecessary violence, which I really appreciate, and the adventure is setting up kids to explore the amazing world of science fiction. The books could very easily be read by younger kids, like I said previously, but I think because it's dealing with things like interspace travel and the fact that Zeta, the protagonist, is not really with her parents her parents are not mentioned much it could be a little confusing for your youngest readers and that's the only reason I'm recommending Zeta for your six or seven year up age group. So if you're looking for pure comedic enjoyment absolute chaos, strangeness and again meeting those seven and ups where they are at, I cannot recommend the following books or series of books enough enough Jake the Fake by Craig Robinson. Bunny vs Monkey by Jamie Smart. Dogman by Dave Pelkey. Cat Ninja by Matthew Cody and the Investigators by John Patrick Green.

Speaker 1:

My favorite is actually the Investigators. They're two alligator spies or detectives. They solve mysteries and they use some really cool gadgets. These books are filled with clever puns and references to famous spy movies and spy books and, as an adult reading to your tweens, you are going to shake your head, you're going to roll your eyes, you're going to laugh out loud and you're ultimately going to be so glad that you shared this experience with your kids. I tried to do it as a family read aloud, including my youngest at the time, who was four, and while he did enjoy it and he knew what was going on, I think that a lot of the very cool wordplay went over his head. So for me, this is definitely more for your six and sevens and up. I imagine that teens will also find this really hilarious. There are so many books in the series in Investigators and in most of the recommendations that I just made here, which is really important because, like I said, it does build that relationship that your child has with these characters and that's important at this age and it's important for making them want to read more. So I'm pivoting a little bit now. So I did say that graphic novels can sometimes allow us to engage with difficult texts at the first go so that these are less daunting. So story time.

Speaker 1:

You may be familiar with the Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne. They are meant to be excellent narrative nonfiction for kids. So I started listening to this with my eldest, kai, when he was seven. In a nutshell, he really did not enjoy the experience. So the narrator that was narrating my audiobook had an old, spiderwebby voice and it just didn't grab him. But more importantly, more so, the content of the book that was read in that voice, in that spiderwebby manner, was just a little too scary. So the book that I read I can't remember the title right now the kids were transported back in time to an unknown time and place. They were trapped in a castle and they were being hunted by knights. So I have a very sensitive reader and this was less of an adventure for him and more of a lesson in anxiety. So I lamented when he didn't want to engage with the Magic Treehouse books anymore, because I really felt that he was going to miss out on these amazing adventure stories which also help you to learn so much about all of these different periods in time so fast forward. A few months we were in a local bookstore and I found the graphic novel version of the Magic Treehouse books. So I casually handed it to him and said hey, you remember you didn't like this when we were listening to it. And he sat down right there in the bookstore and he devoured this graphic novel of the Magic Treehouse in one go.

Speaker 1:

So formats matter. I'm going to say it again Formats matter. All the content of your chapter book was right there, but he obviously preferred it in this format. Perhaps it was more fun for him, more relatable and less scary. So always keep your eye out for books that have been adapted to the graphic novel format, just like this one, because you might find that your child will be better suited to it.

Speaker 1:

If you have kids that want to engage with Marvel and DC Comics and all the superheroes and villains that we are always talking about, I would say that if you don't want the full weight of the violence and all the mature innuendos to wash over their very impressionable young minds, rather look out for titles like Tiny Titans by Art Balthazar. That's all of your DC superheroes, but none of the mature content. Marvel also has a few really great books in their Marvel Superheroes Adventure series. I personally love Ms Marvel and the Teleporting Dog. It's super positive, super uplifting, but it still has that swashbuckling adventure that we love of Marvel. But it still has that swashbuckling adventure that we love of Marvel. Another one that I just read is Moongull and the Devil Dinosaur. My eldest, who's eight, kai, found it a little bit scary. I don't think he loved the time-traveling element of that. It's just not his cup of tea. But I genuinely enjoyed all the stem elements and I loved the dinosaur, who is essentially just a giant puppy.

Speaker 1:

What if, however, we took the idea of the superhero and made it a little bit more nuanced, with a lot more local flavor? Well, you get Crazy by Luis Omkize. Of course. Crazy is a young hero and his story tells the age-old tale of good versus evil. So the old trope of the chosen one is revitalized with the story and it's set in pseudo-Johannesburg. So it's got a lot of local flavor and if you're a South African you're going to love this. I particularly loved the self-awareness of the story and its unabashed cheesiness. I really did. I love it when there's a story that has all the elements that I like, but it also doesn't take itself too seriously. So I genuinely loved that and I honestly think that this is one that your teens are going to love.

Speaker 1:

Another graphic novel that your teens will love is Shaka Rising by Luke Mulva. So I say your teens, but you are going to love this one as well. It is essentially historical fiction mixed with folklore about the great Shaka Zulu, and it is told in such a powerful, vivid and dramatic manner that you will be completely wrapped up in the story. So you know, there are many accounts about this period in history that you're going to find, but trust me, none will have that nuance, that excitement and all the insights that is present in this graphic novel.

Speaker 1:

You know, just talking about South African comics, our country has such a rich and interesting history when it comes to comic books, going back to all those dark apartheid years and the use of comics to promote certain authoritarian propaganda.

Speaker 1:

It's so interesting right that this medium, because of how it looks and how engaging it can be and how friendly it may seem, was actually used to promote apartheid propaganda. We've, luckily, fortunately, come a very long way from then, and I love to see the brilliance of our local comic book artists shining through with all these great stories and even better artwork. And, on that note, if you're listening to this episode and if you know of any other great South African graphic novelists or comic book artists, please do drop me a note in the comments. Bookish friends, I'm going to end this episode right now before I bombard you with too many recommendations and deter from our aim here at Tea Tales and Tomes and it's her from our aim here at Tea Tales and Tomes, which is to reduce the overwhelm. I hope that with these recommendations, you find your next great read for yourself and for your family, and don't forget to join us again next time for more bookish wonder. Bye.

People on this episode

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Natasha

Host
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Timothy Wiggill

Editor