Graphic Novels that Speak to Students Cultures and Interests
2021-2022 This year CAMBA has built their Adolescent Literacy afterschool curriculum around a range of culturally responsive graphic novels that make classic stories more accessible and relatable. Graphic novels were selected in partnership with students using criteria that includes: 1) Is the graphic novel grade and skill-level appropriate? 2) Is it culturally relevant? 3) Will it be FUN to read and discuss? CAMBA’s Mentor Teacher shares a range of graphic novels from students to choose from, develops standards-aligned lesson plans for each- graphic novel and pairs graphic novels with films, when available - such as pairing the recent film Julius and the Black Messiah with the graphic novel The Black Panther Party: A Graphic Novel History. In addition to helping students continue to develop their literacy skills in a fun and engaging way, CAMBA’s program also helps them build their home libraries, as students are able to keep every graphic novel they read in the program.
The table below highlights graphic novels that students have read with short summaries of each borrowed from Goodreads.
Monster: A Graphic Novel by Guy A. Sims (adapter), Walter Dean Myers, Dawud Anyabwile (Illustrator)
A stunning black-and-white graphic novel adaptation of Walter Dean Myers's Michael L. Printz Award winner and New York Times bestseller. Monster is a multi-award-winning, provocative coming-of-age story about Steve Harmon, a teenager awaiting trial for a murder and robbery. As Steve acclimates to juvenile detention and goes to trial, he envisions the ordeal as a movie. Monster was the first-ever Michael L. Printz Award recipient, an ALA Best Book, a Coretta Scott King Honor selection, and a National Book Award finalist.
"Speak up for yourself—we want to know what you have to say." From the first moment of her freshman year at Merryweather High, Melinda knows this is a big fat lie, part of the nonsense of high school. She is friendless—an outcast—because she busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops, so now nobody will talk to her, let alone listen to her. Through her work on an art project, she is finally able to face what really happened that night: She was raped by an upperclassman, a guy who still attends Merryweather and is still a threat to her.
Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a revolutionary political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and legacy of the Panthers, from their social, educational, and healthcare programs that were designed to uplift the Black community to their battle against police brutality through citizen patrols and frequent clashes with the FBI, which targeted the Party from its outset. Using dramatic comic book-style retellings and illustrated profiles of key figures, The Black Panther Party captures the major events, people, and actions of the party, as well as their cultural and political influence and enduring significance.