War, Comics and Chick Lit

Two quick notes on adolescent literature - Both come from NPR and take an interesting look at different and emerging trends in the field. The first is about the emergence of graphic novels as a way to talk about the war on terror and the aftermath of 9/11. This looks like a very interesting, and yet accurate, representation on what happened and why. I could see students and adults engaging with it because of its format and gaining a deeper understanding of our recent history. You can read the story and an excerpt from it at War On Terror In A Graphic-Novel Narrative.

In a tangential story, they discuss how the military has adopted the graphic novel format to help soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress, and reintegrating back into "regular" society after their service is up. This can be read as a pdf and is called "Coming Home". It is very interesting how these story forms are being used to address very "adult" topics.

Finally, there is another interesting story from NPR that explores the emergence of "chick lit" as a serious form of fiction. While not really in the children's lit vein (perhaps late teens?) the article looks at three release worthy of your time and includes a podcast of an interview. This is at Chick Lit That Features Heroines, Not High Heels.

Enjoy!