Dan vs. Nature is up against Paper Girls.
OK. Some people think graphic novels are books. I get the argument, but really, it is a comic. It is a series of pictures (well drawn), with minimal text. The reader does not have the joy of creating their own mind's images. Actual reading is limited to afew sentences (at most) on each page. That alone bodes ill for this book in the smackdown competition. Couple that with word choice that has too much f*&king swearing (did I offend anyone? I am trying to make a point.) and again, Paper Girls did not impress our reading team.
Paper Girls came in a close second to "Dan vs. Nature". Get it? Choosing Dan vs. Nature, is like choosing liver over kidney. If you like scatological humor, and extended fart jokes, read on. The legal definition of torture has been much debated in recent media, and I take "Dan vs. Nature" to be a useful contribution to the debate.
The winner: Dan vs. Nature. Like liver over kidney.
We wanted to create a way where we could read a few books, learn about many titles and have fun doing it! The tournament style reading of the Mighty Smackdown means that in the first round each participant reads two books, discusses both in a blog post, selecting one book to move on to the next round. Teachers are asked to commit to one round but most, if not all, continue on. We will read to the end when we will have only one book left standing!
Graphic Novels are books and a great way to get at the visual part of the language arts curriculum. I did not feel the characters were realistic portrayals of kids their age but nothing in the book was realistic...I have kids who would really enjoy it and I sense a few copies will be available :)
ReplyDelete