Graphic Novel collections in libraries, a nonscientific survey.
Last month Robin Brenner, creator and editor of No Flying, No Tights web page, posted a survey to learn more about what type of graphic novel collections public libraries currently have. Responses came from libraries in the U.S. and Canada. Visit her report on this survey
here. She does mention that other types of libraries also responded and she will post again about those, so you may want to keep an eye on her site.
Today I read a library copy of
Night Flight: Amelia Earhart Crosses the Atlantic by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor. It looks like a picture book, but
School Library Journal and I agree that it is aimed at about grades two to four or five. It is a lyrical look at the determination and courage Amelia Earhart demonstrated during the first flight across the Atlantic by a woman (and only the second nonstop flight at that time!) Illustrations dominate the pages with text in black or white, as needed. A quote from the book, encasing a quote from Amelia Earhart, “And now she must cross this dark and seething ocean. Why? Because ‘women must try to do things men have tried.'”
(The Nebraska Library Commission receives free copies of children’s and young adult books for review from a number of publishers. After review, the books are distributed free, via the Regional Library Systems, to Nebraska school and public libraries.)
