Percy Jackson Graphic Novel

by **LMGilbert** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:16 am

I zipped through my daughter's graphic novel, "The Lightning Thief", in one sitting. The artwork was pretty generic, the story seemed to have some gaps, didn't knock my socks off. BUT I was captivated by the concept that demigods (or half-bloods) would tend to be diagnosed with dyslexia & ADHD, that they would be the kids having a lot of trouble in school. (The reasons for this are explained in the book.) The image of Annabeth, Athena's daughter, being physically dragged away from an arcade game with her yelling "Now I have to start over at..." looked & sounded so much like a teen version of my Asperger's/ADHD kid that it was scary. Anyway, this concept alone, encountered in a fairly MOR graphic novel, is enough to make me seek out the book series. I think because there are more & more kids dealing with learning disabilities and related labels, the market for stories that address them & their families will also grow.

I'm excited because I'm also trying to work "special needs" & "learning disabilities" into stories that are fun and empowering for the kids involved.

by **Jamesaritchie** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 3:04 am

I have the novel, but not the graphic novel. It's very good. Never let my kids have graphic novels, but they're very good for anyone with special needs, and they seem to help dyslexics.

by **LMGilbert** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 7:36 am

Exposure to graphic novels (versions of Baby Sitters Club , Pokemon & so on) doesn't seem to have any negative impact on my kid's reading of regular books; but she started out as a reader first before discovering Tintin and the rest. Some graphic novels are very adult, & just not appropriate for the kids, but they are starting to target the YA & Juvenile crowd now.

by **Jamesaritchie** » Tue Feb 01, 2011 8:00 am

LMGilbert - 2011-02-01 1:36 PM Exposure to graphic novels (versions of Baby Sitters Club , Pokemon & so on) doesn't seem to have any negative impact on my kid's reading of regular books; but she started out as a reader first before discovering Tintin and the rest. Some graphic novels are very adult, & just not appropriate for the kids, but they are starting to target the YA & Juvenile crowd now.

I just know too many kids who started on graphic novels, and never moved on to being regular readers. Graphic novels may or may not harm a given kid, but I'm pretty sure not reading them does no harm, either, so we went that route. It worked well. My kids are all grown now, and are all avid reader.

by **akitcougar** » Sun Feb 20, 2011 12:18 pm

As a high schooler, I read a mix of both. I think they're very different ways of telling a story, and some stories work better with one version rather than the other. For example, I cannot picture Maus (graphic novel by Art Spiegelman about his father's experience with the Holocaust) as a novel. The visual images tell the story more than the words. Similarly, Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels are better as novels (in my opinion, at least). I've read both the novel form and the graphic novel version of one of the books, and I much prefer to imagine the world while reading the novel.
So, I guess my point here is, with some stories, having a visual aid is better, while I prefer other to leave much to the imagination.

by **LMGilbert** » Mon Feb 21, 2011 2:44 am

Exactly, just as Michael Moorcock is an incredibly boring windbag/hack in either format.

by **Bridget O' Brady** » Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:23 pm

There is also five novels without pictures that probably explain the concept much more in depth than any graphic novel. I enjoyed the books but I haven't seen the graphic novel I'll have to see if it is similar to the actual novel.

by **LMGilbert** » Sat Apr 02, 2011 1:54 am

Update - the girl now wants to read the Percy Jackson novel series, after experiencing both the graphic novel and the movie. I think she realizes that she'll be finished with Guardians of Ga'Hoole pretty soon, & needs another series to get her through the next month or so. While she's on the Percy Jackson bandwagon, I plan to find other books about the Greek myths for her. There's the D'Auliere book with gorgeous illustrations, which I fell in love with as a kid, and I think there are other stories aimed at children & youth.