Teaching With Graphic Novels
A Closer Look At This Weeks Texts
New Shoes by Sara Varon is about a donkey named Francis who is a shoemaker in Guyana, South America. Francis had wanted to be a shoemaker since he was a young foal and as an adult donkey, it was his goal to make the best shoes that he could possibly make. Francis’s shoes were so popular that people would travel from far away to purchase them. Francis uses the finest coconut wood, wool, and wild tiger grass to make his shoes. His friend, Nigel, would travel once a week to the jungle to collect the wild tiger grass for Francis. One day Francis’s favorite musician, Miss Manatee, sent one of her friends to Francis’s shop to order her a pair of his shoes. Francis was so excited to begin working on this pair of shoes, but he needed to collect more wild tiger grass from Nigel. So, Francis walked to Nigel’s house and he was nowhere to be found. On his walk home Francis sees Rhonda, the bird. They decide to go to the jungle together to get Francis the wild tiger grass he needed to make Miss. Manatee’s shoes. On there journey through the jungle Francis and Rhonda face many obstacles, make new friends along the way, and discover that Nigel might be in danger. Francis and Rhonda then begin to focus on searching for Nigel, luckily a sloth was able to help them find Nigel. Nigel had got himself into trouble after being caught stealing from Miss. Jaguar's wild tiger grass. Francis began talking with Miss. Jaguar and explained that he did not know that Nigel had been stealing from her, but he had been using the wild tiger grass to make shoes for people, like Miss. Manatee. It turned out that Miss. Jaguar loved Miss. Manatee too. She was happy to contribute some wild tiger grass to her shoes as well as some seedlings so that Nigel and Francis could grow their own wild tiger grass. Because of this adventure to find wild tiger grass and save Nigel, Francis figured out exactly how he should make Miss. Manatee’s shoes- but he needed the help of his friends, both new and old. The community of animals came together to make Miss. Manatee an awesome pair of shoes that are nothing like Francis had ever created before!
Stargazing by Jen Wang is a heartwarming and beautiful story that touches on self-discovery, breaking stereotypes, and facing adversity. This story highlights the formation of a friendship between two girls, Christine and Moon. Moon and her mother were struggling financially so the members Christine's church were trying to find ways to support them. Christine's family rented a building across from their house to Moon and her Mom. At first, Christine was very cautious and skeptical about Moon because she had heard rumors that she was very violent and had been expelled from her last school for beating up another child. As Christine got to know Moon she very quickly realized that Moon was not a bully, but instead a nice girl who just had different interests than most of the kids in their community. After hanging out with Moon regularly, Christine learned a lot about herself, as she tried and experienced many new things. As the story progresses Christine and Moon develop a strong friendship and Christine’s grades begin to slip so she shifts her focus to her studies rather than hanging out with her new friend. Moon started to make new friends in the school and Christine became jealous because she had to share her new friend. Suddenly tragedy strikes at their friend Madison’s birthday party and Christine blamed herself. In the aftermath, the girls restore their friendship and the community comes together to continue supporting Moon and her mother.
Comparing The Texts
This chart is based on the Laminak and Kelly Book Comparison Chart in Chapter 7 of Reading to Make A Difference.
Critical Issue
While reading New Shoes by Sara Varon and Stargazing by Jen Wang two critical issues came to mind; cultural authenticity and stereotypes. I think that cultural authenticity is an important critical issue to address within these two texts because they are extremely culturally authentic. When writing New Shoes, Sara Varon visited Guyana and took thousands of pictures to base her illustrations and book characters on. She incorporated animals that are in Guyana, food that you might see, and plants that you might encounter. In comparison, Jen Wang pulled on her personal experiences growing up as a Chinese-American to write the book Stargazing. In this book, authentic food is represented and cultural customs are included (i.e. removing shoes at the door). Because she wrote about a culture that she is familiar with, she was able to accurately depict these representations.
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Another important critical issue to address is stereotypes within these books. In Stargazing, I feel that this stereotype of "Asians being good at math" is broken when Christine receives a "C" on a math test on page 119. I think that this page is extremely important to talk about how everybody has strengths and weaknesses and that they will not always do things perfectly. I think that this page is also important to acknowledge that making one not ideal grade is not a big deal- there are many assignments that will help average it out. Another stereotype that is addressed in New Shoes is that Mammals are mean and scary. Sara Varon depicts Miss. Jaguar as kind of intimidating at first, but she evolves her to being kind- Francis and Miss. Jaguar actually becomes friends towards the end of the story. Francis and Miss. Jaguar can be seen enjoying Miss. Manatee's music with Rhonda on page 141. I think that breaking this stereotype was very clever- especially when considering the typical audience of this book. Instead of seeing Mammals as these scary and mean animals, children will be able to see that they might not be so mean to each other in the wild.
My Thoughts
I have read many graphic novels, but I have never read graphic novels quite like New Shoes and Stargazing. While reading these two graphic novels I found it very difficult to put down- I wanted to continue reading to find out what would happen next. By the end of each story, I found myself in awe of what I just read- especially Stargazing. While reading Stargazing I found myself tearing up at certain points in the story because I had become emotionally invested and made connections with some of the characters.
When comparing New Shoes and Stargazing, they both have very different characters, settings, and plots. However, when analyzing both stories I was able to find connections between both graphic novels. For example, both stories touch on themes of being yourself, empathy, and community coming together. In New Shoes by Sara Varon, Francis sees that he is stronger working with a group of people rather than by himself at the end of the story when making shoes for Miss. Manatee. Francis enlists friends that he made on his journey to find wild tiger grass and rescue Nigel to help him with the shoes. On pages 172 and 173, you can see Nigel, Francis, Rhonda, and Miss. Jaguar all happily working on Miss. Manatee's shoes.Together, they were able to create the perfect “shoes” for Miss. Manatee to wear for her concert. Without the help of his friends, both new and old, Francis would have never been able to create the perfect shoes for Miss. Manatee- allowing him to see how powerful a community can be. In comparison, in Stargazing, when Moon was recovering from brain tumor surgery and attended the school talent show she was surprised when she learned that the community decided to come together to raise money from the talent show to help Moon and her mother with the hospital bills. This scene can be seen on page 205; Moon's mother looks so surprised and overwhelmed with the generosity of her community, as you can see a few tears coming from her eyes. This connects to the idea of "classrooms (the jungle in New Shoes) being a tapestry of friendships woven from differences that exist in the community" on page 118 in Chapter 7 Reading to Make A Difference- all of the animals in the story have come together to become a community as they make shoes for Miss. Manatee. Overall, because the community came together as a whole they were able to help this family much more than a few individuals would have been able to.
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Another theme that is evident throughout both of these books is empathy. In Stargazing, Christine has empathy for Moon and her mother when she learns that her father was killed in a motorcycle accident and that they are running out of his life insurance money. This scene can be seen on pages 102-104. On page 102, Moon looks little down when talking about her dad, but as the conversation continues on pages 103 and 104 she appears to be remembering good memories with her dad as she tells Christine about what he was like. Christine has never experienced this kind of tragedy, but she does feel for Moon and it allows Christine to understand Moon a little more. Similarly, in New Shoes Francis empathizes with Miss. Jaguar when he learns that Nigel had been stealing the tiger grass from him. Francis understands why Miss. Jaguar is angry and talks to both Nigel and the jaguar about how they can make things right. On page 135, Francis makes a deal with Miss. Jaguar to pay her back for the stolen plants and let her keep his book about mammals.
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Lastly, another powerful theme that is throughout both of these books is being yourself. At the beginning of Stargazing, Christine is more who her parents and society wants her to be rather than who she truly is. After meeting Moon, Christine learns a lot about herself and begins to express herself in ways that she typically doesn’t (i.e. painting her toes, dancing, etc.). This can be seen on pages 113 and 114 when Christine's dad sees her painted toenails for the first time. In Chapter 7 of Reading to Make A Difference, children learning from adults that some differences are valued while other are seen as a deficit is discussed. This concept aligns perfectly in this part of the story. Christine has been "conditioned" to not express herself other than in hobbies that her parents approve of. Painting her nails is seen as a deficit in her parents eyes, although having painted nails is not a very big deal in reality. At first, her parents are very concerned about the changes that they see in Christine, but they come to be supportive and accepting of her newfound interests. On page Similarly, in New Shoes, Francis wanted to be a shoemaker since he was little and pursued his dream. As a shoemaker, he can express himself through his shoe designs. Some of Francis's designs can been seen on pages 168 and 169. Francis is also a very kind-hearted character and wants to do the right thing. When he learns that Nigel had been stealing he had to help make things right. These are two examples of how Francis stayed true to himself throughout the story.
Character Traits with Stargazing
Analysis
In this spread of Stargazing, Christine is very upset. Before this scene, Christine and her father had just sat down to eat shaved ice. Christine asked her dad if Moon would still be the same after her brain surgery and her dad responded by saying that they will have to wait and see. He tried to ease the mood by making a joke about Moon being able to speak Chinese when she wakes up- but instead, Christine becomes upset and shoves the shaved ice across the table and runs outside. Her dad follows her out and finds her on the step. This is a breaking point for Christine. She confronts her day about how he wants everything to be perfect- including her. She says that she does try to perfect, but she wishes she could be more like Moon. By saying this, I think that she is referring to being more expressive and not always being "perfect". For example, she enjoys dancing, especially with Moon, and her parents were not supportive of it when she shared that they would be dancing in the talent show. As Christine has this breaking point the reader can see Christine wipe away a tear. I think that she is crying not only because she doesn't want to always have to be perfect, but because she blames herself for Moon passing out at Madison's birthday party earlier in the story when they discovered that she had a brain tumor. I think that deep down she is still mad at herself for pulling out Moon's journal so that everybody could see her drawing of Moon and the teacher that she had a crush on. She hasn't yet forgiven herself for this bad deed. At the bottom of the page, Christine says "I hope you're happy". The dad looks almost frozen in the last panel. I think that he is thinking that maybe he has put too much pressure on his daughter to be "perfect" through the years and that he crossed the line when making the joke about speaking Chinese. I think that the dad realized that Christine cares for her friend very much and is genuinely concerned about her wellbeing. I think that the dad realizes that he needs to have a conversation with his daughter explaining that she is enough and that nobody is perfect. I think that he will also begin to be supportive of Christine's new interests. In conclusion, I think that this scene connects to the quote "The greatest gift that you can give to others is the gift of unconditional love and acceptance" on page 116 of Reading to Make A Difference. I think that this scene embodies this quote because one of Christine's underlying issues is that she craves acceptance for who she truly is and wants to be.
Instructional Goals:
1. Develop vocabulary about describing feelings/emotions
2. Use context clues to determine the characters feelings.
- What are they saying?
- What are they doing?
- How are they acting?
- Is there anything in the image that is telling me how the character is _____ feeling?
3. Understand the "why" behind a characters emotions. (i.e. Why Francis is anxious/scared about going to the jungle for the first time)
Instructional Steps:
Step 1: Tell students that they will be learning how to describe character's emotions and feelings.
Step 2: Introduce page 186 from Stargazing. Allow students to read page it with a partner.
Step 3: Have students and their partner work together to identify one emotion that they see on page 186.
Step 4: Make a concept map with "emotions" in the center. Call on students to name the emotions that they see.
- How do you know ____ is feeling ___?
- What is another way to describe ____?
- Who can tell me another word for _____?
Step 5: Ask students why the character feels the way that they do.
- What happened previously in the story that might have made the character feel this way?
- Is there anything in the illustrations that might tell us why the character is feeling the way that they do?
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About the Authors
Sara Varon
Sara Varon used her own personal experiences to help her create the book, New Shoes. On a trip to South America, Sara observed the town of Linden, Guyana, this is where her inspiration for the book came from. She observed and took pictures of many aspects of the culture to reference as she created the story and illustrations.
Jen Wang
Lark Pien
Jen Wang created the storyline of Christine and Moon based on her personal life experiences. Jen Wang created both Moon and Christine by using different characteristics of her personality in each character. By using both characters, she was able to accurately display her experience in Asian- American culture.
Lark Pien is a cartoonist who also colors. She colored the graphic novel, Stargazing.
Sources
Laminack, L.L., & Kelly, K. (2019). Reading to make a difference: Using literature to help students
speak freely, think deeply, and take action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Varon, S. (2018). New shoes. New York: First Second Books.
Wang, J., & Pien, L. (2019). Stargazing. New York: First Second Books.