How Graphic Novels Inspire Kids to Create
October 13, 2024
Graphic novels are a great way to encourage kids not only to read but also write and illustrate their own stories. We're excited to have Australian author, Kylie Howarth, write a fantastic blog about the importance of graphic novels. Kylie Howarth is an author and illustrator from Perth, Western Australia and has just recently released her latest graphic novel, Kev and Trev.
Graphic novels are a great way to encourage kids not only to read but also write and illustrate their own stories. Both of my children struggled with reading, so were easily intimidated by large blocks of text.
Graphic novels present text in small manageable chunks, often in speech bubbles, making these stories much more approachable for struggling readers. Chunked text also helps them keep their place on the page. Illustrations engage kids, provide context, show character’s emotions and allow the story to be told in less words than novels. For these reasons my children love graphic novels and now read most nights, despite their dyslexia diagnosis and reading challenges.
In the same way graphic novels can ignite joy in reading, they’re also a great way to encourage kids to create their own stories. Most kids love drawing but seem to have less opportunities to do so in the classroom and at home these days. When I visit schools and run author-illustrator sessions, my character drawing activities never fail to engage and excite primary students. They often scream when I announce that it’s time to draw and it’s always their favourite part.
Graphic novels are exciting for kids to create, giving them more opportunity to draw, create interesting characters and scenes, explore humour and include the occasional explosion. In doing so, kids learn and exercise a range of different storytelling techniques including story planning, character design, dialogue, humour, composition and world building to name a few.
After seeing the impact graphic novels had on my own children, I decided to create a graphic novel myself, recently releasing my eleventh publication and the first in a new series, KEV AND TREV, SNOT FUNNY SEA STORIES.
This book is about making a book! It’s also about embracing who you are and living your best adventurous and creative life. The book-within-a-book format features several funny short stories written by Kev, illustrated by Trev then edited and stapled together by (their editor) Mr Happy. The inspiration for these short stories sprang from the school readers that failed to captivate my children week after week. They were dated, boring, and I even found them a chore to read.
I was determined to help my boys learn to enjoy reading, so began making funny rhyming ‘lunchbox mini-books’ which I’d slip into their school lunchboxes. Soon their friends and teachers started reading them too and often begged me at school pick-up time for the next instalment. After sharing a few online, I was contacted by two publishers who were interested in this style of storytelling. From there I worked with Affirm Press to develop the Kev and Trev series.
Now at school visits I show students the lunchbox mini-books that inspired Kev and Trev. They are folded from a single sheet of paper, often called a hotdog fold. You can view folding instructions and examples here.
These mini-books, folded from an A4 page, are a great place to start allowing one illustration per page. I encourage kids to create a problem for their character within the first spread followed by an unexpected twist for the resolution. Mini-comics can be made similarly by folding an A3 page to create a larger size (that allows kids to add comic panels,) or by simply folding A4 pages in half.
I still have a drawer full of short stories that I created as a child from folded computer paper bound into book form by staples or string (thanks to my mum keeping them all those years). For children, there is something special about creating stories in book form, with a cover design, illustrations, page turns and possibly even a blurb. Perhaps because the end result looks closer to the ‘real’ books that originally inspired them to read and create.
Some kids struggle to get started when writing stories, often finding it difficult to decide what to write about. This struggle can be avoided if you start them off with prompted character design activities. For example, you could ask students to draw a circle, square and another odd or interesting shape on the page, then challenge them to see what characters they can create using those shapes. Or perhaps try mashing two or more animals together to invent a new species.
Once they’ve created a range of characters from various experimental character creation activities, kids can then select their favourites. In the first Kev and Trev book, Kev experiences writer’s block when trying to write a Merpug story, until his editor encourages him to interview the Merpug Chief for inspiration. Similarly, students can interview their own (or partner’s) characters, asking and answering questions to further develop each character’s personality. Example questions could be:
Who is your character’s best friend – if it has one?
What are three things your character likes?
What is your character’s worst fear (great for inspiring a problem for the plot).
From here, students can then begin planning their graphic novel or story arc.
KEV AND TREV, SNOT FUNNY SEA STORIES
Kev and Trev are best friends living their best lives on the high seas. There’s just one thing they need … money to fix their crumbling houseboat! Luckily Kev and Trev have a plan. They’re going to write a book so they can get rich and famous. With the help of a grumpy squid called My Happy, the pair land a book deal. The only catch? Their publisher is actually a PUG-lisher, and she insists they write a story about a Merpug. If Kev and Trev want to make their dreams come true, they’ll have to sail to new waters and find some elusive merpugs.
Teachers can use Kev and Trev, Snot Funny Sea Stories in the classroom to further discuss:
The use of rhyme and rhythm in poems and stories.
Graphic novels and how they differ from picture books and chapter books.
The story creation process including inspiration, research, writing, illustrating and editing.
Character design. Use the merpugs as inspiration to create other pug (or dog) animal character combos.
The role of publishers. Are there alternative ways to produce your story?
The role of editors. How can editing your own story improve it?
Problems and conflict – how they create tension and suspense in great stories. What hurdles did Kev and Trev face when creating their book?
Mistakes. Should we be afraid of making them? What can we do to turn mistakes into happy accidents?
The author (Kylie Howarth) loves snorkelling with sea creatures. Ask students which of their hobbies and interests could inspire a story.
Kev and Trev have a lot of fun researching, writing and illustrating their stories and discover bucketloads about the process along the way. I hope their journey will inspire many kids to create short stories and graphic novels of their own.
