Free Comic Book Day May 4

Free Comic Book Day is almost here!

Every year on the first Saturday in May, the comic book world gifts us with fun, weird, delightful and sometimes horrifying comic books. None are designed for readers with autism, but many
may have great appeal for neurodiverse readers.

The comic books to be given away this year cover an astounding  range of popular culture.
If you're into Pokemon, Minecraft, or Dr. Who, 
there's a comic for you.
If you remember British funnies, or Little Lulu,
there's a comic for you.

Since many kids with autism have special interests like anime (My Hero Academia) Disney (Disney Descendants, Incredibles 2),  or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, comic books can tap into that and give them a reason to read.


Younger and younger at heart readers may enjoy Go Fish,  A Sheets Story, and Gillbert.

This year FCBD is also Star Wars Day, "May the Fourth be with you" as you look for this year's Star Wars comic book.

Perhaps your reader's passion is  - comic books? That's well covered with Catwoman, Spiderman, and The Avengers - not to mention some less well known caped crusaders - Hope or Dragonflyman anyone?

Not all free comic books are available at every location, but
most comic book stores should have a good selection. Remember, choose carefully.
Some comic books are gory, sexual or both. Riverdale is now an emo teen hang, just like the tv show. But there's plenty of great stuff. Whether you/your reader want silly jokes, save the world action, or a sweet story, you'll probably find it on FCBD 2019. 

Here is a Super link to all the fun:
https://freecomicbookday.com

Disposable Reading

Last Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. 
If you missed it, schedule a reminder for the first Saturday of May 2018. In the meantime, you can still go to a comic book store.
If your reader is hard on books but does not eat paper, 
old comic books may be a great choice.
The larger comic book stores have tons of old kid friendly comics priced low enough that you can let kids read, so long as you can handle the three Rs:
Read
Rip
Recycle 
I've already rescued my boy's comics from being sat on, and I know they'll soon
be shredded. 
He had trouble choosing. After fifteen minutes he had one comic book, Shrek.
I chose Bongo (The Simpsons) for him, and his brother picked up Scooby Doo. 
He looked at them right away in the car, but not again till I suggested he
read them this evening. So far, he's mainly pleased that Scooby Doo meets a
Man-Bat.
The thing about comics is, if it's in popular culture there's probably a comic
for it. So if your kid has a favorite tv show or movie and you'd like some
reading material based on it, there's a good chance you can find a comic
and use the tie-in to entice your kid to read a little something.
And comics are little somethings - 32 pages and done.
Short can be good.
 
 

Free Comic Book Day!

 


Saturday, May 6, 2017 is Free Comic Book Day 
and it's going to be 
Miraculous!
 Seriously, that's one of the free comic books:
Miraculous, starring Lady Bug and Chat Noir.
Depending on your comic book store, your kid
can get everything from Simpsons
to Malika Warrior Queen.



I've written elsewhere in the blog about why I think comics
can be particularly helpful for readers with autism, today I'm just saying - go and enjoy!



For more on this special day, check out this link:
http://www.freecomicbookday.com/
or get the NPR spin here http://www.npr.org/sections/monkeysee/2017/05/05/525707610/a-guide-to-free-comic-book-day-2017-the-dont-misses-and-the-near-misses

Education Friday - "How Comics and Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love to Read!"

Raising a Reader is a comic book subtitled
with the title above. For a real mouthful,
try saying the name of the publisher
(Comic Book Legal Defense Fund)
ten times fast, or just go to the link
and read the short pamphlet (published/
formatted as a comic book).
The comic suggests several reasons why
graphic novels help reading 

• Short Bursts of Text
• Fun Fonts
• Text Paired with Images

All of the above are elements that 
often help readers with autism.
Raising a Reader also discusses ways
graphic novels can be used for book clubs, 
to meet common core standards, and
to improve a variety of skills, such as

• Memory
• Sequencing
• Language
• Critical Thinking

If you're interested in this topic, you can click 
Raising a Reader to read more. CBLDF also
offers monthly columns on graphic novels in
education with teaching and discussion suggestions
and correlations to the common core.

Literate Comics - Comic Literacy

Friday I'll run a piece on why and how kids should read 
comics, but for today I'll assume you agree, kids can
learn reading from comics.
But what comics or graphic novels 
(an increasingly elastic term) - 
will intrigue and please your kid?
As always, I don't know, but I'm willing
to make some suggestions.
"Monster on the Hill" takes the outsider who 
wants to conform tale into an odd English
landscape where villagers pride themselves
on their resident monster. Except in the small
town of Stoker-on-Avon where the monster 
that lives on the hill just isn't scary. 
Publisher Top Shelf also offers "Johnny Boo,"
a very simple comic where
the title character's bouncy adventures remind
me a bit of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie 
stories (the level and humor are similar),
and might appeal to those readers.
And for fans of the silly and absurd,
"Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken" - I hope
the title says it all because I can't describe
it more clearly except to mention they're
frenemies. 
If you're looking for mainstream comics,
try DC's "Teen Titans Go"  
(now on Cartoon Network)
or "Guardians of the Galaxy" from Marvel
-specifically the character Rocket Raccoon.
Both of these, as you might expect, contain
fairly frequent fight scenes, the latter with
space age weaponry.

Comic Books and Graphic Novels

I have mixed feelings about this popular comic*

These days the distinction between comic books 
and graphic novels seems to be more about format
and frequency than content.
Comic books also may contain more than one story,
especially if the comic is humorous or aimed at 
younger readers - think Archie or Richie Rich.
You can still get Archie comics. 
Of course, if you have a computer with internet, or
can get to a comic book store, you can still get
almost anything. Which leads to the question,
what should you get?
As with any reading matter, try to follow
your child's interest.
Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Fraggle Rock,
Muppet Show, The Simpsons, all have or have
had comic books devoted to them. And the 
variations on Disney are out there too, though
aside from Scrooge McDuck the Disney license
usually goes to books that fall on the picture
book rather than the comic book side. And many
popular children's books are available in graphic
novel form, including The Boxcar Children and
the Redwall books.
Next week I'll talk about some less familiar titles
that may interest your kids.
*Archie comics are fun, but their social and gender
stereotypes offer a poor blueprint for social behavior.
If your kid can't sort that out, you may want to stick
with fantasy comics. And if someone knows a realistic
comic that offers better social models, please comment
or email me!

Dear George Lucas, Please Answer His Letter

Yesterday I saw a Star Wars comic book in my son's room.
My son does not go out and buy comic books on his own.
I hope he will some day.
So I was surprised. I didn't remember buying that
comic book. I've bought him Muppet Show comics,
because he's obsessed with The Muppet Show. 
Many of his peers, with or without autism, are
obsessed with Star Wars, but he isn't.
So I asked him where the comic book came from,
"I think George Lucas sent it."
And then I remembered The Letter.
We've tried to teach him to write down what really
bothers him instead of having a meltdown. Sometimes
that means a letter to a real person.
These letters are not the kind of missive you or I might
write to vent anger and then tear up when we cool down.
My son is not angry. He just wants to know 
everything about what interests him and has a hard time
accepting that sometimes there are no answers, or that
sometimes the people with the answers do not want to
share them.
If you or your child like The Muppet Show you may already
know that Seasons 1 - 3 are available on dvd. And that's it.
My son certainly does and he has searched the internet to
find out why. One theory out there is that Disney does
not have the rights to Star Wars, and Season 4 has a Star Wars spoof with Mark Hamill. I have no idea if this
is true, but it's a crazy litigious world out there and there's
a Clone Wars sized army of lawyers protecting 
billion dollar properties like the Star Wars universe.
So one day my son tells me he wants to write to George
Lucas and ask about it. With my help, he sent Mr. Lucas
a letter.
And back at Skywalker Ranch they sent out a form letter and
a comic book. Which is really far more than I expected.
Thank you, kind Star Wars Corporation PR folks.
With luck, perhaps he'll read that comic book some day.
But hey, Mr. Lucas, it would be beyond wonderful if you could
answer his letter. If the reason for delay has nothing to do with
Star Wars, say so. If it does - well then say or do what's in your
heart.
I expect nothing. But perhaps I'll be surprised again.

Sincerely,

Spectrum Mom

Asterix the Gaul

My son took my Asterix comics off my shelves earlier than I meant to share them. These silly, witty, comically violent,* comic books spoof the historical period of Julius Caesar from the French

(pardon me, Gaulish) perspective of Asterix's indomitable village,

surrounded by Roman fortified camps filled with highly trained,

disciplined legionaries terrified by the rowdy villagers filled to the brim with brio and magic potion.

Hard to say what exactly my son makes of all this. He loves puns, and the books are filled with them. The plots mix up history that he is still learning. The plots follow Hitchcock's McGuffin rule, 
the characters are all after the same object. This is much easier 
to follow than stories with more emotional subtext.
Comic books tend to focus on a simple clash of protagonist and
antagonist. And the pictures help give information about
vocabulary or concepts that might otherwise delay the reader.
Most importantly, the books entice the reader. As witness my 
falling apart Asterix books.

*Biff! Paff! Pow! (No one ever dies, everyone walks away (eventually) from the fight.

-Spectrum Mom

Mo Willems

Mo Willems achieved picture book 
superstar status with




a unique blend of comic strip, picture
book, and meta book followed by
many sequels: 
The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog!
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
The Pigeon Loves Things That Go!
The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too!
and (we haven't read this one)
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!


As you can tell from all the exclamation 
marks, the Pigeon is a bird of strong
feelings. He and other characters speak
directly to the reader. This engaging
technique works very well with both
my sons, on the spectrum and off.


Although aimed at the preschool
Kindergarten set, 
my nine year old still likes
them for relaxation from more
complex books. The exaggerated
feelings may help him understand
emotions and develop empathy.


And even if they don't, they're
fun to read. 


My good friend Leah also
highly recommends his 
Elephant and Piggie books

-a first reader series that
makes her girls Jinae and 
Callie want to read-and
her boy William checked
out
so he likes them too.