Graphic Novels

Graphic novels are an increasingly popular format with teenagers (and adults), and they're a wonderful tool for teaching visual literacy.

We're proud to publish some of the best Australian graphic novels, as well as distributing wonderful titles from overseas.

Discover a new graphic novel or locate valuable resources using the links below.

Why use graphic novels in the classroom?

• The graphic novel is a medium for telling wonderful stories which capture the imagination
• Literary graphic novels often tackle big issues and are frequently autobiographical (Persepolis) or political (The Sacrifice, published by Allen & Unwin)
• Graphic novels have won major literary awards including the Pulitzer Prize Special Award (Maus) and the Guardian First Book Award (Jimmy Corrigan)
• Graphic novels are a wonderful tool for teaching visual literacy
• Graphic novels have a visual vibrancy and energy, in which words and images fuse in new, often quite cinematic, ways.
• In a graphic novel, drama is created by the interplay between words and images, the tone and mood of the text and pictures, the gaps between the panels
• 'Not only do graphic novels entail reading in the traditional sense, they also require reading in a new way … the reader must make the connections between the images and the text and create the links between each panel and the page as a whole … this kind of literacy is not only new but vital in interacting with and succeeding in our multimedia world.' – Robin Brenner, Horn Book Magazine

View our graphic novels brochure (September 09)

View new graphic novels

Read teachers' reviews of graphic novels

Find out what practicing teachers think about these Allen & Unwin graphic novels, and how they use them in the classroom:

The Great Gatsby by Nicki Greenberg

The Sacrifice by Bruce Mutard

Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

Coraline: The Graphic Novel by Neil Gaiman and P Craig Russell

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan (illustrated stories)

The Boy, the Bear, the Baron, the Bard by Gregory Rogers (wordless picture book/graphic novel)

Background information

An article by Allen & Unwin Publisher Erica Wagner

This article is extracted from the book Right Book, Right Time: 500 Great Reads for Teenagers by Agnes Nieuwenhuizen (published by Allen & Unwin)

Useful weblinks for teachers

Our Allen & Unwin staff members have found the following web pages useful and interesting – you might find them valuable, too. (These are external sites, so Allen & Unwin are not responsible for their content.)

A research project by Australian PhD candidate Clare Snowball, looking into the use of graphic novels by teenagers:
http://www.alia.org.au/%7Ecsnow/research/index.html

Horn Book Magazine article by Robin Brenner: 'Graphic Novels 101:FAQ'

Horn Book Magazine article by Hollis Margaret Rudiger: 'Graphic Novels 101: Reading Lessons' (PDF)

Sydney Morning Herald article: 'The Panel Beaters'

The Age article about publishing graphic novels in Australia: 'Every picture tells a story'

A guide for teachers about graphic novels, including 'How to Read a Graphic Novel': 
'Get Graphic' 

An overview of graphic novels in the classroom and how to source appropriate graphic novels: 'Graphic Novels in the Classroom'

A list of weblinks (mostly to American resources) on the Cooperative Children's Book Centre, University of Wisconsin-Madison site: http://www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/books/graphicnovels.asp