We recently interviewed Hannah Manshel, the children’s book buyer at 57th Street Books in Chicago, about Benjamin Bear (and other literary loves)!

Don’t they make a pretty display?

How did you first hear about TOON Books?

I first heard about TOON Books when I started buying children’s books for 57th Street Books. We used to have a few of them and keep them in our graphic novel section, but they really got my attention when Candlewick started distributing them last year, and my publisher representative told me that Francoise specifically requested that they be shelved with other beginning reader books, in order to really emphasize their learn-to-read function.

You said you’re a huge Benjamin Bear fan…what drew you to this book in particular?

I completely fell in love with the Benjamin Bear’s absurd humor, I still crack up at pretty much every page. The gags of his semi-logic are so instantaneous and satisfying! I tend to read longer form, narrative, un-funny comics, so Benjamin Bear provides some welcome variation. Plus, I’ve recommended this book to six-year-olds and Heidegger scholars and have received equally positive responses.

What would make you recommend a comic book like ours to a parent of a young reader?

TOON books are awesome for beginning readers, because the pictures are so vivid and descriptive and are as central to the story as the words. Early reader books tend to be very monotonous for parents, because their structure requires extremely simple stories with lots of repeated words. TOON books take a different approach, and because they’re more vibrant and dynamic than so much else that’s out there, parents are actually excited to read them with their kids. Also, even reluctant readers who may be intimidated by even an early chapter book are likely to pick up a comic book and get sucked in!

What’s your favorite part about being a bookseller?

I love really being a part of the neighborhood community and getting to know people by talking to them about books. Parents will actually stop me at the grocery store and tell me how much their kids loved the books I recommended to them — it’s so gratifying to be able to share books in such an active way. My other favorite thing is being aware of pretty much every book coming out from major presses (and some small ones!) in any given season and being able read widely and to have a sense of what’s generally going on in the literary landscape. It’s great feeling like an ambassador of the book world!

What’s the most recent book you read and loved?

The book that I’ve been evangelizing for all year is Lidia Yuknavitch’s brilliant memoir The Chronology of Water. It completely explodes the genre of the grief/addiction/abuse memoir, eradicates all the cliches, and is this stunning floating experimental piece takes the metaphor of swimming (Yuknavitch was a competitive, nearly Olympic swimmer) to basically invent a new language and form for this genre. It’s ecstatic and moving and it’s about being and becoming a writer and if you haven’t read it yet it will completely blow your mind.

On Monday, we brought our newest release, Nina in “That Makes Me Mad!”, to a new generation of Hilary Knight fans at Barnes and Noble Tribeca.

Over ninety local 2nd graders gathered at the bookstore for the reading and were asked, “What makes you mad?”

“When my little sister pretends to be my mom,” said one girl.

“When my little sister jumps on me when I’m trying to sleep,” said another.

The children sat still for the reading of the book by TOON Books staff member Leigh Stein, and Hilary, the artist behind the legendary Eloise books, but were jumping out of their chairs when he drew sketches of two lucky audience members (hey, even we were jealous!).

“I tended not ever to do books after the fame of Eloise,” says Knight, “But this was so really different.”

Canadian illustrator and graphic designer Frank Viva is currently working on a TOON Book title about an arctic adventure, tentatively scheduled for publication in 2013. Viva, who recently published his first children’s book, “Along A Long Road” to much acclaim, shared with The National Post his love of cycling that inspired the book’s idea. He told the Post that he rides his bicycle for an 8 km journey to commute from his home to his office whenever the weather permits. In “Along A Long Road,” the protagonist similarly rides along a winding road past Viva’s beautifully illustrated scenery.

Viva, whose illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, Time Magazine, and the New York Times, also shared his thoughts on working in the field of children’s literature. He told the Post, “I’ve always wanted to do a kids book. The idea that I could combine words and pictures and books—three of my favourite things—just really appealed to me. I thought I’d get around to it one day, and finally I did.”

Viva will work his magic again for his second children’s book, to be published by TOON Books. Keep your eyes peeled for the latest updates on his upcoming title here at the TOON Books blog!

Summer is upon us, and there’s no better time to read than now. With so many days before school starts again, summer vacation can be a great opportunity for children to hone their reading skills. In fact, not reading seems to only do harm! According to numerous studies, “summer learning loss” is a real phenomenon that results in a loss of the skills acquired during the school year. Students on average score lower on the same standardized test at the end of the summer than at the beginning.

Tony Evers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction for Wisconsin, said in a local newspaper, “The loss in mathematics, spelling, and reading skills can accumulate each year so that by the end of sixth grade, children who repeatedly experience summer learning loss can be as much as two years behind their classmates.” He noted that just reading 10 or more books over the summer can help maintain or improve a child’s academic skills.

Luckily, comics make reading a whole lot of fun. Kids love comics, and their visual appeal encourages even the most reluctant of readers to open a book during those long summer days. Schools and libraries, as well as media outlets across the country have included TOON Books on their summer reading lists. This year, “Little Mouse Gets Ready” was selected for the Illinois School Library Media Association’s list of book nominations for the Monarch Award, where all children from grades K to 3 in the state are open to vote for their favorite book at their school libraries (the book with the most votes gets the top prize). Prolific children’s book reviewer Holly Newton, whose weekly column appears in the most widely distributed paper in mid-Missouri, included a number of TOON Books, including our new “Silly Lilly in What Will I Be Today?,” on her summer reading list of books for early readers.

Are TOON Books on your summer reading list?

The talented R. Kikuo Johnson is hard at work coloring the pages for Shark King, an upcoming TOON book. Here’s a sneak peak at some of the black & white art and one early color sample.













Every little boy who’s seen this book so far has gone nuts over it.

Claude Ponti’s upcoming TOON book stars two mischievous chicks. Here’s a preview of a few of the pages:

When Kate DeRosier, the accounts manager for Boarders, Amazon and Ingram at Candlewick Press, saw the page above, she said, “I just fell in love with the tops of their heads.”

When TOON Books launched in 2008, they seemed to defy established categories—as comics especially designed for emerging readers to read on their own. So where do they belong on the shelves? At West Palm Beach Public Library in Florida, Youth Services Librarian Kathy Hage shelves our books in the graphic novels section, where enthusiastic readers often go for more fun reading. Kathy said, “We find early readers want to read comics and head to that section, so we decided to place books at their reading level there too. It’s also a great way to show parents the value of comic books…I love telling parents about how TOON Books came into being and how they are a great way to encourage their child to love reading!” We’re curious to know, where do you shelve TOON Books?

Kathy also shared with us that children read Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework for the library’s second and third grade book club, and they absolutely loved it! “The children were so excited to read a comic in their book club and loved talking about all sorts of fun science facts together. It was definitely a hit,” Kathy said.

Below are some photos of our TOON Books on the shelves of the West Palm Beach Public Library:

Should comics be taken seriously? Last week, the United Kingdom’s first degree program in comic studies was launched at Dundee University in Scotland. One Scottish politician criticized the graduate program; the Courier reported that Glasgow South Labour Member of Parliament (MP) Tom Harris made snide remarks over Twitter, stating that the new degree “dumbed down” the post graduate system. He later added comments like “Coming soon to a university near you: a BSc in Battlestar Galactica — comparisons of the original v the reboot. Nine grand a year,” and that he was “looking forward to Sheffield University doing a degree in forks.”

The city of Dundee is home to the publisher, DC Thomson and Co., who was the company behind such publications as Dennis the Menace and The Broons. Although Harris did not hesitate to make his feelings known, there were many who disagreed with him. Stewart Hosie, Dundee East MP, told the Courier, “This masters degree in comic book studies is a first-class idea. Comic books are a global industry.”

As if to prove the point, the Moscow University of Industry and Finance also announced last week that they plan to open a Department of Comics in the fall, headed by Russian-born animator and comic books author Pavel Sukhikh. The “comics masterclass” will feature subjects like “Storytelling,” “Character Creation,” and “Technical Study,” reported the Animation Insider blog.

We’re happy to join the side arguing in favor of these new university programs. It’s about time comics gets the same serious treatment as other mediums. In Julie Danielson’s review of our latest TOON Books release, Patrick in “A Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” on the Kirkus Review blog, she noted the success of comic books as a tool for new readers.

“Given their approach to this series, Mouly and Spiegelman’s venture was being marketed as a contemporary spin on emerging readers. But I say then and now (though I think hardly anyone would still refer to comics as a passing fancy) that what matters is taking a close look at the books themselves: Are they high-quality literature for children? Yes. Since it was launched three years ago, the series has brought readers nearly 15 outstanding titles by artists from a wide range of backgrounds—established children’s book author/illustrators (Agnès Rosenstiehl), cartoonists and comic books artists (Harry Bliss and Jeff Smith), and some new talent (Trade Loeffler). And the titles have racked up a whole slew of honors, including Theodor Seuss Geisel nods on more than occasion.”
(Read the rest of the review here. Read Danielson’s recent post on TOON Books on her own book blog, “7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast,” here.)

Dr. Chris Murray, who will lead the Dundee University comics program, told BBC News, “Employability is an important consideration for any postgraduate programme, and it lies at the heart of what we aim to do with this course. There will be practical advice on publishing and developing a career as a comics scholar, writer or artist, and we hope to arrange work placements for students.”

When we asked Geoffrey Hayes, children’s author and illustrator of the Benny and Penny series and Patrick in “A Teddy Bear’s Picnic,” whether he thought a professional career in comics was financially viable, he replied, “Today, comics are more popular than ever…now, more than any other time, is making a living out of comics possible.” He added that comics are now widely used for children’s education, like TOON Books’ early readers. When Geoffrey learned of the graduate program at Dundee University, he responded: “I wish they had a program like this when I was going to school. I had to learn how to do it [writing and illustrating children’s books] on my own.”

We received a great surprise when an email came in informing us that a Polish lifestyle magazine has published an article on our books! In an extensive piece on American children’s comics, Kikimora Magazine featured TOON Books such as “Otto’s Orange Day,” “Jack in the Box,” and “Mo and Jo in Fighting Together Forever.” Author Katarzyna Nowakowska covered the gamut from newspaper strip comics like “Garfield” and “Peanuts” (the Peanuts cartoons in Polish are absolutely adorable!), to DC Comics and Japanese manga. In her conclusion, she lauded the use of comics as a way for young children to fall in love with reading. We couldn’t agree more!

Thank you, Kikimora, for loving our books!

TOON Books is gaining attention on the other side of the globe! Our carTOON Maker has been featured in The Book Chook blog, a great site on children’s literacy and literature from Australian teacher and reviewer, Susan Stephenson. Check out her blog post here.

Stephenson had also profiled the Professor Garfield website in an earlier blog post.

Have your own fun with the carTOON makers here!

Below is Susan Stephenson’s own creation:

Silly Lilly is back for more fun adventures! In “Silly Lilly in What Will I Be Today?,” Agnès Rosenstiehl’s spunky heroine takes on role-playing with fun and sass.

Take a look at some of the reviews that were sent directly to us by teachers and librarians from around the country. You can see the complete list of reviews at Silly Lilly’s official press page.

Do you love TOON books? Send us your thoughts and get published on our press pages!

“Visually, Silly Lilly is an attractive book. The bright colors are cheery and reflect the playfulness of the story. The simple illustrations are unassuming, and yet contain fun details, such as the facial expressions on the teddy bear and the doll when Lilly is making music and trying to get them to sing. I also enjoyed Lilly’s creativity and resourcefulness. With the help of a few vegetables, cinder blocks, simple toys, her parents’ clothes, and her imagination, she explores the often-overlooked potential of everyday things. Perhaps this will inspire children to investigate their interests and discover that they can do a lot with a few simple things.”

Catherine Barnett
Y.A. Librarian
Chillicothe Public Library
Chillicothe, Illinois

“Silly Lilly is the story of a dear little girl who takes on a new adventure each day! A great read for young and/or beginning readers as it highlights days of the week and commonly used sight words. The text is not overwhelming. The illustrations are simply pleasing.”

Neil Secor
Young Readers Services Librarian
Beaumont Library District
Beaumont, California

“Rosenstielhl’s Silly Lilly romps through the simple panels of this graphic novel. She takes on her week with a different career choice each day. Like the young children who read her book, she sees no difference in being a city planner, cook, or vampire. She confuses the idea of career and “what do you want to be when you grow up,” with “what do you want to be for Halloween.” After reading “What Will I Be Today” to a group of 3 and 4 year olds, they shared their own ideas ranging from mom to ballerina to crayon. Slightly older children will likely laugh at her confusion. She is “Silly Lilly” after all. This playfulness has educational value though. The days of the week are clearly presented and then reviewed at the end. Silly Lilly encourages role playing in a way any child can emulate, and introduces job titles young children may not have thought about before, i.e. city planner, ending with a job many adults would envy. As with any good picture book, the pictures carry part of the story. Her teddy reacts to her antics just they way children imagine their own toys interacting. I feel this is a great addition to my collection and is a good jumping off point for many more adventures.”

Donna Babuskow
Healy Elementary
Chicago, Illinois

Geoffrey Hayes’s latest release, Patrick in “A Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Other Stories” Has been doing so well that we’re getting ready to go back to press! We’re so excited that you all love this adorable bear as much as we do.

Take a peek at these reviews sent directly to us by teachers and librarians, and see more of the raving on Patrick’s official press page.

“‘Patrick in a Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Other Stories’ follows a young, determined bear as he goes on a splendid picnic and takes a trip to the store. The text is manageable for a beginning reader, as each panel contains around one sentence or expression–and there are plenty of sight words. The illustrations are amusing and easy for the reader’s eye to follow.”

Nell Secor
Young Readers Services Librarian
Beaumont Library District

“Patrick in A Teddy Bear’s Picnic and Other Stories by Geoffrey Hayes, on the surface, is a light, humorous look into family life. We meet Patrick, his mother, and (briefly) his father as they enjoy simple delights like an outdoor picnic, an indoor picnic, and meals together.

Patrick’s mom shows motherly concern for her son as she insists on naps (which he can’t see the point of), but she also trusts him with responsibility when she sends him to the store despite his worry about a local bully. The character of the bully brings another dimension to the stories that takes us beyond the “slice of life” glimpse into Patrick’s daily doings. In one instance, Patrick is led by his mother to ignore the bully’s actions and move beyond his emotional response. In a later story, however, Patrick’s mother encourages him to see himself in a different light and builds his confidence so that he stands up to the bully. The ending scene of that story exemplifies how most kids would love to end their own bully stories: Mom asks, “So, did you run into Big Bear?” “No!” says Patrick, “He ran into ME!”

The bright colors and rounded lines of Hayes’s art will appeal to children, and the text is so well chosen that most early readers will be able to read much or all of the book independently. They may not even realize that they’re building an entirely new visual literacy as they absorb elements of graphica such as bolded and capitalized text for emphasis, onomatopoeic words in bright colors, italics, and thought bubbles as opposed to speech bubbles. Recommended for preK-2nd grade.”

Kelly L. Farrow
LRC Director, Fairmount School

Spring is here and our TOON Cartoon Makers are the perfect way to celebrate! We’ve just received this lovely Easter card from reader Peg Jarvis in Bristol, Vermont.

© and ™ RAW Junior/TOON Books. NOT for commercial use. All rights reserved.

Make your own adorable spring celebration cards! Just visit the TOON Cartoon Maker below to get started. Send us a copy of your holiday cards at raw.junior@gmail.com or through the “EMAIL” button on the Cartoon Maker website. We will feature the best submissions on this blog so check back here soon to see all the Cartoon Maker creations!

Don’t forget to send us your submissions!

I am the Development Director for a Charter School that I founded on Martha’s Vineyard with a few friends. Ours is a project-based, K-12 school now in its 15th year.

Our kindergarten teacher read her class Benny and Penny and the response of the five year-olds was so strong that she improvised a comics lesson directly after the reading. This teacher recognizes a teachable moment when she sees one! She was thrilled by the results and what they reinforced to 5 year-olds about sequencing and plotting.

Spectrum Mom writes:

Why I Recommend Toon Books for Children with Autism

The growing number of children diagnosed with autism today presents many challenges for parents, educators, and society as a whole. As the mother of a boy with autism, I focus a lot of my attention on his reading, because reading is a skill that opens so many doors. While the supporters of that notion seem innumerable, reading support specifically designed for the child with autism is far harder to find.

Yet, in a way, this lack makes sense. Every reader with autism is different, and no one program could address all their needs. Many are reluctant readers, some are dyslexic, and some are hyperlexic (where the ability to read outstrips the ability to comprehend).

Still, readers with autism do share common traits. These include literal thinking, a need for structure, and a tendency to repetitive behaviors. At the very least, there should be book lists for parents and educators to try. I and others are working to provide those lists, and I have put TOON Books on mine.

My son has trouble with verbal processing, so he relies a lot on reading. At the same time, he struggles with comprehension. One possible reason is an impaired ability to visualize the story. With a TOON Book, my son can watch the story unfold on the page instead of trying to see it in his head. The pictures also provide clues for the child trying to decode words. TOON Books offer two ways for meaning to reach the reader, the text and the pictures.

Many books designed as early readers, especially chapter books, offer little picture support. And some illustrated books show incorrect information, or include pictures haphazardly. TOON Books give readers picture support that corresponds exactly to the story. This may sound like a small thing, but if you’ve ever tried to explain to a child why the pictured dragon is the wrong color, or encountered a picture two pages before or after the incident it illustrates, you know how confusing mismatches can be to the child reader. For the child reader with autism, such an error can ruin a book.

Most children with autism have difficulty “reading” the emotions of others. TOON Books can help with this because the exaggerated comic style shows mouse Benny’s happiness or monster Stinky’s anger so clearly.

The themes of TOON Books also help explain social interactions that may puzzle children, especially children with autism. Stinky doesn’t want anyone new in his space, but he finds out that a really weird stranger (an ordinary kid) can become a friend. Benny and Penny don’t like their cousin Bo because he breaks their toys, but they’re happy to play with him when he doesn’t.

But what appeals most to my son about TOON Books is what appeals to kid readers in general. Making sound effects is fun. Stories about monsters and mice are fun. Comics are fun. TOON Books are fun!

We’ve included a Q & A with Spectrum Mom after the jump:

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On the blog Reading to Isaac, the mom of Isaac, a young reluctant reader, chronicles his path to literacy. She recently posted a wonderful piece of the power of the TOON Books:

There is something about a graphic novel or comic-type book that makes reading seem more enjoyable. I was always a little hesitant to bring home graphic novels from the library for my son, Isaac, because I didn’t want him to get used to reading that way and prefer it. But I found a set of graphic novels perfect for the preschool reader by Toon Books….My son took to Benny and Penny in Just Pretend so much that he had it memorized and basically was able to read it on his own after several read-throughs with me. It was really the first book he conquered on his own. We ended up buying it for him to celebrate.

It’s always wonderful to hear accounts of children newly eager to read when they get their hands on a TOON title. Thank you, Isaac’s mom, for sharing your son’s story!

Fan mail from Violet and Declan, a brother and sister living on the West Coast, arrived in our office today and we had to share. Click on the images to enlarge their letters or read our transcriptions below.

Dear Art and FranCoise I liked the Books you sent to me and my Brother! (violet and DecLaAn —–.) (
I LoveD the iLLustrations.
trun over ->
(Hotel for Dogs.) (not for Real)

my fvorit sparts!

Dear Art and Francoise,
Thank you for giving the books to our grandad to give to us. I got zig & wikki. I love the cover. It is so funny. My brother got Jack and The box. Hope I get more!
From,
Declan

In October, we sent Geoffrey up north to Maine for appearances at the Portland Public Library and Casablanca Comics! The lucky young attendees got to play a game to win Benny and Penny books and puppets. Special thanks to Kirsten Cappy of Curious City for her creative hosting, and these charming photos:

Click here to see more pictures from the Flickr set “Benny & Penny at the Library”

You too can prevent bullying!

Here’s how: If you’re a New York State student in Kindergarten, Grade 1 or Grade 2, enter our contest and make your own anti-bullying three-panel comic strip from now until contest end on January 7, 2011. How do you do it? Easy! Cartoons can be created using TOON’s own carTOON MAKER and instructions for Comics Lab are conveniently found here on our website.

To get in the spirit, have a look at Benny and Penny in the Toy Breaker by 2010 Geisel Award-winner Geoffrey Hayes or use the free TOON Reader. But wait, there’s more! Teachers, for additional explanations and cartooning help, see our Toy Breaker lesson plan and activity sheet.

When your comic’s complete you can submit it here and wait for the winners to be announced on March 18, 2011 at the Celebration of Teaching & Learning. Prizes include one iPod Touch per grade level and a complete set of TOON Books per classroom! Now get cartooning!

The good people over at TOON are honored to receive fan mail from young readers! Here’s what Caryn Horrigan’s First Grade class in Baltimore had to say about Eleanor Davis’s Geisel Award-winning Stinky!

Dear Eleanor,

We are in the first grade.  We are reading “Stinky.”  We are about to finish reading Stinky.  The story is beautiful.  Kevin says Stinky loves to smell flies.  Elggy says Stinky hates kids.  Jennifer says Stinky loves onions.  Kevin says Stinky likes smelly animals like toads, slugs, and flies.  We like Stinky.  We think he’s nice.

Jesus thinks Stinky will throw an onion at the kid and say “Get away from my tree!”  Cesar thinks that Stinky and the boy will be friends.  Elggy thinks that Stinky will scare the boy away.  Kevin thinks that Stinky and the boy will be friends.  Jennifer thinks that Stinky will throw onions at the boy.

We think your art is beautiful, nice, and cute.  You are a good artist.  Thank you for your book.

Thank you for the rest of your story.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Kevin, Cesar, Jesus, Jennifer, Elggy, and Ms. H