Dr. Michele Berg of the Family Service and Guidance Center in Topeka, Kansas was recently introduced to the TOON Books collection and our unique storytelling format.  As the Director of the Center for Learning Disorders, Dr. Berg was quick to recognize the value that our books hold not only for beginning readers in general, but for struggling beginning readers in particular.  Here’s her response after reading a few of our titles:

These are excellent and I am so happy to know about the books and all of the classroom resources on your website!  I plan to meet with the literacy coaches from Topeka Public School District later in August when they return to duty.  I will share these books and the website with them as I think this format will work very well with reluctant and/or struggling readers.

I am also sending your email/the link to your website to ERC Resource and Referral Center here in Topeka.  This is an organization that provides training to teachers in this region.  I know they will be very interested in the books as well as the resources/activities on your website.

I will also be introducing these books to the staff in our Early Childhood Intervention Program here at Family Service.  I particularly appreciate the conflicts between the characters that are portrayed in the Benny and Penny books … our staff will enjoy reading these with the younger children and talking about the situations.  I will introduce the upper level books to our staff in the Youth Intervention program … Mo and Jo: Fighting Together Forever and Otto’s Orange Day will be great for that group … older children who have trouble reading and also trouble resolving conflicts.

Parents and children can now enjoy the spunky and whimsical Silly Lilly in the Four Seasons anywhere with the convenience of an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. With narration available in English, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish, parents can entertain and educate children with this critically acclaimed easy reader.

Selected as a Best Children’s Picture Books by Publishers Weekly when it was released, Silly Lilly in the Four Seasons by Agnès Rosenstiehl (recipient of the prestigious Grand Prize for Children’s Books of the Société des Gens de Lettres) was described as “perfect for new readers” by the School Library Journal. “Comic moments…draw us directly into Lilly’s emotional world, where attention is routinely paid to everything, from a lowly dandelion on up,” remarked the eminent critic Leonard S. Marcus in a starred review.

Unique features of the TOON Books iPhone/iPad app include:

• Lively narration that brings the story to life. Onscreen text and highlighted speech balloons help readers make associations between the words they hear and see. It is the closest experience to being read a book that any app can deliver. As with all TOON Books, repeated use builds reading fluency.


• The carefully chosen vocabulary is recommended by educators for young children; the app is designed specifically for young readers for ease of use, with easy-to-read large type and pages that can turn automatically or be swiped back-and-forth manually for a true feeling of turning the page.


• Narration is available in five languages – English, Spanish, French, Russian and Mandarin Chinese. The interactive options immerse young readers in the story, making this a great tool for both English Language Learners and very young English speakers learning a new language. There’s no better way to introduce a child to a new language than with the universal language of comics.

Silly Lilly is the American counterpart to Mimi Cracra, the star character of over 100 books and a television show in France. The TOON Books line recently expanded with hardcover bilingual French/English editions published in France by Casterman, the most recent of which is Silly Lilly in the Four Seasons (more information at TOON-books.com).

TOON Books’ Editorial Director Françoise Mouly (who is also Art Editor of The New Yorker) launched the new line of comics for young readers to overwhelming praise.Vetted by educators and librarians, the collection is a breakthrough in books for early readers, now used in K-2 classrooms throughout the US. The Silly Lilly app follows Jack and the Box by Art Spiegelman, the Pulitzer-Prize author of MAUS (featured in the LA Times and Apple’s April 2010 “What’s Hot”, and among the 10 ten apps in France upon release) as well as Little Mouse Gets Ready, by Jeff Smith, the author of the bestselling Bone books, as the third iPhone/iPad app released by TOON Books and iStoryTime, the leader in iphone children’s books.

Photo Credit: Sarah Shatz

TOON Books is engaging in a new effort to bring public opinions, comments, and ideas to the forefront.  Our blog will now regularly feature Q&As and opinion pieces shared by parents, librarians, and educators who are eager to chime in on issues dealing with emerging readers.  One topic that we’ve seen a major response to is the labeling and categorizing of our books.  Betsy Bird responded to us on Twitter regarding the shelving of TOON Books: “We shelve ‘em with the other Graphic Novels. Honestly, I wish we put some in the Early Reader section, too. I worry they get lost.” Comics or graphic novels, early readers or picture books, it seems the TOON titles are caught in a web of semantic confusion.  “I’m a little ignorant on specifics: what defines ‘early readers’ and ‘emerging readers?’” tweeted Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading.  We enthusiastically welcome your thoughts on definitions of these labels and where the TOON books belong.

In appreciation for visiting their school, students from Linda Parnes’ class at P.S. 109 sent a very colorful bunch of Thank You cards to author Nadja Spiegelman and author/illustrator Geoffrey Hayes. Linda says her class enjoyed the visit very much and that her students “are looking forward to creating comics of their own.” It brings us great pleasure to know that the students connected so strongly with Nadja and Geoffrey’s work, and we are especially excited to hear that the students have been inspired to make their own comics.

To Linda Parnes’ class at P.S. 109: Thank you for all of your thoughtful comments and imaginative drawings!

Earlier this week, TOON Books hosted the 2010 Book Expo America Drink and Draw at Books of Wonder in NYC.  Two easels, great food and wine, and a roomful of children’s book enthusiasts made for a memorable evening.  Attendees ranged from established authors to new readers, making age no object at this fun event.

Geoffrey Hayes (author and illustrator, Benny & Penny), Dean Haspiel (illustrator, Mo and Jo: Fighting Together Forever), Nadja Spiegleman (author, Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework), and Trade Loeffler (illustrator, Zig and Wikki in Something Ate My Homework) took turns at the easels drawing the familiar faces of TOON Books characters.  Other guests were free to draw alongside them and create any kind of character or scene they wished!  Cartoonist Nick Abadzis adorned one of our easels with a fantastic astronaut dog, and a TOON Books reader was seen drawing a speedy-looking car. Despite the spread of scrumptious hor d’oeuvres on the other side of the room, the drawings attracted quite a crowd.  Editorial Director Francoise Mouly was delighted by the impressive turnout and support for TOON Books.  Book sellers, distributors, and librarians alike were eager to learn more about the philosophy behind our unique kind of storytelling.

As the event came to a close, some of the remaining guests migrated to the perimeter of the room.  At any other party, this might be taken for a sign of boredom—not so at the Drink and Draw!  Attendees paused their conversations to flip through the pages of our 12 titles, including the soon-to-be-released Silly Lilly in What Will I Be Today? at our table stocked with books, catalogs, and giveaways.  The 2010 BEA Drink and Draw delivered.  There was drinking, drawing, and a whole lot more!