Goodreads- Garlic and the Vampire
When I first skimmed the book Garlic and The Vampire, I thought there’s no way that this is for YA, there were way too many pictures and the vocabulary was very basic. However, once I read the book I realized that the overall theme is great for YA. The book is about facing your fears and learning how to stand up for yourself. This is a message that YA desperately need to hear. Although I prefer a book to have more words and less pictures, the art was incredible and did a great job at telling the story visually. I loved how detailed the pictures were. The colors the artist chose really did a great job at popping out of the page and drawing the reader's attention. I think that by choosing to include more pictures than words, the author was able to allow readers to fill in the blanks and make the story their own. Where there is a lack of words, the reader is able to make up their own dialogue in their head. I think this is one of the reasons that the book is great for YA. It gives readers the freedom to create their own story based on the pictures. The ending doesn’t have any words, which gives readers the opportunity to sort of create their own ending. This book is great for YA because it expresses the ways in which we can tell a story in many ways, not just with words. Additionally, this book may appeal to kids who struggle with reading. Because the vocabulary is so basic, students are able to focus on the story itself, instead of struggling to comprehend it. Overall, Garlic and the Vampire is a great book for YA. The art is incredible, the few words that are used are meaningful, and the overall theme is extremely important for children to learn.
Comments
I agree! I think this book is great for YA because the message is so relevant to them. As a middle school teacher, I love offering this book to students because it expresses the ways in which a story can be told many ways, not just through words. I totally recommend bringing this book into your classroom!
Regan Wilson
I love this book!!! I’m not a great reader, so traditional books can be hard for me to read. This book was such an easy read, that it made reading feel fun again! Ever since I read this book, I’ve been way more interested in reading. Graphic novels are the best!
This book isn’t just great for YA, I read it with my 6 year old and she loved it! I think that’s one of the things that’s so great about this book, it can apply to a huge range of kids!
This book was such a great read!! I am still learning English so I appreciated the simple vocab and pictures. I love to read but sometimes that is hard because I’m not fluent. I was able to read this book easily, which gave me a lot of confidence!
Jessica Smith
I am a middle school teacher, and this book was a miracle for one of my students! He really struggled with reading, and when we’d have independent reading time, he’d often just stare at the same page. He has always struggled with reading and writing. I thought that it’d be good to introduce him to graphic novels. The first graphic novel I introduced him to was Kindred by Damian Duffy and John Jennings, but he wasn’t a fan. Then, another one of my students read Garlic and the Vampire and was going on and on about how good it was. I decided to suggest the book to my other student, and he loved it! For the first time, I saw him actually turning the pages during silent reading. After he finished, he had a new passion for graphic novels. It’s been 2 months and he’s already read 7 graphic novels. Thank you Garlic and the Vampire!!
Madison Levy
Personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. I thought it was kind of predictable. I didn’t like the lack of words, either. I get it’s a graphic novel, but I think some more words would have made it better.
Mary
I love how cute the vegetables were! They were so well drawn and adorable. I also loved the colors he used. I like how the vampire was drawn as well. I feel like there was just enough detail to make him stand out. As an artist, I think this book is great!
Mia
This book was great for my 12 year old! I could never get here to read, but now she begs to stay up past her bedtime to read! I love it!
Jeff
My son loves this book! I homeschool and sometimes it's hard for me to find good YA books because I'm not a huge reader myself. I try to get him to enjoy reading, but he just hates it- that was until he read Garlic and The Vampire. Now, he loves to read! I love reading the comments and seeing how many kids began to love reading because of this book. I love it!