Children's Graphic Novels: What Are Graphic Novels?

One of the comments we hear the most in the Children's Department when parents and their children browse through the graphic novel section is, "Those aren't real books." At first glance, it may be easy to discount the important role that graphic novels play in the development of early literacy skills for children. But, just as picture books play a vital role in the process of learning to read, so do graphic novels. 

Graphic novels provide children with the chance to sharpen critical reading skills regarding how text and imagery can be intertwined to tell a story. The ability to understand the message being conveyed by an image without the direct aid of text is an important skill for any reader, regardless of age, that cannot always be readily acquired through traditional text. In these works, illustration and text work hand-in-hand to convey the story's message, with color, shading, lines and shapes working together to enhance the provided text.

Recently, there has been an influx of graphic novel retellings of classic books and popular series, which have risen in popularity. These, along with original works, provide a wider breadth of literature to children. Although not as text heavy as a traditional chapter book, graphic novels can play a vital role in encouraging children to continue reading.

As you may have noticed, the graphic novel collection uses the same, "JFIC" designation as the fiction chapter book section. Although shelved in two different sections, it can be easy to mistake the call number for a graphic novel for that of a regular fiction title if you were to only look at "JFIC." This is an issue that even comes up with our librarians when they are unfamiliar with newer titles. One way to combat this is to look at the record for a book in our online catalog. 

Example: "Big Nate. Blow the Roof Off!" by Lincoln Peirce is shelved under the call number "JFIC PEI." Since there are also Big Nate titles in the fiction section, it is important to look at the item's shelf location. All graphic novels are given the self-location of, "Children Graphic Novel," which can be found at the bottom of the page when looking at our online catalog.

All graphic novels are located in the fiction chapter book section directly across from the circulation in the Children's Department. In between the last shelf of fiction and the "Disney," and "Dr. Seuss" sections, the graphic novel collection includes original works, retellings, American comics, and manga.

Currently, there are two methods of organization for the children's graphic novel section. First, the majority of the collection is organized in alphabetical order by the author's last name with the inclusion of volume numbers under the designation of "JFIC." The remaining books are organized using the Dewey Decimal system under the number, J741.5. 

In the Children's department, graphic novels can have one of two call numbers. The first, which is the most commonly used, is the designation of "JFIC," followed by the first three letters of the author's last name. The second is the the Dewey Decimal number J741.5 (designation for graphic novels), followed by a Cutter number. Books with these call numbers are then shelved in order based on their Cutter number by their author's last name. 

Of course, there are special cases where a completely different call number is used. One example is, "When Stars Are Scattered," by Victoria Jamieson, which is a graphic novel biography. In this case, the standard biography call number structure is used in place of the "JFIC" or "J741.5," designations.