Unlike the other graphic novelizations of Disney movies, I have watched the source material for this one. While I think that this one did a decent job in adapting the story, I prefer this story in its original form. I think, perhaps, these adaptions would work much better if Disney spent a little bit more money to add a few more pages to expand the overall depth to the plot and the characterizations.
This story read really simplistically. I also do not have any familiarity with the original story having never watched Frozen. This is the first of several stories which star characters from Disney stories in additional “adventures.” (I have one more in this episode and three to come in the next one.) These stories alternate between traditional graphic novel panels and a full page of text which read like diary entries although nothing
indicates that Anna is writing these entries. Sometimes these sections of text work but other times it feels like a bit of a cheat to the narrative. This specific story felt highly didactic which did not work for me.
I really enjoyed this contemporary graphic novel with dual points of view, especially with how the author illustrated each perspective. Jamie’s perspective has text with accompanying illustrations while her best friend’s point of view comes in traditional panels. This creates distinct clarity between the two perspectives. I also appreciated how realistic both girls were, how the author showed that both girls made mistakes and
hurt the other and how they started to reconcile. I will definitely add this one to the “add to the classroom” list.
Unlike the other books I discuss in this episode, this book already has a home in my classroom library since it was the January Kids Comix subscription choice. The main character lives in a close-knit small town and consistently messes everything up because of acurse placed on his mother while she was pregnant, or so everyone believes. When Cossacks go on a rampage and threaten their town, Mendel works with his mess-up
tendencies to try to save everyone and learn whether he was actually destined to always fail at everything. Several students have already read and enjoyed this.
I have seen these books so many times in my career and only just now read them. I had no idea that these were graphic memoirs. I really enjoyed how Telgemeier shared
her personal stories in these books and will definitely add them to the shelves as well as read the third in this series.
Telgemeier might be my new favorite middle grade author. I have loved all four, including this one, that I have read from her. In this book, the main character (unfortunately, I cannot remember her name) deals with a move to a small town for her sister’s health. The sister has cystic fibrosis and she feels compelled to protect her. The story also includes a fantastical element with ghosts who make a prominent appearance,
especially on the Day of the Dead. Telgemeier handles the relationship dynamics so well. I will definitely add this one.
I enjoyed this installment in the Disney continuation stories. I think that the premise for the story worked much better than the Frozen installment. The text pages also flowed better with the overall narrative. I have yet to decide whether I will include this book, along with a couple of the others described in the next week, in my classroom library.
