The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is proud to release “Raising a Reader! How Comics & Graphic Novels Can Help Your Kids Love To Read!,” a new resource for parents and educators about the learning benefits of comics! This new resource is written by Dr. Meryl Jaffe, with an introduction by three-time Newbery Award honoree Jennifer L. Holm (Babymouse, Squish) and art by Eisner Award winner Raina Telgemeier (Smile, Drama) and Eisner Award nominee Matthew Holm (Babymouse, Squish). Graphic design was handled by Brooklyn-based designer David Herman. Raising A Reader! was made possible by a grant from the Gaiman Foundation. A digital edition premieres this week on comiXology, with a print version premiering at CBLDF booth #1920 at Comic-Con International: San Diego.

“Comics are an incredible tool for helping create a genuine love of reading,” said Jennifer L. Holm, who also serves on the CBLDF Board of Directors. “With Raising A Reader!, we set out to create a resource all about what graphic novels offer kids that includes vital information about how to read comics, how to create reading dialogues with them, and how comics are important tools for 21st century learners. We’re very proud of the work Dr. Jaffe has done to make Raising A Reader! an accessible yet information-filled resource for parents and educators.”

Raising A Reader! answers the questions parents and educators bring to using comics: What skills do graphic novels offer kids? What resources are available for using graphic novels in education? How do you teach reading with a comics page? How can graphic novels create reading dialogues? And much more!

Please visit www.cbldf.org to download a copy of Raising A Reader, and be sure to stop by CBLDF booth #1920 at Comic-Con International to get your copy!

About Meryl Jaffe, PhD

Meryl Jaffe, PhD, teaches visual literacy and critical reading at Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth OnLine Division and is co-author of Using Content-Area Graphic Texts for Learning. She used to encourage the “classics” to the exclusion of comics, but with her kids’ intervention, Meryl has become an avid graphic novel fan. She now incorporates them in her work, believing that the educational process must reflect the imagination and intellectual flexibility it hopes to nurture. Meryl hopes to empower educators and encourage an ongoing dialogue promoting kids’ right to read while utilizing the rich educational opportunities graphic novels have to offer. More information can be found atwww.departingthetext. blogspot.com.

About Jennifer L. Holm

Jennifer L. Holm is a New York Times bestselling children’s author and the recipient of three Newbery Honors for her novels Our Only May Amelia, Penny from Heaven, and Turtle in Paradise. Jennifer collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series — the popular Babymouse series and the bestselling Squish series. She is also the author of several other highly praised books, including the Boston Jane trilogy and Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf.

About Comic Book Legal Defense Fund

Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians, and readers. CBLDF provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance, and education in furtherance of these goals. http://www.cbldf.org