We are thrilled to welcome Cecil Castellucci to readergirlz. Her graphic novel, The Plain Janes, is our July pick! Check out the our interview with Cecil, book party ideas themed around The Plain Janes, and our Reach Out project idea--as well as the awesome soundtrack Cecil's chosen for the book--on readergirlz.com.Here's a little about the book, which features amazing art by Jim Rugg:
When Jane is forced to move from the cool confines of Metro City to Suburbia, she thinks her life is over. But there in the lunch room at the reject table she finds her tribe: three other girls named Jane. Main Jane encourages them to form a secret art gang and paint the town P.L.A.I.N. - People Loving Art In Neighborhoods. But can art attacks really save the hell that is high school?
And the buzz...
"This graphic novel for girls feels like a teen movie and teaches young women the joy of being original." - USA Today on THE PLAIN JANES, Best Graphic Novels of 2007
"Castellucci clearly knows what goes on in the lives in many teens." - School Library Journal
"Castellucci gives voice to a memorable teenage narrator." - Publishers Weekly starred review
We are psyched! Join us all month right here on the blog for discussions and mark your calendars a LIVE chat with Cecil and Jim on Wednesday, July 22nd at 6pm PST/9pm EST.
Happy July, readergirlz!
16 comments:
Hi-dee-ho!
Hello! Hello!
I'm excited for another awesome month!
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I loved The Plain Janes!
Hey, Cecil! Great to have you here!
So cool to have you here Cecil! I just picked up Janes in Love today from the library. Can't wait to chat with you.
Awesome Awesome Awesome!
Cecil and the Janes are the best. Looking forward to the 22nd!
Welcome, Cecil, Jim, and Janes!
Welcome, Cecil! I loved Plain Janes!
Very excited to be here and I can't wait to see what kinds of discussions we all get up to!
Thanks for the warm welcome!
Yay for Cecil! Thanks for joining us!
Hi, Cecil! We're so excited to have you here - Plain Janes is fantastic. And I have to put in a plug for Boy Proof, which I absolutely loved (being somewhat of a sci-fi geek myself).
Just read the Plain Janes last evening. It's an Oregon Battle of the Books choice for grades 6-8. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of graphic novels because I really love to get deep into a story (I'm not a huge short story fan either), but as a librarian I really like them because graphic novels pull many kids in in ways traditional books do not. I also love the message in this book and believe it's definitely true that art saves AND that kids have the power to make change. I am concerned, however, that this particular GN will not appeal to my 6th graders that much, and they are the main Battle of the Books competitors. I'll be interested to see how they like it. It felt like 8th graders and up would really "get" this book, but I don't know that 6th graders will. I'm afraid many of them are going to obsess over a few things that they're not mature enough to handle and miss the main point. If there are younger readers on this forum, or older readers (like me) who have thoughts on this, please comment. Have a great day!
Welcome, Cecil! I'm looking forward to a great month. Thanks for being here.
Mrs F-B
I will be very interested to hear what your 6th graders say! I've had savvy comics kids 9-12 yrs old who have gotten the book. I've also had some teachers mention that they have used it to get a discussion going. I think it could be easier for older kids to get immediately, but kids always surprise me.
keep me posted!
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