American Born Chinese

For starters, I ended up really liking this text. I hadn't ever read a graphic novel before, but really enjoyed the different dynamic of it. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get through it because I expected it to take as along as reading a regular novel. Thanks to the limited text, however, I was pleasantly surprised with the ease in which I was able to finish the book.

Now for the academic aspects--this book could be used to grasp the attention of several non-readers in my classroom. Despite the harsh terms and hyperbole of the "stereotypical" Asian, this is a text that is entertaining and makes you pay attention to the different connections made throughout the text. By having the three stories intertwine, the author provides us as educators with a portal to show connections between seemingly unconnected things. I feel as though that is a great skill to teach students and using this graphic novel to do so would speak to their demographic. Since the main character of one story-line is a high school student, my students would be able to connect with the isolation and conflicting emotions that Danny experiences when interacting with his "cousin" and new friends.

Another reason I like the idea of using this book in the classroom is because of the fact that my students lose focus easily, but this book is easy to look through and understand, even if you don't read the text. By having pictures to tell the story instead of only words, we get to see into the characters' worlds much more clearly and vividly. This could help my students maintain attention and grasp some further concepts of the lesson being conveyed.