A Graphic Novel Series –Pizza and Taco by Stephen Shaskan
Kids love graphic novels. My older daughter has really enjoyed reading The Babysitter’s Club graphic novels by Raina Telegemier as well as her other books, Smile, Sisters, and Guts. As a parent, I have found graphic novels to be excellent for my older daughter because of the visual representation in more advanced books, which helps develop vocabulary. I had a feeling that my younger daughter would enjoy graphic novels, too, but needed to find a book that she would enjoy.
So, when I was in Barnes and Noble last week, I stumbled across the series Pizza and Taco by Stephen Shaskan. I picked it up and thought it was a great series for my younger daughter who is an emerging reader and wants to read more books on her own. This is a graphic novel series – perfect for emerging readers who are learning to read more independently. In the first book in the series, Pizza and Taco: Who’s the Best?, we learn that they are best friends, but only one of them can BE THE BEST! They get their two friends Hamburger and Hot Dog involved to figure out who is the BEST.
My younger daughter, who just turned six, has been reading the book to me. This has been great for her confidence as a reader. The books have chapters, which is very appealing to new readers who are moving past the early readers books and the storyline is engaging. She can relate to it and finds it very funny, which means that she is eager to keep reading. Reading this together has allowed me to help her learn new vocabulary and help her make predictions when she is reading. For example, because Pizza and Taco both feel that they are the best, they need to have a vote. For the vote, they need a ballot box – and unfortunately one of them cheats! This led to a discussion with my daughter about voting and what is involved. When Hamburger and Hot Dog were asked to vote, this was a great place to make a prediction, and she was able to see that Hot Dog may not vote for either Pizza or Taco. So, overall, it is a great series to build emergent readers confidence as they are decoding and support their comprehension.
If you visit Stephen Shaskan’s website, he has book trailers for some of the books in this series. They are a fun way to get kids into reading this series. Check this one out if you have a kid who wants to read more books independently!