All Reading is Good Reading

Recently, while on my weekly trip to the library with my three boys (ages 11, 9 and 7), I overheard a dad ask a librarian for a specific children’s book, adding, “Not the graphic novel — the real book.”

He’s not alone. Lots of parents seem to think graphic novels are of lower quality than traditional chapter books for kids because their text is less dense and they have more pictures, despite the fact they grow in popularity every year. But graphic novels are real books, and they’re excellent stepping stones to other books.

Honestly, I think this dad might’ve been forgetting what he read in the '90s, because it’s not like most of us were reading Shakespeare.

Hits like The Baby-sitters Club and Animorphs were not groundbreaking literature, but that didn’t mean they weren’t also wonderful. Because their main job, as remains the number one job of all books today, was to bring us joy — to make us want to pick up another book.

In the '90s, we begged our parents for Archie comics at the grocery checkout and stuck our noses in them as soon as we got in the car to see what Jughead was up to next. We devoured dozens of Goosebumps books in a row, then read them again. We weren’t learning how to solve global conflicts or understand neurodivergence or even how to be a good neighbor. We were learning how to love reading.

My parents took me to the library and we went in separate directions. They didn’t know what I was reading, aside from a few books like the Little House On The Prairie series my teachers handed me, or the Choose Your Own Adventure books kids practically got into fist fights over. They were just thrilled I was reading at all.

Books in hands were good enough in the '90s, even if the quality of the books was sometimes questionable.

Picture books, graphic novels and chapter books have come a long way since the '90s. They feature more diverse characters and don’t talk down to kids. Lessons are more subtle and the quality of the writing is typically better.

Graphic novels are also more accessible. Not every kid has the attention span or the ability to read a large chunk of text.

In a world where the number of people reading for pleasure decreases every year, kids should be leafing through whatever brings them joy — graphic novels included. Otherwise, they’ll just push back and not want to read at all.

So I’m following my parents’ lead: A trip to the library is never a chore. My kids wander in and replace the stacks of books they’ve read over the past week or so. I’m not analyzing every single title they bring home. I do, however, supplement all those picks by adding in some of my own.

The kids who read 30 books in a row about dragons, unicorns, toilet humor or the same crime-solving cat are going to grow up and still read for pleasure. They’ll join book clubs and have discussions about relevant topics. Form opinions. Listen to others. And keep picking up more books.

Let’s give kids the freedom to read what they want. They won’t be 30-year-olds still clutching Captain Underpants.