When I say short comics for kids, you may right away picture a specific text. There are a growing number of short comics coming out for kids to enjoy. I use the term short comics for kids interchangeably with beginning graphic novels, or graphic novels for beginner readers, as well as comic strips. These all encompass the same type of text. 

Short Comics Style

Short comics for kids include graphics and text in a slightly different format than typical books. Typically the texts aren’t as long and there is way less text on each page. There are also usually lots of dialogue speech or thought bubbles, as well as a different background design to split up the text as a reader gets through the short comics. So, now that you have visual of the texts themselves, let’s check out why you should begin using short comics for kids!

5 Benefits of Short Comics for Kids

1. Build confidence in readers! Since the text is typically short and easy to digest, readers feel confident as they read through the short texts.
2. Reluctant readers enjoy them! The setup of these types of texts can be very appealing to readers who are intimidated by long texts.
3. Improve inferencing skills. Comics often encourage readers to read between the lines to infer what else is happening in the text. So while they’re decoding words in sentences for an initial understanding, they’re also using inferencing skills to dissect illustrations and captions or speech/thought bubbles, to further their understanding.
4. Build visual literacy skills. Visual media is all around us and students need to know how to understand what the visuals mean. With all the parts included in graphic novels and comic books, students are given a chance to interpret and understand the meaning of visuals included.
5. Relatable topics and characters. You can find graphic novels and comic books in a variety of genres. You’ll also see that diverse characters are typically represented in these types of texts, making students feel seen or heard.