1. Comics combine images with text, boosting visual recognition skills.
Babies start reading by recognizing pictures, and then continue their love of stories by progressively improving their pattern recognition and visual skills. You can start reading to your kid even before he or she is born! Picture books are a favorite for this very reason, and from a classic board book like Eric Carle′s The Very Hungry Caterpillar to a comic board book like Wonder Woman ABCs, comics can be around from the very start.
Here and here you can see some recommendations for early readers, and by clicking to these images you can see:
10 DC Comics Board Books to Make You a Baby Shower Super Hero
9 Comic Books for Young Readers
2. There is a comic for every topic you can imagine
From fantasy to sci-fi to science, there is a comic for every kid out there. Here are a few reviews:
10 Great Picks for Middle Grade Readers
7 ′Science Comics′ from First Second
Reading with Pictures-Supporting Comics in the Classroom
3. The layout of each comic spread is helping your kid to read better
To gain a sense of space layouts and sequential narratives is essential to boost your reading skills. And there are a variety of layouts, since they adapt for each topic and age range.
14 Comic Books for Kids, YA, and Adults
4. Hidden details and funny small scenes work as an incentive, every time
Here are two scenes, one from Asterix and Cleopatra:
and another from Plants VS Zombies, to illustrate:
5. Comics are fun to read
Reading comics is all about the fun, and having fun equals falling in love with reading.
“While the connection of words and pictures at first seems playful, the skills readers develop help provide a practical foundation for other kinds of learning. From verbal and visual literacy to critical thinking and memory, comics are a great tool to give young readers a head start”. Jennifer L. Holm
Want to learn more? Check out this great resource by Merryl Jafe at the CBLDF: Raising a Reader, How Comics and Graphic Novels can help your kids love to read!
