"Study Hall of Justice" or study hall of just us? (Week 4: Graphic Novel Children's Selection)

 "I hope the cafeteria food is as good as Alfred's cooking."-- Derek Fridolfs

This week’s children’s selection comes from my daughter’s collection of graphic novels. I mentioned the topic to her and she quickly gathered four books. Of the four, I chose to read is Study Hall of Justice (DC Comics: Secret Hero Society #1). Derek Fridolfs’ graphic novel explores the life of a young Bruce Wayne as he begins the school year in a prestigious school, “The Ducard Academy”. However, he immediately discovers that something is not quite right about this school. He witnesses a flying girl, clowns, and ninjas within his first week of school. Bruce has trouble fitting in with students and living up to the expectations of his teachers. The students bully him and the teachers seem to only want students that are hateful, thieves, or conniving

     Soon, he meets a boy named Clark and a girl named Diana. Clark is hesitant to become friends with them, but he soon warms up. The three form a group, the Criminal Investigation Unit, to figure out what is happening in the school. The devise several plans to accomplish their goals. Their attempts to fit in and restore fairness and justice are thwarted when Clark loses his Student Presidential campaign to Lex Luther and Diana fails to make the cheerleading squad. Bruce also discovers that Clark and Diana are not who they appear to be. This causes the group to fracture. Will these special children be able to find out what is happening at this school? Will they be able to repair their friendships?

     This graphic novel is very cute. I was able to chuckle at the subtle display of Diana and Clark’s superpowers. Nguyen’s illustrations truly bring the story to life and provide dimension on the colorless pages. While this book is cute, it has not made me a fan of graphic novels, but I see their value. 

In the Classroom

     First and foremost, I will be bringing this book into my classroom library next year. I do not have a great collection of graphic novels, but I think my students would enjoy exploring the illustrations and attempting to read some of the dialog bubbles. I would recommend this book for students in third through fifth grade. Teachers could choose to keep it in their library for independent reading. This book does not require a lot of background knowledge to be enjoyable. Knowledge of Wonder Woman and Superman may make it easier for readers to understand the subtle comedy this book provides. However, it may be equally as enjoyable to view them as Bruce does. I would recommend using this book to study genres of literature. A teacher could use page 47 to teach how to navigate the dialog in graphic novels. After student study this structure, teachers could assign students to create vocabulary cartoons in another subject area.