Review, Your Life in Comics

[Susan Stephenson, the Book Chook]

I'm a great fan of Bill Zimmerman. He has a wonderful website called MakeBeliefsComix which I described in Make Your Own Comic at MakeBeliefsComix and Practise Languages at MakeBeliefsComix. So I was thrilled to see that Bill has created a new book, Your Life in Comics, 100 Things for Guys to Write and Draw. It's been published by free spirit publishing and the art work is by Tyler Page. 

What’s more fun than reading comics? Making your own.

Most other books give you all the words and illustrations so you don’t have a say about what happens. Your Life in Comics isn’t like that. Instead it’s an interactive comic book where you can tell stories from your own life. There are also cartoons where you get to decide what happens to other characters. Fill in the talk and thought balloons to show what people say and think—their fate is in your hands! Other fun freestyle activities let you doodle, make lists, and write about cool stuff in your life. 

What I love about this book is that it targets boys, (recommended for ages 9-13) and does so in such a way as to encourage them to express their feelings in writing (and images.) I'm not saying girls wouldn't want to use the book too; in fact, I know I would have loved something like this as a kid. But the characters are mostly male. It's often important to boys that they can identify with "boy things", so this book could be perfect for them.

Essentially, Your Life in Comics offers kids prompts for writing and drawing in comic formats. I like the variety - there are activities that focus on personal achievements, sports, and embarrassing moments, as well as starters for narratives. There are also opportunities to draw comic pictures inside frames, add to started comics, and design cool stuff. Included at the back of the book are a range of different blank templates.

I love the fascinating suggestions sprinkled throughout, ideas that might start kids on designing their own websites or discovering more about inventions, codes and virtual worlds. I really enjoyed Page's art work too - it's quirky, expressive, and fun, yet leaves lots of room for a kid's own work. 

This book would make a great resource for teachers, keen to find prompts they can use with boys. I think it would also make an ideal gift for boys who love comics, and might be just what they need to get them started in using the comic format to express themselves. The website also has free templates to download. It's fantastic when publishers offer freebies to kids, parents and teachers like this! 

(This review was first published at The Book Chook.)

[William Zimmerman]

Dear Maureen,
Perhaps you can use the MakeBeliefsComix.com web site to extend the story of Persepolis, or to have the students choose a favorite character from the book and use one of the cartoon characters from the web site to continue that character's story and adventures. A book doesn't have to end with the closing of the last page -- it continues on in the readers' imaginations and perhaps the comic web site can help them express what they imagine in a comic form.

Thank you for your note.
Sincerely,
Bill