Bradbury, R. (2003). The best of Ray Bradbury: The Graphic Novel. Illustrations by R. Corben, M. Mignola, et. Al. New York: iBooks. ISBN: 0-7434-7476-7.

Annotation: 12 of Bradbury's short stories are presented in graphic novel format by several illustrators.

Media: pen and ink, water colors, pencil, colored pencil, pastels, acrylics, oils and probably more types

Rating: 5 quality of text and illustrations and 3 popularity

Comments: Fans of Ray Bradbury may or may not enjoy these interpretations of a selection of his short stories: A Sound of Thunder; The City; Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed; The Golden Apples of the Sun; Night Meeting; Picasso Summer; A Piece of Wood; Come into My Cellar; The Visitor; It Burns Me Up; The April Witch; and The Foghorn. High school literature classes that are able to have enough time for some elective reading could do a comparative/contrasting interpretation of the stories or read the short story without the graphic feature, student writes reflection and interpretation and then reads the graphic adaptation. What characters, objects, places and events seemed out of sync with the read-only version? Which version would the student prefer? Why?

Nancy

A Book that has potential elements to be challenged for removal from a school or public library collection—

Bradbury, R. (2003). The best of Ray Bradbury: The Graphic Novel. Illustrations by R. Corben, M. Mignola, et. Al. New York: iBooks. ISBN: 0-7434-7476-7.

Why would this book receive a challenge?

Violent visuals – blood, guns, body parts

Swear Words

Partial Nakedness

Frightening Images

Imaginary people/creatures from other places

Ideal logically unacceptable to personal sensibilities

What defense could be used for keeping it on the shelf?

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) suggest the following –

Develop a rationale – “…the articulation of the reasons for using a particular literary work, film, or teaching method.”

• Why include this book in the collection?

   

  • Aside from the fact that Ray Bradbury has been one of the premier writers of science fiction for the past half-century, readers who have some difficulty imagining what his words could mean, will benefit from the visuals provided by this book

     

• How does this book fits with the library’s service plan, goals and objectives?

   

  • One of the service responses for the library is contemporary fiction for adults, young adults and children. 

     

• Where should this book be shelved in the collection?

   

  • Currently it is shelved in the teen collection, however, it could just as easily be shelved in the adult science fiction collection

     

• Brief summary of the work

   

  • 12 of Bradbury’s short stories are illustrated dramatically by accomplished illustrators

     

• Relationship of the book to other books in the collection and the community

   

  • For a small library, the science fiction collection is kept up to date and contains works by established and more contemporary authors

     

• Impact of the book

   

  • Bradbury’s stories are intended to make one think about the world and can happen in the future and what has happened in the past (among other things). The stories help humans to work out their own humanness in figuring out how to deal with interesting situations and unusual circumstances and characters

     

• Line out potential problems with the book

   

  • Some of the book’s images may be too explicit and violent for some readers. There is partial nakedness and limited swearing.

     

• What other information could be gleaned about the book

   

  • Bradbury’s stories can be read without the visuals which may lessen the impact for visually sensitive readers.

     

• Alternative books that might be read

   

  • More fantasy instead of science fiction – generally, the quest fantasies of Terry Brooks are quite adventuresome, without the strong violence and language. For an alternative science fiction write, a read may try some of Isaac Asimov’s short stories.

     

Collection Development Policy

• Committee – community representative

   

• How this book fits with the library’s service plan, goals and objectives.

   

• Prepare the community – transparent policies/procedures

   

• Qualifications of collection development members

   

Defending the Collection

“All books are potentially open to criticism in one or more general areas: the treatment of ideologies, of minorities, of love and sex; the use of language not acceptable to some people; the type of illustrations; the private life or political affiliations of the author or, in a few cases, the illustrator.” (NCTE web site - http://www.ncte.org/about/issues/censorship)

How to minimize conflict and maximize customer service ---

Within reason, allow person to explain position in a private place

Listen, but make no commitments

Always tell the person that you will get back to them after the collection development committee has reviewed their request.

Develop Policies and Procedures that are sensitive to the public and still adhere to the freedom to read idea ---

Citizen’s Request for Reconsideration of a selected book/work