Comics, Another Type Of Reading For Children
Mortadelo and Filemón, Mafalda, Zipi and Zape… Surely, as you read, you will see their names, you will put a face on each of these well-known and beloved characters. And surely you also know what is the link that all of them have in common: they are characters created for the comics.
We want to talk to you about comics today, as it is about another totally different type of reading that attracts a lot of children’s attention due to its structure, its history and the characteristics of the characters.
Characteristics of the comics
It has been many years since comics, also known as comics in Spain, became part of children’s and young people’s literature. These books have very marked and defined characteristics. These are stories that, through a succession of images, which are complemented with text, develop the plot of the book.
Therefore, comics, unlike other types of children’s books, always have the same structure:
- A sequence of images including each one of them within a vignette.
- The texts are included within what is called a speech bubble, which points towards the character who is saying those words.
- The permanence of at least the same character throughout the sequence of vignettes.
The comic also marks different times in its stories: the vignette in which the reader is always is the present, while the previous ones belong to the past and the following to the future.
The importance of snacks in stories
In addition to the structure in the form of vignettes, one of the elements that most characterizes comics are the sandwiches. Without them we would not know which character is speaking and therefore the thread of the story would be broken. These sandwiches are made up of two parts:
- The part where the text is entered, which is called the balloon.
- The part that points to the character who is speaking, which is called the tail.
The importance of the sandwiches also lies in their shape, since not all of them have the same shape as the plot progresses. This form varies depending on the mood or feeling that the character wants to express.
- In the form of a cloud : a thought of the character.
- In the form of saw teeth : expresses anger and a shouting phrase.
- Of expanded raindrop : expresses fear or cold.
- A speech bubble with several tails indicates that the text is spoken by several characters at the same time.
The use of onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeias are words that imitate or recreate a specific sound. This resource is ideal for stories where it is necessary to condense everything into a small space, since each of the vignettes has a very limited space within each page.
In addition, onomatopoeias emphasize the narration of the story, making it more credible for the smallest of the house, so that they are the ones who also recreate these sounds.
The purpose of comics
Although it is true that at first this type of reading was created in order to distract the reader and also offer a new way of reading to amuse and enjoy it, today this purpose has been expanded.
The social needs of the time in which the comics were created, since the first arose around the year 1820, and the need for prestige that they needed to continue, made the comics begin to have a didactic purpose among their pages.
Therefore, today, although its objective is still to amuse and entertain children, each story has a lesson or moral included in its plot.
Top comics for kids
Due to the autonomy that this type of story offers to the little ones, and because of the simplicity and fun of its pages, comics within children’s literature have become established.
Although the characters such as Mafalda or Zipi and Zape that we named at the beginning are still a benchmark for this type of book, new characters and new stories have reached the field of children’s and young people’s literature to entertain and teach children. Here are some of the most outstanding ones.
1. Ana and Froga
A group of friends and a frog are the protagonists of these comic stories that the little ones will love. The text is written in tight letters, so it is a very successful option for children who are beginning to read.
2. Comics without text
One of the best collections, both for the smallest of the house who still cannot read, and for those who do know but like to develop their imagination, is without a doubt this. These are bulleted stories, but without text.
This collection, called MAMUT , is divided into two: a part for children from three years old, and another for children from six years old. One of his funniest and best-known titles is La caca magica .
3. Hilda and the Troll
The adventures and curiosity of a girl are the elements that make this collection of comics one of the most successful today. Thus, it is recommended for both children and adults because of the enveloping nature of their stories.
