Welcome Librarians!

As graphic novels and comics are increasingly appreciated as a legitimate literary format, BOSCO'S has been getting requests from librarians and teachers to help them find appropriate graphic novels for young readers.

Click the links below for lists we have developed. These DO NOT include all of the graphic novels and manga that we have. We carry thousands of titles. These lists are just to get you started.

Youth List
Young Teen List
Young Adult List

Order Form

The Secret Origin of Good Readers
Take a day off! This has lesson plans involving comics ready for you!

We want to talk to you! BOSCO'S can send a team to your group to talk about how comics are more than just words and pictures combined, but have a "language" of their own. We will also bring graphic novels and provide lists that we and librarians across the country recommend for different age groups.

Special deal for librarians. BOSCO'S offers 20% discount off the suggested retail price for purchases of graphic novels and manga by public or school libraries. Graphic novels and manga already on sale will be sold at the sale price or 20% off the suggested retail price which ever is lower. We only offer this program through our Spenard store.

Librarians may purchase off our shelves or they can fax (907) 274-4117 or email an order for us to pull for later pickup. We can deliver or pay shipping costs within Alaska for orders over $150 after the discount (that's about 13 or 14 books).

BOSCO'S is set up as a vendor to the Anchorage School District and offers a discount for orders from libraries.

We love comics and want to get more of them into your library! Please contact us if there is anything we can do to help.

BOSCO'S is located at 2606 Spenard Road and in the Dimond Center. Call Eric Helmick for more information at (907) 274-4112.

No Flying No Tights
This site is specifically devoted to presenting graphic novel reviews for kids and those who work with them, including librarians, teachers, and parents. It used to be that comics were, generally, for kids -- but this is no longer true! In today's comics, the stories are most often aimed at adults and teens, and there are fewer and fewer titles for kids. Thus, the creation of this site to help you all navigate the murky waters of comic book stores and graphic novel sections to make sure you're getting what's right for you!

Be sure to take a look at this year's Eisner Award winners. These are chosen by retailers and others in the industry. They will not all be appropriate for all ages. They do typically represent high quality art and stories.

Food For Thought for Comic Book Skeptics

Comics have the power to move, to inspire and to teach. Additionally, comics are the only form of entertainment that are both "right-brained" and "left-brained," evoking cognitive and interpretive skills in readers simultaneously.

BOSCO'S is happy to provide assistance to those who are attempting to use comic books as a learning tool. We have worked for years with progressive teachers and librarians who recognize the power of comics in the classroom.

Many students first find the love of reading by reading comics.

"One of the things I am very grateful to my father for is that, contrary to conventional educational principles, he allowed me to read comics. I think that is how I developed a love for English and for reading." ---- Nobel Prize winner Bishop Desmond Tutu

"A commonly overlooked area for read-aloud is the comic book, and my first choice would be the incomparable TINTIN… A comic can be viewed as an interesting sequential diagram of conversation --- a language blueprint. Once the blueprint is understood, the child will be ready and willing to follow it on his own without your reading it aloud." ---- author and educator Jim Trelease from "The Read-Along Handbook" (for more than 20 years this book has been recommended reading for elementary school teachers and parents)

FACT: The average comic book introduces children to nearly twice as many new words as the average children's book and more than five times as many as the average child-adult conversation. (From a 1993 study published in The Journal of Child Language)

FACT: A 1992 study of more than 200,000 students from 32 countries revealed that Finland, the nation with the highest proportion of comic book reading students (nearly 60%), also has the highest literacy rate (99%), as well as the highest library usage.