Denton, S. (2010). The Boxcar Children: The Castle Mystery. NY,NY: Albert Whitman & Company. ISBN 9780807510803
Author: Shannon Eric Denton
Author Website: shannondenton.com/ -
Illustrator: Mike Dubisch
Illustrator Website: themikedubischsketchbook.blogspot.com/
Media Used: Color drawing
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Year of Publication: 2010
ISBN: 9780807510803
Annotation: The Alden children go to visit family friend Carrie to help her clean up a castle. But strange things keep happening and the kids have fun solving the mystery.
Personal Reaction: I was surprised to see these classic mysteries adapted for graphic novel format. The stories are still light and not too involved. These stories would be good for reluctant readers, remedial instruction and especially ESL students as an introduction to series and mystery stories. These books also could be used for problem solving discussions.
Illustration: The muted coloring gives an eerie feeling to the castle atmosphere. The characters are represented very simply and nonthreatening. Even the bad guy is not depicted harshly which is appropriate for the intended readers. The cartoon frames follow the narrative closely and facial expressions match the emotions of the characters.
Use of Media: The colored drawings are kept simple. The clean lines are conducive to keeping the artwork age appropriate and suitable for the readers introduction to graphic novels.
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