The world is taking notice of Françoise Mouly and her contributions to children's books
On June 9, 2016, at the mansion of the French Embassy in New York Françoise Mouly, founder and publisher of Toon Books, art editor of The New Yorker and cofounder of RAW, the pioneering art comics magazine, was honored with the Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur. The red-ribbonned medal, France’s highest for civil merit, was presented by former Prime Minister of France, Jean-Marc Ayrault, currently French Minister of Foreign Affairs in recognition of Mouly's groundbreaking career as an editor and publisher of comics and children's books. The ceremony followed the Franco-American Children’s Book Publisher Conference, a day-long symposium on American and French children’s publishing.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, French Minister of Foreign Affairs with Françoise Mouly
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Praise for TOON Books..."Comic Books Even Teachers Can Love"
--New York Times - Click to Read Feature Story TOON is #1 on the list! "Without a doubt, the best go-to option for parents looking for quality comics for early readers is the many graphic novels from Toon Books." --10 Great Kids Comics for Early Readers, Mental_Floss "Virtually everything in this line of books curated by The New Yorker’s art editor Françoise Mouly is worth a look." --10 Great Comics for Kids, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation "TOON Books blend art and words into a class act...these smart comics help children master reading skills." --Scholastic Parent and Child "The publishing house, TOON Books, is an industry leader when it comes to comics for the very young. The size and formatting of their books is that of a beginning level reader, but the quality of creators they enlist to make books is top notch. Adult comics fans will likely recognize some of the names in their stable of creators -- Art Spiegelman, Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith, Eleanor Davis and Rutu Modan have all made books for TOON. While many of these creators are well known for their more esoteric literary and visual creations, their books for children feature a high level of storytelling and artistic acumen." --St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Outstanding!" --School Library Journal "TOON Books has created comprehensively researched and educator-tested comics for use in the classroom...with the hands-on help of teachers and reading specialists." --Publishers Weekly "Lovingly produced and winsomely written." --Time Out New York Kids "Great practice for beginning readers." --Parenting "A literacy tool to teach kids how to not only read but also love to read." --Booklist "The leveled books also support the transition from 'read to me' to 'I can read.'" --BabyCenter "Since they early days of comics, parents and teachers have experienced a challenge: kids, even reluctan readers, love comics, but are comics good for them? With TOON Books, the solution has arrived. Authored by illustrious cartoonisists and children's book artists, edited with the highest literary standars, and thoughtfully making use of controlled vocabulary, the new books are perfect for emerging readers." --Postcards from the Mothership "Françoise Mouly, New Yorker art editor and wife of acclaimed cartoonist Art Spiegelman, is at it again. After transforming American comics with the seminal 1980s comics anthology RAW, Mouly is now out to teach kids to read by using comics." --Publishers Weekly by Calvin Reid "TOON Books build on a solid tradition of comics storytelling in the country....They show that the format is ready to return to its glory days, and a new generation of comics readers weaned on these lovely books will be ready and waiting." --Book Reporter "As a parent I was thrilled with these enticing books that held my reluctant reader's interest and kept him reading page after page without any prussure from mum or dad to just ry and read one more page." --Back to Books "TOON Books are more than just stories translated into a comic format. They are organic, with simple dialogue and engaging illustrations created by some of the best writers and artists in teh business." --Michele Gorman, Author of Getting Graphic! |
Interviews with TOON's Françoise Mouly
Photo by Sarah Shatz
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Educators on TOON Books in the Classroom...
"These books provide fun reading for younger children while also introducing them to the graphic novel format. They’re great for any library collection, and especially fine for school libraries."
--Kat Kan, Librarian
"Schools around the country are using comic books to teach reading and other subjects. The Maryland State Department of Education has developed a comic book curriculum using classic Disney comics. After a successful test, it is being used in about 200 classrooms, and continues to expand. The state has introduced a new series of original comic books, TOON Books, in first and second grade. The series was created by Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker magazine, and her husband, Art Spiegelman, a prizewinning comics artist...Comics help introduce kids to importat features of fiction, such as narrative structure, tone and character development. They also include context clues for difficult words."
--TIME for Kids
"TOON Books are really a new generation of books for a new generation of young, emerging readers who are growing up in a very visual environment. These graphic novels are more than just stories translated into a comic format. They are organic, with simple dialogue and engaging illustrations created by some of the best writers and artists in the business…[TOON Books] help young readers as they begin the process of learning to navigate the page and decipher text."
--Michele Gorman, Librarian
"Just take a look at how TOON books differentiates their easy reading graphic titles. Like many beginning reader series, they’re divided into three levels. But here’s the difference - we’re not left to wonder what criteria was used to derive those levels. Surprise, surprise! TOON Books tells us! Each book has a listed Lexile Level, Guided Reading Level, and Reading Recovery Level...Surely all librarians can appreciate having the tools needed to appropriately shelve, catalog, and recommend our easy reader collections. This is how it should be done, folks!"
--Shelf-Employed
"TOON Books is easily one of the most interesting lines of children’s literature being published right now. The concept is simple–these are easy readers, written with a limited vocabulary, in a comic book format, complete with panels and word balloons, created by some of the masters of comics, like Art Spiegelman (Pulitizer Prize-winning creator ofMAUS) and Jeff Smith (creator of Bone)...The way the best comics combine art with the written word to capture the readers interest has special magic to children--even children who otherwise shy away from books. And while I think it would be great to include some kid-appropriate superhero fare in the classroom library--that’s not what TOON Books is about. These are stories about talking animals, animated toys, kids going to school--a wide range of classroom-appropriate topics. The creators are great artists, renowned in their field, creating books with the express purpose of getting kids into reading. The stories are simple and charming, the illustrations are beautiful, and did I mention that each book has an accompanying, age-appropriate lesson plan available at the TOON Books website? Even if you’re not a comic fan, you owe it to yourself to check this one out."
--Brenley MacLeod, Librarian
--Kat Kan, Librarian
"Schools around the country are using comic books to teach reading and other subjects. The Maryland State Department of Education has developed a comic book curriculum using classic Disney comics. After a successful test, it is being used in about 200 classrooms, and continues to expand. The state has introduced a new series of original comic books, TOON Books, in first and second grade. The series was created by Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker magazine, and her husband, Art Spiegelman, a prizewinning comics artist...Comics help introduce kids to importat features of fiction, such as narrative structure, tone and character development. They also include context clues for difficult words."
--TIME for Kids
"TOON Books are really a new generation of books for a new generation of young, emerging readers who are growing up in a very visual environment. These graphic novels are more than just stories translated into a comic format. They are organic, with simple dialogue and engaging illustrations created by some of the best writers and artists in the business…[TOON Books] help young readers as they begin the process of learning to navigate the page and decipher text."
--Michele Gorman, Librarian
"Just take a look at how TOON books differentiates their easy reading graphic titles. Like many beginning reader series, they’re divided into three levels. But here’s the difference - we’re not left to wonder what criteria was used to derive those levels. Surprise, surprise! TOON Books tells us! Each book has a listed Lexile Level, Guided Reading Level, and Reading Recovery Level...Surely all librarians can appreciate having the tools needed to appropriately shelve, catalog, and recommend our easy reader collections. This is how it should be done, folks!"
--Shelf-Employed
"TOON Books is easily one of the most interesting lines of children’s literature being published right now. The concept is simple–these are easy readers, written with a limited vocabulary, in a comic book format, complete with panels and word balloons, created by some of the masters of comics, like Art Spiegelman (Pulitizer Prize-winning creator ofMAUS) and Jeff Smith (creator of Bone)...The way the best comics combine art with the written word to capture the readers interest has special magic to children--even children who otherwise shy away from books. And while I think it would be great to include some kid-appropriate superhero fare in the classroom library--that’s not what TOON Books is about. These are stories about talking animals, animated toys, kids going to school--a wide range of classroom-appropriate topics. The creators are great artists, renowned in their field, creating books with the express purpose of getting kids into reading. The stories are simple and charming, the illustrations are beautiful, and did I mention that each book has an accompanying, age-appropriate lesson plan available at the TOON Books website? Even if you’re not a comic fan, you owe it to yourself to check this one out."
--Brenley MacLeod, Librarian
