February 4 Discussion Questions

Discussion Questions: “Picture Books, Visual Media, and Digital Texts” and American Born Chinese

Small Group Work: Find at least one panel that illustrates your point!

1.     The back cover of American Born Chinese introduces the text with the words, “Three very different characters, one simple goal: to fit in.” How do you see this theme emerging in each of the three storylines so far?

2.     What are some similarities between the personalities of the Monkey King, Jin, and Danny? What are some differences?

3.     What are some similarities between the obstacles and/or antagonists faced by the Monkey King, Jin, and Danny? What are some differences?

4.     What historical conceptions of children do you see in the graphic novel so far (sacred, sinful, working, etc.)? How do these come into conflict, and how are those conflicts dealt with?

5.     Starting on page 43, Danny’s storyline is accompanied by sound effects such as clapping and laughter. How do you interpret their significance?

6.     Consider Hintz and Tribunella’s comments on the impact of color on pages 169 and 170. How does the color palette of American Born Chinese influence your understanding of the text? Do you notice any differences between the three storylines, in terms of color or artistic style?

7.     On pages 166 and 167, Hintz and Tribunella discuss three different types of relationships that can exist between text and images: symmetrical, complementary, and contradictory. See if you can find at least two of these in today’s reading.

8.     Racism and racial stereotypes are a major part of this text. How are they treated differently in each of the three storylines so far? How does the type of narrator (first-person, third-person, etc.) impact the presentation of racism?

9.     When Jin first meets Wei-Chen, he confesses, “Something made me want to beat him up” (36). How do you explain this impulse? What does this reveal about Jin’s character and the ways in which his setting influences him?

Class Discussion

1.     In what ways do Molly Bang’s principles come into play in this section?

2.     Hintz and Tribunella write that “many parents who are ambitious to push their children scholastically are not willing to allow their children to enjoy picturebooks, steering them toward chapter books in the (mistaken) belief that chapter books are more challenging for young readers” (166). Why do they suggest that this belief is “mistaken”? To what extent do you agree or disagree?

3.     What are some of the picturebooks you read as a child? Have you read any graphic novels as an adult? How do these reading experiences differ from text-only books?

4.     Hintz and Tribunella express that graphic novels are often crossover texts (texts enjoyed by young adults and adults). In what ways is ABC a crossover text?