Thank you to who?Comics for sponsoring this post and encouraging my child to read biographies in comic book form! Please click here to learn more about the app. And follow who? Comics on Twitter for updates!
It is my conceit, and I am not at all pleased with the strong possibility of it being a reality, that some children do not like prose. Some children, maybe even those same children, also do not fancy history as told through prosaic writing. who? Comics, a robust collection of biographies available through a stylish new iPad app, might just be the cure for both ailments.
Set in classic comic strip style, who? Comics tells the tales of nearly 30 well-known artists, scientists, politicians and humanitarians from Warren Buffett to J.K. Rowling and Marie Curie to Nelson Mandela. I downloaded a scientist 6-pack mainly because of Mrs. Curie, and also because I honestly can never properly explain to the Bear and Mouse why Einstein and Edison are so important. I know, I know. I am super lame. Now with the scholastic burden off of my shoulders and onto the iPad, the girls may actual get the chance to learn something, complete with accurate details important to comprehending the lives and accomplishments of these luminaries, and do so in a fun, easy-to-become-adsorbed-in aesthetic.
Why Marie Curie? Well, it is a name I have heard for ages but I really didn’t know much about her. I mean, after the radium at all. She being a female and me having two science-positive young ladies in my care, it seemed a good idea to educate myself and them about the who/what/where/why/and how of this legendary Nobel prize winning scientist. Oh, and also because the great kindie band The Deedle Deedle Dees included a killer song about Marie Curie on their most recent album “Strange Dees, Indeed”. The song is what first piqued the Bear’s interest and with an assist from Wikipedia I was able to at least not sound like a complete know-nothing. Now, the who? Comic of Marie Curie has brought us all up to speed on her sad early life and later importance in the modern world of medicine.
Priced at $4.99 each or a variety of 6-packs for $9.99 each, all of the who? Comics give you serious bang for your buck. At 150 pages each, these are long form biographies from childhood to adult accomplishment(s). The English text is at times clunky (it is translated from its Korean developer) and can be redundant in spots; nothing a good clean edit to tighten up each story wouldn’t fix, or you can simply take the liberty of manually moving the story along while reading it yourself. There are also some pesky spelling and grammar errors that don’t take much away from the biographies, but do dull the overall shine of who? Comics slightly.
I don’t know if your 8-year-old’s teenage sibling is ever going to quote and/or footnote a who? Comic biography in a future research paper but the handy timeline at the end of each comic does make for quick and easy reference, and is a heck of a good starting place for additional learning.
Recommended age for the app is 8+ and I can see why. While I read the comics aloud to my nearly-8 year-old and 4 1/2-year-old, and they enjoyed them well enough, some of the content especially in the Marie Curie edition was both over their heads (Russian occupation of Poland and the attempt to diminish national pride among the Poles) and very somber (unmerciful death and disease in Marie’s family during her childhood years). Also, comic books lend themselves to solitary environments, so I probably did the stories a disservice by trying to read them out loud; even going so far as to articulate the [sighing] and [sobbing] actions of the characters.
The who? Comics app is handsome, well-organized both in the store and your personal bookshelf, and is a pleasure to use. The bios are comprehensive and highly informative. This is one heck of a product for learners young and old, especially those who have an adversarial relationship with traditional textbooks. Don’t balk at the price here, you will not feel cheated with the depth and quality of the comics. And before plunking down any cash, you’re able to preview the first 30 or so pages of each comic.
Download the FREE who? Comics iPad app and score a couple of biography comic books for free to get you started!
*Thank you again to who? Comics for sponsoring my post. Please click here to learn more about the app. Visit who? Comics for updates. I was selected for this opportunity by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own. #CleverWhoComics #spon
