Before taking the plunge and using comic books in your instruction, you may be hesitant about the appropriateness of the content of the comic.

Jennifer Haines details what makes comics great teaching tools by showing how they can be used to address each of Gardner's Multiple Intelligence types.

BookShelf presents Comics in Education, a series dedicated to talking with educators about their use of graphic novels in the classroom and the benefits they have had in their curriculum.

In 1992, the comic book world found itself in unprecedented territory when Art Spiegelman won the Pulitzer Prize for his stunning Holocaust survival story, Maus. Since that watershed event, the mainstream acceptance of comics and graphic novels has only grown. Check out our comprehensive list of award-winning graphic novels here! (Updated regularly)

Teacher and comic shop owner Jennifer Haines examines the ways graphic novels can help students develop critical thinking skills.

Elementary teacher Jordan Kerkhoff provides four integral phases to implementing comics and graphic novels into a fifth grade classroom.

High school English teacher and graphic novel advocate Maureen Bakis reports on a series of Harvard University workshops on teaching with graphic novels, and includes resources for those who couldn't attend.

Many educators have begun to realize something that long-time comic book readers have always known: comics are valuable.

Graphic novels serve a variety of purposes in educating developing readers, including bridging language barriers experienced by English-language learners (ELL). Check out a list of the best graphic novels for ELLs along with the benefits of the format for their education.

Peter Gutiérrez, creator of a number of teaching guides for comics and graphic novels, including TOON Book’s Little Mouse Gets Ready and Bloomsbury’s Rapunzel’s Revenge, discusses the ins and outs of creating reading guides, teaching guides and lesson plans to accompany graphic novels. In addition, BookShelf presents a list of recommended resources.

Librarian Caitlin Plovnick explores how comics and graphic novels can benefit research instruction.

Graphic novels are a staple item of many public libraries, but as BookShelf explains, they also have an important role to play in school libraries and media centers as well.

University of North Florida assistant professor of literacy Dr. Katie Monnin explains the benefits of the Common Core Standards, and how graphic novels fit into the program.

The Diamond Graphic Novel Common Core List offers graphic novels from DBD publishers that will fit into a Common Core curriculum, along with resources to help educators and librarians best utilize these materials. The list has been updated for 2015, with new titles and more features to make it easier to use.

Ellen Myrick - President of Myrick Marketing & Media and creator of the Diamond Book Distributors Graphic Novel Common Core List - offers instructional examples of how four titles from the Diamond Graphic Novel Common Core List can be used to fit into the new standards.

High school English teacher Maureen Bakis demonstrates how graphic novels can be used in class within the Common Core State Standards.