Graphic Medicine for Kids and Teens

Posted by Sarah Levin-Lederer on December 16th, 2019 Posted in: Graphic Medicine
Tags: graphic medicine, Health Literacy, youth

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Graphic Medicine is comic books and graphic novels that cover topics of health and wellness.  The visual format makes the information easier to understand and digest.  By reading a personal, non-fiction story, we can learn about issues we may not have experienced ourselves.  These stories can also help us feel less alone in our own lives.

People who aren’t familiar with graphic medicine often assume that it’s mainly a tool for health communication with kids and teens.  When mainstream audiences think about comics and graphic novels, they picture the comics they read as kids (superheroes, romance, teen drama), and may not be aware of the large variety of fiction and non-fiction works written for adults. In fact, a lot of graphic medicine works are primarily focused on communicating with adults with language and illustrations not designed for young audiences.  This isn’t as simple as “adult content”, but also references that may go over younger readers heads or don’t resonate with them.

Here are a few examples of graphic medicine works that were written specifically with kids and young adults in mind.

For Kids:

• Many of the books by Raina Telgemeier have health and wellness themes including Smile, Sisters, and Guts, autobiographical works dealing with dental issues, sibling rivalry, and “tummy troubles” caused by anxiety. Ghosts and The Truth About Stacey, fiction by Telgemeier, deal with cystic fibrosis, sibling relationships and diabetes.
• El Deafo by Cece Bell uses animal characters to illustrate the author’s childhood experiences being deaf and having to use the Phonic Ear (a bulky hearing aid).
• Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm and its sequels follow Sunny as she deals with changing family relationships, sibling substance use and growing up.

For Teens:

• Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett J. Krosoczka tells the autobiographical story of Krosoczka’s experience being raised by his grandparents and his mother’s substance use.
• Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh started as a webcomic and blog where Brosh talked about everything from funny childhood stories to illustrating and explaining how her depression manifests in her life and how she deals with it. Although not written with teens in mind, several of Brosh’s works have become internet memes and may be recognizable to a teen audience.
• What Does Consent Really Mean? and coming in September, 2020, a companion book for parents, teachers and others on talking to young people about consent and other related topics, Conversations about Consent: A Resource Book for Professionals and Parents.

These are just a few examples of graphic novels with health themes written for young people, but many graphic novels for kids and young adults deal with growing up, interpersonal relationships and other mental and physical health issues.  Your local library probably has titles already in their children and teen collection that they may not have thought of as graphic medicine or for communicating health issues with kids.

Learn more about Graphic Medicine, including lesson plans for grades 7-10, by visiting the NLM’s website for the traveling exhibit Graphic Medicine: Ill-Conceived, Well-Drawn.  Or request a Graphic Medicine Book Club Kit for your library, school or community group to try.