The Big Update You've All Been Waiting For...
READING WITH PICTURES AND LORENZ EDUCATIONAL PRESS PARTNER TO BRING COMICS INTO THE CLASSROOM
Project by Top Comic Talent and Leading Educational Experts Set to Debut in 4th Quarter 2013; Entire Line of Books in Development
I want to begin by apologizing for the lack of updates these past few months, but we couldn't announce anything until the partnership plans were finalized. But now that they are, we can finally share the full 411 with the Kickstarter backers who made it all possible - i.e. YOU!
I've included the full text of the press release below, but I want to directly address a few issues that will directly affect you, our backers:
- In order to have a proper rollout with attendant publicity and promotion through school and library channels, we have to delay release of The Graphic Textbook until the 4th quarter of this year. I know that's a long wait, but I hope you can all be patient with us. That lead time is absolutely necessary if we're going to reach as wide an audience as possible in the school market.
- The Mail Order Ninjastory, "Showdown with the Sea Apes" by myself and artist Dean Trippe that was originally scheduled to run in The Graphic Textbook, has been canceled due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts. Which are entirely my fault for taking on too many projects at once, by the way. Dean and I will be figuring out other ways to contribute to the book as a team, but story slot will now be filled with the Mail Order Ninja story "Genghis Kong and the Silverback Horde" by artist Tim Smith III and myself that was originally published in the 2010 Reading With Pictures anthology. So even though they won't be in the same story, all you backers will still be getting plenty of Dean Trippe goodness and ninja awesomeness!
I want to personally thank you all for support and your continued patience. The Graphic Textbook has grown and evolved in wonderfully unexpected ways since we first launched this Kickstarter. We're going to be in more classrooms helping more kids than we ever thought possible, and none of it would be possible without all of you.
Now prepare for awesomeness... for it is forthcoming!
Josh Elder
President and Founder
Reading With Pictures
Press Release
CHICAGO, IL April 2, 2013 – Reading With Pictures, a 501(c)3 nonprofit that advocates the use of comics in the classroom, and Lorenz Educational Press, a publisher of supplemental educational products, are teaming up to bring THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK, an educational comics anthology aligned with the Common Core Standards, to schools and libraries worldwide. THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK will be available starting in 4th Quarter, 2013, with future releases planned for 2014 and beyond.
THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK will unite the finest creative talents in the comics industry with the nation's leading experts in visual literacy to create a game-changing educational tool that’s tied to a major impact study overseen by the Dr. David Rapp of the Dept. of Psychology and School of Education & Social Policy at Northwestern University. Aimed at grades 3-6, THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK will feature a dozen short stories (both fiction and non-fiction) that address topics in a variety of disciplines (Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, Science). The accompanying Teacher’s Guide will include standards-based lesson plans for each story and research-based justifications for using comics in the classroom.
After raising over $75,000 via the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter to pay for production of THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK, Reading With Pictures is now partnering with Lorenz Educational Press to secure additional venture capital investment. If successful, the two companies plan to work together to produce an entire line of content-area and grade-level specific comics anthologies modeled after THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK.
“Lorenz Educational Press is one of the most respected names in the field of educational supplements, with over 120 years of experience,” explains Josh Elder, President and Founder of Reading With Pictures. “We can’t imagine a better publishing partner to help ensure that THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK reaches every classroom, library and home that needs it.”
“We’re very pleased to partner with Reading with Pictures and their initial project, THE GRAPHIC TEXTBOOK, to help fill an important need in education”, states Geoff Lorenz, Chairman of Lorenz Educational Press. “So many elementary students struggle with developing their reading skills, and Reading with Pictures’ mission to get ‘comics into schools and schools into comics’ is one we fully support. Comics not only help reluctant readers with comprehension skills, but research tells us students using them also tend to read more. We believe the new publications from Reading with Pictures will be game-changers in the educational products market as they provide an effective solution for teachers helping students become better readers.”
About Reading With Pictures
Reading With Pictures is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that advocates for the use of comics in the classroom to promote literacy and improve educational outcomes for all students. We work with academics to cultivate groundbreaking research into the proper role of comics in education. We collaborate with cartoonists to produce exceptional graphic novel content for scholastic use. Most importantly, we partner with educators to develop a system of best practices for integrating comics into their curriculum. At Reading With Pictures, we get comics into schools and get schools into comics. To learn more, please visit www.readingwithpictures.org.
About Lorenz Educational Press
Lorenz Educational Press is the educational arm of The Lorenz Corporation, a Dayton, Ohio-based publishing company founded in 1890. We consist of four distinct divisions; Lorenz Educational Press, Milliken Publishing, The Teaching and Learning Company, and Show What You Know Publishing, each specializing in supplementary classroom and test-prep materials for preschool through high school grade levels. For more information, visit www.LorenzEducationalPress.com.
