Introduction: Welcome to the graphic novel classroom -- Looking at literacy in the graphic novel classroom -- Looking at the comics medium: Scott McCloud's Understanding comics -- Interpreting images: Shaun Tan's The arrival, Rachel Masilimani's Two kinds of people, Gene Leun Yang's American born Chinese -- Looking at the big picture: Will Eisner's A contract with God and A life force -- Looking at memoir in the graphic novel classroom -- Pictures, perception, and the past: Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis -- Leaving a legacy through images: Art Spiegelman's Maus, Elie Weisel's Night, Scott Russell Sanders' Under the influence -- Looking at superheroes in the graphic novel classroom -- A glimpse of the superhero genre: Frank Miller's Batman: The Dark Knight returns -- Making the invisible visible: Alan Moore's V for vendetta -- Afterword: The value of teaching graphic novels.