Inside OutWritten by: Nadia Shivack
This book is very worthy of my recommendation. I would recommend this book to all of my students, my co-workers, my peers, and my family/friends. The material that is covered in the book is extremely important for everyone to read. This graphic novel does a great job with its illustrations to help bring the words on the page to life. The book is easily relatable to the audience as well. I would recommend this book to the students in my classroom as an individual read, and I would consider assigning this book to an entire classroom.
The topic of eating disorders is often hard to approach so this book would be an excellent and efficient way to frontload the discussion. Also, by approaching the class with the issue of eating disorders it may allow students to identify an eating disorder in a friend, classmate, a family member, or even in themselves. The topic of eating disorders may be controversial for some families. Some families may feel uncomfortable if their children are learning about the issue; however, it may help if a note from the teacher is written and sent home prior to the class reading this book. The overall appearance of the book (title, cover, content) is very appealing and attractive. The only negative aspect I can think of is that some boys and girls may feel uncomfortable carrying around a book that focuses on eating disorders, because some may feel that students are judging them and suspecting them of having an eating disorder if they're reading about them. Students should be able to relate well to the story because the book has multiple points of views and is written in 1st person.
The book recommend’s its audience to be at least 12 years old. I would extend this age range to 9+. A statistic stated in the book says that 42% of students between the first and third grades want to be thinner. The story is a graphic novel so it’s very easy to follow, it is fun to look at, and its content is interesting and important. I think it’s important for a child to read this book and understand the material as soon as possible, because the earlier an eating disorder is treated the better the outcome will be. The book’s content is extremely important for both genders to read because eating disorders occur in both males and females. A student that has an interest in eating disorders, counseling, or feeling lost/confused may find this graphic novel enjoyable.
The topic of eating disorders is often hard to approach so this book would be an excellent and efficient way to frontload the discussion. Also, by approaching the class with the issue of eating disorders it may allow students to identify an eating disorder in a friend, classmate, a family member, or even in themselves. The topic of eating disorders may be controversial for some families. Some families may feel uncomfortable if their children are learning about the issue; however, it may help if a note from the teacher is written and sent home prior to the class reading this book. The overall appearance of the book (title, cover, content) is very appealing and attractive. The only negative aspect I can think of is that some boys and girls may feel uncomfortable carrying around a book that focuses on eating disorders, because some may feel that students are judging them and suspecting them of having an eating disorder if they're reading about them. Students should be able to relate well to the story because the book has multiple points of views and is written in 1st person.
