Ian MacDonald 
Nightmare of the Scarecrows 

Josh and Safi dream of winning the scarecrow competition, but dreams turn to nightmares when the scarecrows go missing. Have they been stolen … or did they walk? Graphic novels serve a number of needs. They encourage reluctant readers because of the high ratio of pictures to text and because they are viewed as a leisure activity rather than school work. In spite of this perception, pupils can learn a lot from them, such as the use of direct speech, the logical order in which to read text boxes and, of course, narrative forms. This brilliantly illustrated series of six books will excite and engage readers of about 11-13 who have a very low reading age of 6-7.