Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales Big Bad Ironclad!

As I've mentioned in previous reviews graphic novels are not my favorite form of reading, but when written well they are an excellent means of motivating readers to explore information they might not be as readily interested in when presented in traditional print formats. This has led me to explore the Nathan Hale series to see how useful it would be to educators and parents looking for historical resources that would appeal to readers already interested in graphic novel formats.

Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales: Big Bad Ironclad!is the second book in the series and set in the Civil War. If you are familiar with the naval history of the Civil War than you can probably guess the subject matter of this book, if not the book is likely better read after having read a little bit about the topic as it jumps right in to the war and this part of the war quickly. While some students might adapt quickly without any background knowledge of this part of the war, it may leave others less interested.

The book brushes over Lincoln's election and the opening of the war and moves right into the Naval history of the Civil War. The book is unique in that most children's books on the Civil War focus heavily on land not on naval encounters beyond that referenced in the title of the clash between the Monitor and the Merrimac. The information is interesting, but I'm not sure if it is my challenge with the graphic novel format or the way I look for material to be laid out for students to process it, but it felt like there was lots of information just bursting out everywhere and not as organized as some of the other books in the series. The book is dense with factual information and it isn't stuff common to the topic for kids books, but it just was too dense and not as well laid out as I'd hoped. Again it could be my challenge with reading the graphic novel format, although I haven't had that problem with other titles in the series. The other titles flowed more smoothly and the information seemed to not burst out all at once but come out in an organized flow across the pages. Not sure I worded that well, but I walked away thinking this book was worth reading, but it took more effort than the other books I've read in the series.