Richard Delgado's Age of Reptiles The Journey

I am not a big fan of comic books, and when I opened this book and realize that there are NO words, no bubbles with text, sound effects, animals jumping out of the book, NOTHING, that is when I threw the book. Why would I, and English/Literature major enjoy non-reading material? What can I get out of trying to decode a message, if any, of what the author is illustrating through his pictures? Then, I thought about it. This book is not meant for me to enjoy, it is meant for me to try and get an understanding of different techniques to teach, when trying to fuse young adult fiction into an English class.

The idea of the book is to teach students a different way to view historical contexts of dinosaurs. They have been exposed to movies, books with words, old fashion illustration that does not allow students to view dinosaurs from their own perspective.  I like dinosaurs, and I think this book is an additional source that exemplifies an open view on how to look at dinosaurs from a different light.

There are a lot of kids who come from environments who cannot read, or cannot express themselves emotionally. This book can be a great example to show students that it does not take words to express how one truly feel. They can also create a story, with a hidden message to illustrate, just like the author, what it is they want their authors to learn just by flipping through the pages.

 I can recommend this book to teachers because it can help students break away from the traditional way of teaching to show students that there are many ways to express their ideas with limited or no words. This will be a great book to use in Art classes to show different shapes and colors in pre-K through 3rd grade. In addition, I do not think this book can  be used in a high school setting because the book may come across as a children's book. Overall, introducing students to new things is a good way to get them to open up and view the world differently, than the traditional method of teaching.