READING WITH PICTURES KICKS OFF ALL-AGES ANTHOLOGY

From the press release

Beginning February 22 and running through May 22, the educational non-profit Reading With Pictures will be taking pre-orders for its kid-friendly graphic novel anthology on Kickstarter.com. The full-color, 192-page anthology features a cover by Jill Thompson (The Sandman) and all-new stories by more than 50 cartoonists including Fred Van Lente (Action Philosophers), Jim Gownley (Amelia Rules), Raina Telgemeier (The Baby-Sitter's Club), Chris Giarrusso (Mini-Marvels), Eric Wight (Frankie Pickle), Gene Ambaum and Bill Barnes (Unshelved) and RWP Executive Director Josh Elder (Mail Order Ninja).

In addition to selling signed softcover and limited-edition hardcover editions of the anthology, Reading With Pictures is offering several unique opportunities for high-level donors to live the dream and become comic book characters by being drawn into the anthology by their favorite artists. Other incentive packages include digital downloads, bookmarks, bulk-rate discounts for teachers and more.

The anthology centers around the theme of education, and each story contains engaging and entertaining educational content. Trevor Mueller and Gabriel Bautista tell the story of alien exchange student and his human classmates traveling back in time to learn about dinosaurs firsthand. In Kevin Pyleʼs “The Order of the Secret Pencil,” a boy learns to read and write through the use of comics. The sciences are also represented along with the humanities when Chris Eliopoulos, an animation director for Yo Gabba Gabba! on Nick Jr., explains the unique biology of the electric eel.

"The Reading With Pictures Anthology isn't just a fund raising tool, it's a proof of concept," says Executive Director Josh Elder. "It's proof that comics belong in classrooms because this comic belongs in the classroom. It contains stories of the highest quality that are engaging, educational and enlightening."

Money raised from anthology pre-sales will pay for the printing of the anthology itself and provide funding for Reading With Pictures during its critical startup period. That funding will allow Reading With Pictures to forge ahead with its ambitious slate of groundbreaking projects to revolutionize the use of comics in the classroom. These include a partnering with Northwestern University to conduct the most comprehensive research study in U.S. history on comics as educational tools, creating a searchable, interactive database of comic-centric curriculum and providing recommended reading lists for all ages, interests and subjects.