As students prepare to head back to school, teachers are busy readying their classrooms with new and exciting ways to keep kids engaged. For third-grade teacher Colby Sharp, graphic novels are a vital option to get kids reading in the spirit of making their own literary choices.

Join Sharp and four graphic novelists, Dave Roman, Jenni Holm, Matt Holm, and Kazu Kibuishi, at 8:00 p.m. ET August 25 for our next Google Hangout on Air. Sharp will share his perspective on the power of graphic novels in the classroom while our other guests will delve into why they write their books and why they think they are powerful.

The Hangout guests see a variety of options in graphic novels, from students using characters as a mirror of themselves to student collaboration in the creation of their own stories to teachers who can team up to use a single novel across all school curriculums.

Here’s a little more about our guests:

• Colby Sharp is a cofounder of the Nerdy Book Club, a blog designed for lovers of reading that covers everything from book reviews to personal anecdotes. Sharp, a third-grade teacher in Parma, Michigan, believes that books have the power to help kids achieve their goals and follow their dreams.
• Dave Roman is the author of the graphic novels Teen Boat! and Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery. His Teacher Guide Design Your Own Academy brings his Astronaut Academy series to the classroom, including worksheets for students to create their own characters, settings, and comics. The activity kit encourages kids to analyze relationships between main characters and their antagonists and promotes storytelling through visual art. Roman’s latest project is Starbunny Inc., a web comic for all ages.
• Jenni Holm, a New York Times best-selling children’s author, has been the recipient of three Newberry Honors for her novels Our Only May Amelia, Penny From Heaven, and Turtle in Paradise. She collaborates with her brother, Matthew Holm, on two graphic novel series: Babymouse and Squish. Babymouse, one of the first graphic novel series for children, received the 2013 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 7).
• Matthew Holm began drawing comics in middle school and has not stopped since. After drawing several pages for his sister’s book Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf, he went on to work with her on the making of Babymouse. Holm and his sister have produced 20 Babymousebooks in addition to 6 installments of the best-selling Squishseries.
• Kazu Kibuishi is the art director, cover artist, and editor of the critically acclaimed comic anthologies Explorerand Flight. Kibuishi is the founder of Bolt City Productions, a production studio dedicated to creating books for young readers. His debut graphic novel Daisy Kutter: The Last Train and his New York Times best-selling graphic novel series Amulet engage all readers—exploring familiar themes drawn from the challenges of growing up.

Follow the conversation on Twitter at @ilatoday and #ILAHangout to find out how you can enter a graphic novel giveaway.

Olivia Duke is ILA’s communications intern.