ABDO to Bring Ebooks of Spider-Man, Iron Man to School, Public Libraries
RSSBy SLJ Staff
Ebook versions of popular Marvel characters such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, and Iron Man are coming to school and public libraries this fall. The ABDO Group and Marvel Entertainment have reached an agreement to license the comic publisher's titles, which also include Indiana Jones, and Avengers, as flash-driven "flip books" hosted by the company's latest division, Abdo Digital. ABDO has been releasing library editions of Marvel's comic books under its Spotlight banner since 2006, with more than 150 Marvel Age and Marvel Illustrated titles now in print. "ABDO and Spotlight are thrilled to take this next step in bringing the universe of Marvel characters to schools and libraries," says publisher Jim Abdo. "We know kids and teens love these action-packed adventure stories in print. The chance to read ebooks with Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, and all of these incredibly appealing characters will get young people enjoying their reading like never before. With ebooks of Marvel titles, we're going to help educators entice readers with the latest reading technologies using the most popular characters in the world, all for kids to enjoy a book while they build reading and computer literacy skills." ABDO is also offering free lesson plans and teacher guides for Marvel and Star Wars comic books that include ways to incorporate guided research, a trivia activity for online research, creative writing projects, a vocabulary list of all 5th grade and older words with their definitions for each book, and vocabulary-building activities. A research compilation called "Comic Books & Literacy" includes citations on the benefits of comics for boys, ESL kids, Title I programs, special education, and at-level readers. You'll also find downloadable interviews with comics legends such as Stan Lee and Peter Mayhew (the actor who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars saga). "Our commitment to helping schools and libraries build a fun reading community with our graphic novel and comic book publishing has never been stronger," Abdo says. "We're excited to bring these Marvel characters into 21st century schools with the latest reading technology."
