Gravity Falls: Journal #3

Gravity Falls: Journal #3 by Alex Hirsch & Rob Renzetti, published by Disney Press on July 26, 2016, age range 8-12 years.

Since I'm a huge fan of Gravity Falls I'm a bit biased towards this book. But my own feelings aside, I think it's a great book for older kids, whether they like the show or not. It's written in the form of a journal and is a direct copy of the one that Dipper discovers and reads in the cartoon. It features many pages that those who have seen the show will recognize, but it also features new pages that give us a more full and complete story about its mysterious author (as well as some fun hints at what has happened since the show ended earlier this year).

The words of the book are in a font that looks hand-written, and all of the illustrations look like they were drawn directly onto the page as well. This really adds to the personal themes of the book and make it feel more like an actual journal. Much like in the show, the pages are filled with stories about monsters and other paranormal creatures. These action-filled and sometimes scary events are paired with fun humor as well as some more serious themes that make the overall book an emotional ride (especially for fans of the show who have a connection with the characters).

One of the best parts of the book is watching how the author (Mabel and Dipper's Uncle Ford) changes from the beginning to the end. He starts off as a young and naive scientist who would do anything to make his name in his field and be a success. This leads to him making poor decisions and hurting people he cares about in the process. But through his mistakes and his experiences with the kids he learns that he was wrong and apologizes for his behavior. This kind of character growth is great in children's stories because it shows that it's okay to make mistakes as long as you recognize them and try to grow from it instead of just repeating them over and over again.

This book would be a great way to introduce a class or group of children to journaling, especially since it's a way for them to connect it with a cartoon they're probably familiar with. The teacher or activity leader could read portions of the book out loud and then have the children start a journal of their own. This can be a benefitial exercise that helps them work on their writing skills as well as introducing them to nonfiction writing. For a more artsy approach, the children could also make up their own Gravity Falls monster and create a page featuring a drawing of the creature as well as a written description.

As for further reading, I would suggest some of the other journal-style books that connect with other media the children are familiar with. For example, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series are all written in the form a journal, and their recent movie adaptations could connect children to them and pique their interest. Another good option would be the Dear Dumb Diary series, which features a girl as the main character. Both of these series have a lot of great illustrations in them which make it fun to flip through, even as an adult. There's also books like Attack of the Journal (Star Wars: Jedi Academy) which are half-book, half-journal and feature spaces for the child to write in their own additions.