Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap: Kayla and The Uncanny Chronicles

By George Kantelis

As an educator, it can be incredibly difficult to visualize the learning disabilities of students—how they work, how they make learners feel and how they specifically affect instruction. As learners, it is often impossible to find stories that properly illustrate and characterize learning disabilities. This lack of representation can create a barrier of understanding between learners with disabilities and those around them. This is where “The Uncanny Chronicles” bridges the gap.

Yaacov Petscher

“The Uncanny Chronicles” is a comic book series that combines research-backed education with engaging storytelling. The series was developed by Yaacov Petscher (M.S. ’04, ’05), associate professor of social work and director of the Florida Center for Reading Research (FCRR); Nicole Patton Terry, Manuel and Olive Bordas Professor of Education and director of FCRR; illustrator Daniel Hooker and writer Stephen Smith. The story follows Kayla, a young reader who struggles with dyslexia, school and all the other things that many young learners encounter.

THE FIRST EDITION

It might not be immediately obvious as to why “The Uncanny Chronicles”—commercially known as “The Kayla Chronicles”— was created as a comic book series as opposed to a traditional children’s book. “Daniel and I created the idea because we’re both huge comic fans,” said Petscher. There is an important strand of intentionality here, though. Petscher insists that young readers are likely to be drawn to the format and style of comic books and graphic novels due to their recent surge in popularity. “I grew up collecting comics with my brothers,” Petscher adds, “and something that was very niche has now become very mainstream.”

There are some functional benefits that make comic books a natural fit for “The Uncanny Chronicles” as well. “The other great thing with comics is you get that inner monologue,” said Petscher, noting that an inner monologue makes character relatability and realism easier to achieve. He also emphasized the importance of thought bubbles as a tool to incorporate translational science. “With comics, you get the thought bubbles, so we can shine a spotlight on the thought bubbles and infuse them with science.”

In creating “The Uncanny Chronicles,” the team hopes to deliver educational, accessible and entertaining stories to its young readers. “Because we’re at the Florida Center for Reading Research, we’re in the College of Education, we’re in social work, we’re really concerned with families, kids and their reading development,” said Petscher. “We saw that a lot of our science goes into peer review publications, but that’s only helping scientists think about science.” Petscher identifies a clear gap between the research process and the function of research. Research about dyslexia—methods for instruction, learning and reading—aren’t functional until students and educators see it for themselves. This is where the idea of translational science, a point of passion for Petscher, Patton Terry and the rest of the Uncanny Chronicles team, comes into play.

IT’S A BIRD! IT’S A PLANE! IT’S SCIENCE!

One of the main challenges of writing “The Uncanny Chronicles,” according to Petscher, is blending the FCRR’s research with engaging characters and consistent storytelling without overstepping in one direction or the other. “We talk about the science first,” said Petscher. “Ultimately, though, we’re trying to look almost like a braid. We need a scientific and creative braid. We want story consistency.” When writing for young readers, it’s clear that one braid cannot exist without the other; purely academic, educational writing exists at the risk of boring readers, and purely entertaining writing exists at the risk of failing to teach its readers. Petscher and team “wants [‘The Uncanny Chronicles’] to operate at the intersection of entertaining and educating.”

In addition to education and entertainment, there is a third thread that Petscher stresses as an important element to Kayla’s story: realism. “We want to bring this ecological reality to the story that kids could relate to,” said Petscher. “We want to be able to show the reality of what things are like.” By including a realistic bend to “The Uncanny Chronicles,” Petscher and the team at FCRR can accurately and appropriately “normalize and affirm the experience of someone who’s struggling to learn how to read.” This emphasis on affirmation speaks to importance of ensuring that children with reading difficulties feel heard and understood by their peers, educators and guardians.

STILL IN PRINT

Each issue of “The Uncanny Chronicles” concludes with a list of evidence-based resources for parents and caregivers that are relevant to that issue’s story. Since Kayla’s adventures often align with real-world problems that young learners face, it’s often the case that a given issue can align with a relevant situation that the reader is experiencing. When this is the case, the team behind “The Uncanny Chronicles” wants to make sure that the adults in the reader’s life have resources available should they need to follow up on the topic.

“At the end of each issue, we try to point to evidence-based resources at the National Center of Improving Literacy—our grant funders—but also to other partners who have done great scientific work in creating tools and resources as well,” said Petscher. The team is also actively creating iOS games to continue to foster relevant engagement with the core story and lessons from the comics.

Along with these resources, “The Uncanny Chronicles” has also been made available as a video series. Narrated by Zehra Fazal (Big Hero 6: The Series, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), the video series exists to act as an inclusive and accessible version of Kayla’s story.

“The Uncanny Chronicles,” still less than a year old, has already garnered heavy praise from educators. “We’ve gotten emails from teachers who’ve said it’s a great resource in their classroom,” said Petscher. “We’ve also gotten emails from reading clinics that have The Kayla Chronicles in the waiting rooms, and they’ve said that parents are reading them with their kids and having a great time.”

By accessibly delivering academic research to the people who need it and by helping educators and caregivers better understand and assist their young learners, “The Uncanny Chronicles” is bridging the gap between research and practice.

Read, watch, or download issues of “The Uncanny Chronicles” at improvingliteracy.org/kid-zone/uncanny-chronicles.