Educational Comic Library
(Created in The Honeybell Lab)
Working to create fun, innovative, engaging educational content for children of all ages.
Inside The HoneyBell Lab studio, meet our team of illustrators, script writers (no AI) and educational advisors who create real-world learning adventures featuring characters and stories kids love to read!
Why Comics Work for Teaching Kids:
“Comics are not a diversion from literacy – they are a dynamic and vital part of it. Our recent research revealed that in the face of steeply declining levels of engagement with reading, children and young people are still drawn to reading materials like comics and graphic novels. It highlights the role of comics and graphic novels as essential tools to (re)ignite enthusiasm in a pastime that is struggling to engage young people.
The research prompts us to consider what is the future of literacy? What counts as “real reading”, and do we need to redefine what it means to be a reader, writer and creator in 2026 and beyond?”
—Lucy Starbuck Braidley, Head of School Libraries at the National Literacy Trust
Ditch dry, dense text widely rejected by today’s digital-native youth and choose an alternative option which doubles retention rates and makes abstract concepts more digestible!
Gutters and The Space Between The Brain Lobes:
“In the limbo of the gutter, human imagination takes two separate images and transforms them into a single idea”
—Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art Scott McCloud
“We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars” —Oscar Wilde (in different color(did color?)
The white space you see between each panel in a comic book or a graphic novel is referred to as a gutter.
Think of gutters in comic books as an imaginative playground space.
In the brain, scientists call the space between our brain lobes the sulci—deep grooves between the lobes acting as a kind of structural pause which forces synthesis to activate.
Think of synthesis like this…
Panel 1: Someone swings an axe to chop wood.
Panel 2: The wood is chopped.
panel 3: The chopped wood gets stacked
The gutter space between Panel 1 and Panel 2 is the exact space where our young reader becomes the co-creator in the story.
Sulci and gutters work together to allow the brain to decide how fast or slow the wood is being chopped!
Active synthesis becomes a bridge to the wood pile.
This is where all the other lobes converge or come together to form new neural pathways.
And here—on these pathways —a child’s brain begins to find space for storing, recognizing, and ultimately retrieving words.
Inference and critical thinking happens here.
When the science behind reading meets visually rich, compelling storytelling— reading comprehension and language skills develop.
The comic book format supports the idea of allowing young readers to move at their own pace—swinging in their own natural rhythm—reinforcing a love of reading that lasts a lifetime!
Characters + Storyline = Relatability
When young people recognize themselves or someone else from their family, school, or communities— in stories they read—they go from passive recipients to active researchers, self-directing and self-motivating.
Our educational comics transform the learning experience into a place where joy sparks further investigation into real-world phenomena by teaching through comics—a format children love!
Examples of Nova in Action!
Mia, a senior high school student, analyzed the body language in the Nova sequential narrative comic book Panel 1 to help surrogate dialogue regarding her own anxiety as she struggled to declare a major.
The storyline below was created by the student when she was asked to imagine her version of what Nova was thinking based on the colors used and the expression on Nova’s face.
Once our young woman wrote the speech bubble dialogue and the caption below the illustration—our team went to work!
We scripted and illustrated a short narrative detailing Nova’s process for pursuing her soon-to-be-discovered passion for chemistry and eventual S.T.E.M. career.
Boom!
We are pleased to report the “real-life” student is pursuing dreams of a career in S.T.E.M. and Mia reports the panel workshop opened her eyes to the idea!
Meet Nova!
Our superstar character Nova, is one of our most popular, original cast members who was created to be a role model to support the future of Women in S.T.E.M. To learn more, watch this short TED talk here.
Comic books and graphic novels with strong female S.T.E.M. like Nova offer access to role models where there might not be any.
Seeing relatable characters succeed in S.T.E.M. careers shows girls and young women, they too can and should pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math!
Teacher testimony’s
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Kevin Burrows
“The students were very actively engaged in the lesson and participated well throughout the entire class period. Students showed interest in the topic by contributing to discussions, asking questions, and remaining focused on assigned activities. I also observed positive peer interaction and a classroom environment that supported student participation and learning.”
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Kevin Jennison
“It gave me the opportunity to interact personally as the kids were working. I had fun during the sessions. I highly recommend Honeybell Lab’s career readiness/self-regulation curriculum. Students were fired up and actively engaged throughout the entire class period! They were asking questions, remained focused, and demonstrated social-emotional learning while brainstorming their ideas with each other. There was a healthy balance between verbal instructions and hands-on activities.”
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Jaren Francis
“This introverted kid, a student who has endured so many obstacles and challenges, heard about the Honeybell Lab curriculum and sought the class out! He collaborated with another student to help him brainstorm his character sheet and career passions. Through the creation of his character, he discovered his own superpower! Motivational speaking! AMAZING!”
WE CUSTOMIZE!
For our partners and the children and families they serve!
In addition to our educational comic library, we work with our partners to build their own educational comic adventure for their organization and families they serve.