Choosing
Quality
Children’s
Trade Books
Time for a little thinking…
• Think of one of your favorite books from Grades
3-6.
• What makes a quality piece of children’s
literature?
• What kinds of books are in a high-quality
classroom library in Grades 3-6?
• Think/pair/share with your group.
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
2
What Constitutes “Children’s”
Literature?
• A child protagonist and an issue that
concerns children
• A straightforward story line, with a linear
and limited time sequence in a confined
setting
• Language that is concrete and vivid and
not overly complex
Temple, C., Martinez, M., Yokota, J., & Naylor, A. (1998). Children’s books
in children’s hands. Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
3
How Do We Recognize “Quality”
Children’s literature?
• Good books:
– expand awareness
– provide an enjoyable read that doesn’t overly
teach or moralize
– tell the truth
– embody quality
– have integrity
– show originality
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
4
Expand Awareness
• Good books:
– Give children names for things in the world
and for their own experiences
– Take children inside other characters’
perspectives
– Broaden children’s understanding of the world
and their capacity for empathy
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
5
Provide an Enjoyable Read
• Good books provide a lesson in a
way that is not overly contrived or
moralistic
• Good books show the lesson
rather than tell it
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
6
Tell the Truth
• Good books:
– Usually deal with significant truths about the
human experience
– Characters are true to life
– Insights the books imply are accurate, and,
perhaps, wise
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
7
Embody Quality
• In good books:
– The words are precisely chosen, often poetic
in their sound and imagery
– The plot is convincing
– The characters are believable
– The descriptions are rich and telling
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
8
Have Integrity
In the sense of both:
• “Wholeness or completeness”
– Genre, plot, language, characters, style,
theme, illustrations (if any) come together to
create a satisfying whole
• “Soundness of moral character”
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
9
Show Originality
• Excellent books
– Introduce children to unique characters or
situations or show them the world from a
unique viewpoint
– Stretch children’s minds, giving them new
ways to think about the world and new
possibilities to think about
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
10
How Can We Judge “Quality”?
•
•
•
•
Originality
Importance of ideas
Imaginative use of language
Beauty of literary and artistic style that
enable book to remain fresh, interesting,
and meaningful for years
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
11
Get to know children’s literature
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Read and enjoy children’s books.
Read children’s books with a sense of
involvement.
Read a variety of book types.
Read books for a wide variety of ability
levels.
Share with your colleagues how your
students respond to particular books.
Start by reading several books
considered to be of “good” quality.
Talk with children about books.
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
12
Children’s
Literature
Awards
For the Book:
• John Newbery Award
– The book judged to be the most distinguished
contribution to children’s literature published in the
U.S. during the previous year.
• Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan
• The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman
• Holes, by Louis Sachar
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
– One outstanding example of Fiction and Nonfiction
• Fiction: Poppy, by Avi; Missing May, by Cynthia Rylant
• Non-Fiction: Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I a Woman,
by Patricia & Fredrick McKissack
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
14
For the Illustrations:
• Randolph Caldecott Award
– Awarded to the illustrator of the most
distinguished children’s book published the
previous year
• Officer Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy Rathman
• Owl Moon, by Jane Yolen
• Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
– One outstanding example of illustration
• Grandfather’s Journey, by Alan Say
• Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters, by John
Steptoe
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
15
For “New Talent” in Children’s Writing
• International Reading Association Children’s
Book Award
– One author who writes for older readers
• Letters from Rifka, by Karen Hesse
– One author who writes for younger readers
• Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, by Deborah Hopkinson,
Illustrated by James Ransome
– One author who writes informational books
• Brooklyn Bridge, by Elizabeth Mann
• Ezra Jack Keats New Writer’s Award
– Promising new writer who has had six or fewer
children’s books published
• Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
16
African American
Authors/Illustrators
• Coretta Scott King Award
– For books that encourage understanding and
appreciation of people of all cultures and the
pursuit of “the American Dream”
• The Friendship, by Mildred Taylor
• The Young Landlords, by Walter Dean Myers
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
17
To Author/Illustrator for Entire Body
of Work:
• Hans Christian Andersen Award
– One author and one illustrator in recognition
of an entire body of work
• Authors: Paula Fox, Virginia Hamilton, Scott O’Dell
• Illustrators: Mitsumasa Anno, Lisbeth Zwerger
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
– Author or illustrator whose works have made
a substantial and lasting contribution to
children’s literature over a period of years
• Dr. Seuss, Virginia Hamilton, E. B. White
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
18
Creating a
Classroom
Library
A Well-Rounded, Interesting
Classroom Library
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
modern, realistic literature as well as
more traditional literature
books with different types of themes
books of varying difficulty
a variety of genres
informational books
books whose characters realistically
depict various cultural groups and
life circumstances
books that meet students’ reading
interests
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
20
Genres
• Traditional Literature
–
–
–
–
–
Myths and religious stories
Fables (proverbs explicitly stated at the end)
Folktales (word of mouth, unknown origins)
Pourquoi Tales (explain phenomena)
Tall Tales and Legends (greatly exaggerated accounts
of heros and legends)
– Cumulative tales (repeating and adding lines)
– Fairy tales (folktales that involve magic)
– Apprenticeship/Hero tales (character rises from
a lowly to high estate, or from ignored/
threatened to recognized/rewarded for good
qualities
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
21
Genres
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Realistic fiction
Historical fiction
Fantasy and science fiction
Biography (depending on structure)
Drama
Diaries
Personal narrative
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
22
Different types of texts
require different ways of
understanding and recalling
the most important ideas…
Narrative?
Expository?
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
23
What is a narrative text?
– Tells a story
– Based on life experiences
– Person-oriented using dialogue and familiar language
(written in first, second, or third person)
• Purpose(s)
– To entertain
– To tell a story
– To provide an aesthetic experience
• Organization
– Uses story grammar
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
24
Story Grammar/Story
Structure
•
•
•
•
•
•
Characters
Setting
Problem
Events
Resolution
Theme
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
25
Less Complex Story Grammar
• Beginning (characters, setting, problem)
• Middle (events)
• End (resolution)
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
26
More Complex Story
Grammar
• Beginning:
– characters (antagonist/protagonist), setting,
problem (conflict), initiating event
• Middle:
– turning points, crisis, rising action, climax,
subplot, parallel episodes
• End:
– resolution, falling action, ending
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
27
What is an expository text?
– Non-fiction
– Informational books
– Biographies
– Photographic essays
• Purpose(s)
– To convey information about the natural and social
world
– Uses facts, details, opinions, and examples to inform
or persuade
• Organization
– Has varied text patterns (e.g., time order,
enumeration, compare/contrast, cause/effect,
problem/solution)
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
28
But across both types of
texts, good readers use at
least five metacognitive
comprehension strategies…
Your homework is to find out what
these are (Chapter 1). And come
prepared with 2 questions predicting
what Thursday’s readings will be
about (preview Chapter 2).
Free powerpoint template: www.brainybetty.com
29