Choosing Quality Children

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Choosing Quality Childrens Trade Books
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Time for a little thinking

• Think of one of your favorite books from Grades
  3-6.
• What makes a quality piece of childrens
  literature?
• What kinds of books are in a high-quality
  classroom library in Grades 3-6?
• Think/pair/share with your group.

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What Constitutes Childrens 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). Childrens books in childrens
  hands. Boston Allyn and Bacon

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How Do We Recognize Quality Childrens
literature?

• Good books
• expand awareness
• provide an enjoyable read that doesnt overly
  teach or moralize
• tell the truth
• embody quality
• have integrity
• show originality

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Expand Awareness

• Good books
• Give children names for things in the world and
  for their own experiences
• Take children inside other characters
  perspectives
• Broaden childrens understanding of the world and
  their capacity for empathy

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Show Originality

• Excellent books
• Introduce children to unique characters or
  situations or show them the world from a unique
  viewpoint
• Stretch childrens minds, giving them new ways to
  think about the world and new possibilities to
  think about

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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

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Get to know childrens literature

• Read and enjoy childrens books.
• Read childrens 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.

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Childrens Literature Awards
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For the Book

• John Newbery Award
• The book judged to be the most distinguished
  contribution to childrens 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 Aint I a Woman,
  by Patricia Fredrick McKissack

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For the Illustrations

• Randolph Caldecott Award
• Awarded to the illustrator of the most
  distinguished childrens 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
• Grandfathers Journey, by Alan Say
• Mufaros Beautiful Daughters, by John Steptoe

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For New Talent in Childrens Writing

• International Reading Association Childrens 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 Writers Award
• Promising new writer who has had six or fewer
  childrens books published
• Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold

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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

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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
  ODell
• Illustrators Mitsumasa Anno, Lisbeth Zwerger
• Laura Ingalls Wilder Award
• Author or illustrator whose works have made a
  substantial and lasting contribution to
  childrens literature over a period of years
• Dr. Seuss, Virginia Hamilton, E. B. White

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Creating a Classroom Library
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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

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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

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Genres

• Realistic fiction
• Historical fiction
• Fantasy and science fiction
• Biography (depending on structure)
• Drama
• Diaries
• Personal narrative

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Different types of texts require different ways
of understanding and recalling the most important
ideasNarrative?Expository?
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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

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Story Grammar/Story Structure

• Characters
• Setting
• Problem
• Events
• Resolution
• Theme

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Less Complex Story Grammar

• Beginning (characters, setting, problem)
• Middle (events)
• End (resolution)

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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

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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)

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But across both types of texts, good readers use
at least five metacognitive comprehension
strategiesYour homework is to find out what
these are (Chapter 1). And come prepared with 2
questions predicting what Thursdays readings
will be about (preview Chapter 2).