Comparing and Contrasting Children's Books

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How does each book appeal to a reader?

Love that Dog would appeal students in grades 2^nd-4^th and would be a great book for teachers to use when introducing poetry.  Wonderstruck would appeal students in grade 4^th and up. Due to its size, it might be a bit intimidating for younger readers and it might also be a bit confusing with the two stories going on almost at once.

How would you sell these books?

I would sell “Love that Dog” to 1^st-4^th grade students by showing them how the boy started off not liking poetry and then ended up growing as a writer. I would also invite to write some poetry of their own so they could bring back to me or their teachers and it can be displayed just like it was in the book.

Grades 4^th and up would be my target customers for “Wonderstruck”. I would tell them it is pretty much two books in one. One story being Ben’s which is told in words and the other story being Rose’s which is told using the illustrations. As the stories progress they intertwine and start to become one.

List three other books by these authors. Are they similar or different?

Brian Selznick                                                                                    Sharon Creech
- The Invention of                                                                            - Walk Two Moons
Hugo Cabret                                                                                       - The Boy on the Porch
- The Houdini Box                                                                            - The Great Unexpected
- The Robot King                                                                               - Hate that Cat

Brian Selznick’s books follow a similar theme of children setting out to solve some sort of mystery. Selznick also has a particular type of illustration that whenever you see one of them you immediately know it’s a Selznick book.

Sharon Creech’s books are very different from each other. “Hate that Cat” is similar to “Love that Dog” only because it is a sequel. The rest of the books are very different compared to “Hate that Cat”. They have children as main characters but are based on more grown up themes such as the absence of parents.

Evaluative Criteria of Fantasy Children's Books

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

 

Plot

      Gregor and his sister Boots discover an underground world, the Underland, after falling through a laundry chute in their apartment complex in New York. In this world they find strange people along with oversized rats, roaches, spiders and bats who run the Underland. Gregor and Boots go in an adventure to search for answers about their dad who went missing years back without a trace. During this adventure Gregor and Boots also get caught up in a war between the humans and the rats. 

Theme

            In “Gregor the Overlander” we can see theme of determination throughout the story as Gregor searches for the truth of what happened to his father. We also see the themes of loyalty and responsibility as Gregor makes small but powerful sacrifices to take care of his siblings.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Characters

            Nobody Owens, or Bod, is a boy who has become an orphan after his family is murdered by “The man Jack”. He is then looked after by Silas (his guardian), and Mr. and Mrs. Owens (adoptive parents) as well as many other dead people in the graveyard nearby who teach him how to live amongst them in the graveyard.

Setting

            Although Bod goes in several adventures, most of the story takes place in the graveyard amongst the dead that have been buried there and take care of him to protect him from “The man Jack”. They don’t allow him to leave the graveyard in fear that he will get killed.

Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon & Dean Hale

Characters

            In the story we see the classic characters of the original Rapunzel story but with a slight twist such as Rapunzel (in a Calamity Jane way) and the evil witch. We also see outlaw and eventual sidekick, Jack (as in Jack and the Beanstalk).

Style

            Rapunzel’s Revenge was written loosely on the original story with a Old West theme to it. Rapunzel uses her long hair to lasso her way out of danger. The book itself is written like a comic book.

Comic Squad: Recess by Jennifer Holm, Matthew Holm, Raina Telgeimer, Dave Roman, Dan Santat, Dav Pilkey, Jarret Krosoczka, Ursula Vernon, Eric Wight, Gene Luen Yang

Characters

            Characters differ since the book itself has 8 different stories. “Book ‘em Dog Man” consisted of a mischievous cat and a super hero type dog. “Betty and the Perilous Pizza Dog” consisted of Betty the lunch lady and a pizza monster. “Jiminy Sprinkles in Freeze Tag” which consisted of talking fruits, cupcakes, peanuts and vegetables.

Style

            The book contains a series of different mini stories in a comic book format. Some of the stories such as “Book ‘em Dog Man” are illustrated like children’s drawings.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

Plot

     Stephanie meets Skulduggery Pleasant at her uncle’s funeral. Skulduggery Pleasant was a friend of her uncle’s and later becomes her mentor. Together they solve mysteries, investigate her uncle’s death, and fight against those who are trying to steal her late Uncle Gordon’s key to the Scepter that would release destruction and chaos.

Characters

            The main characters in the story are Skulduggery Pleasant, a sarcastic skeleton of a dead sorcerer, and Stephanie Edgeley, an adventurous yet angsty 12 year old.

Evaluative Criteria for Historical Fiction Books

Curtis, Christopher. 1995. The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963. New York: Delacorte Press.

Here come “The Weird Watsons”! as Kenny and their family refer to themselves in comical way. Narrated by middle brother Kenny in Flint, Michigan in 1963 his mother Wilona, father Daniel, younger sister Joetta and older brother Byron live humble yet comfortable day to day lives. Trouble starts to stir up when Byron’s behavior starts to get worse and worse to the point where their parents don’t think they can control him anymore. The Watsons decide it is time to give Grandma Sands in Birmingham, Alabama a visit with the hope that Byron will learn his lesson of how living in a troubled area is really like. During that time period was when the South was becoming dangerous for African Americans in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. Based on a true event, the climax heightens when in Alabama a church bombing in a predominately black neighborhood occurs resulting in 4 deaths and many injured. The incident impacted all the Watson family whom immediately returned to Michigan. Byron changed his ways almost immediately. It is Kenny who is most affected to the point where he has difficulty coping but fortunately Byron comforts him and tells him that things will be okay.

 

Schlitz, Laura. 2007. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Massachusetts: Candlewick Press

Set in Medieval Village in England Schlitz, a school librarian, wrote the book to contain miniature plays written as short poems that would be one for each actor. The idea came about after Schlitz was working with students at Park School where she is a librarian at. The students were studying about the middle ages. She got the idea of writing a play in which each of her seventeen students would get a part of equal length so that each child could perform and no one’s part was more than the other.  The book itself is quite accurate with its information and makes for a fun way for children to read about medieval times with characters such as the Barbary the mud slinger, Jack the half-wit, and Hugo the lord’s nephew amongst many others. The book would also make for a great school play.

Evaluative Criteria Annotations of Comtemporary Realistic Fiction Children's Books

Cleary, Beverly. 1983. Dear Mr.Henshaw. Ill. by P. O. Zelinsky. New York: HarperTrophy.

            Leigh Botts is a boy who is going through a rough time due to his parents’ divorce and moving to a new town. He is not adjusting well in the new town and having to deal with his anger and sadness about his parents’ situation at the same time is not helping him at all. That is until a class assignment requires him to write to an author. Written in the style of letters addressed to Mr.Henshaw, the author Leigh has chosen to write to, the reader can see how Leigh’s writing gets better as his interest in writing increases and as he starts maturing in the process. The view of gender is prevalent in the story as the reader sees how, as a boy, Leigh struggles with his feelings and the absence of a good father figure. Culture, not as race but as in society, is also prevalent as we see how conflicted Leigh is with his feelings about divorce and seeing his parents date again.  (Gender & Culture, Style)

Draper, Sharon. 2010. Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers

            The main character in the story is Melody who has cerebral palsy and cannot move or talk but despite what others may believe, she can think. She gets assistance with a machine that would allow her to communicate with others. Everyone is in disbelief of how intelligent she is but still belittle her triumphs along the way due to her disability. The theme of the story is about the struggles that teens with disabilities face in school and in society when people think they are not capable of them making their own decisions and being good at something independently. Melody’s character demonstrates this when she tries out for the quiz team and succeeds in making the team. Her efforts are still trumped by her peers when Melody receives more acknowledgement than the entire team. Throughout the story her feelings become complicated for trying to make a difference and yet still being brought down by peers.

Lord, Cynthia. 2006. Rules. United States: Scholastic Press

            Catherine’s life as well as her autistic brother David’s are lived by rules created by Catherine to avoid embarrassing situations more for herself than for David which can be seen throughout the story and as headings for each chapter. As Catherine narrates this uplifting but at times heartbreaking story, the reader can see how stressed she becomes from having to look after her brother and even a sense of abandonment from her parents for her relying so much on her for the well-being of David. Catherine tries to keep it together while trying to make a new social life for herself with her new neighbor Kristi. Her point of view changes when she meets Jason, a nonverbal paraplegic, at David’s therapy clinic whom she communicates with through his communication book and even designs cards for. Jason makes her see that it shouldn’t matter what people think about her when she is around him or David and should only focus on what is really important: happiness. (Characters, theme, style)  

Pastis, Stephan. 2013. Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made. Indiana. Candlewick Press

            Timmy Failure is written in a style similar to Diary of a Wimpy Kid with comical illustrations made by Timmy himself. The humorous story is about Timmy’s attempt at being the best detective alongside his imaginary bear friend Total. The story, narrated by Timmy, described all of his delusional adventures alongside with his illustrations and his efforts to fix mysteries and mistakes but fails to do so effectively while pinpoint some of his own mistakes and flaws in a comical way. Timmy can be described as imaginative but almost delusional with a high sense of superiority although his way of thinking as well as his trouble with school and home life beg to differ. Although that is the case, it is astounding the world Timmy creates for himself to bring a sense of happiness and control in his life in a very humorous way. (Characters, Style, Plot)

Paterson, Katherine. 1977. Bridge to Terabithia. Ill. by D.Diamond. New York: HarperTrophy.

            The characters Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke form an unlikely friendship at school when they try to see who the fastest runner is. Leslie’s imagination and in collaboration with Jess, they create a magical kingdom named Terabithia where they reign as royalty and makes for an interesting setting for the story. Terabithia is a place where both friends escape from their troublesome lives and go on many adventures together. The character of Jess changes in the course of the story after Leslie’s passing and makes him mature and gather strength to overcome his struggles. (Characters, Setting)

Urban, Linda. 2009. A Crooked Kind of Perfect. United States: HMH Books for Young Readers.

            The title for the book is very fitting to what the Zoe’s life in the story entails. Zoe starts wanting to own a grand piano but ends up getting an organ instead. With the help of her slightly dysfunctional family and unexpected friends, she goes through the organ lessons and signs up for the annual Perform – O – Rama organ competition but does not expect too much out of it due to how things in her social life have been going. The plot of the story is a slightly complex one with all the little bumps happening in Zoe’s life that keep her from her main goal but she still ends with a happy ending. The author’s chosen style of writing although short within chapters did not abruptly pause the story but led to Zoe’s actions and thought processes. (Plot, Style)

Evaluative Criteria on Informational Books

Frogs by Nic Bishop

 

Design
            Nic Bishop uses his photography skills for the pictures in his books. The pictures in the book “Frogs” are very colorful and crystal clear which is essential to readers who don’t have the opportunity to see and touch such animals in real life. The author also helps the pictures come to life by stating facts about the animal in different but complimenting colors and fonts that make the book very enjoyable to read.

Style
            The way the author describes the pictures of the frogs is done in a way where he is not just throwing facts but describing all the actions that he perhaps saw when we was photographing the animals. He also states these facts in very kid friendly vocabulary that allows younger readers to enjoy.

Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell

 

Design

            The design of the book “Me…Jane” by Patrick McDonell looks more like a children’s book about a girl and jungle animals. It is not until you continue reading the story that you see some more real life illustrations such as Jane’s drawings of animals. Even then the reader could think they are a different drawing style from the author. It is not until we reach the end of the story that we see a real picture of Jane and read a little bit about her as a person and the contributions she’s made as well as a personal message from Jane Goodall herself. This type of design lends itself for younger readers to enjoy the book without it being just a biography of Jane Goodall.

Style

            The style of writing in this book started off as a regular children’s story. It envelops the reader into this little girl’s curious adventures and daydreams and ends with the pleasing surprise of Jane’s dream of living and helping animals coming true.

Primates by Jim Ottaviani & Maris Wicks

 

Design
            The layout of the story Primates by Ottaviani and Wicks is in a very child friendly way. It is presented like a comic book in the matter of comic squares and illustrated onomatopoeia. The illustrations within the book are very colorful but easy on the eyes, making the pictures very pleasing to look at.

Accuracy

            The accuracy of “Primates” is a bit debatable due to it being loosely based on Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas. The story was meant to describe the adventures these extraordinary women took part in to advocate for primates in a comical yet respectful way. The book does include a short bibliography of reliable sources that were used to include facts in the story.

It’s So Amazing by Robbie Harris

 

Accuracy
            “It’s So Amazing” is, as described on its front cover, a book about eggs, sperm, birth, babies and families. The narrators of the book are a bird and a bee which fit with the terms that are sometimes used by parents to have the sex talk with their children. Although there is a use of anthropomorphism with a talking bird and bee, the rest of the story uses correct terms for body parts and such. At the end of the book the authors include all the people who helped with the writing of the book which includes many professors, doctors and science teachers.

Organization

            The book includes a table of contents in the beginning which helps the reader navigate through topics they may be interested in or to see what other topics the book covers. The end of the book includes an index if the reader wishes to look for a specific term in the book. The index also includes bolded page numbers in which the reader can find the definition of a particular word used in the story.

Rosa by Nikki Giovanni

 

Accuracy
            “Rosa” by Nikki Giovanni is based on Rosa Parks and what came forth from the day she refused to move from her seat in the bus. Although the story is based on a real person and a real event, the book does not cite any sources or credits that would demonstrate validity into some of the things discussed in the story. Although we all know that Rosa Parks does exist and what she did was a true event, the things that led up to and followed such events cannot be exactly proven true within the story. Rosa is not exactly an informational book per se but is a very good book to use to introduce the topic of Rosa Parks and her movement.

Balloons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet

 

Accuracy
            The author does a good job about depicting the work of a puppeteer by showing the picture of Tony Sarg right in the beginning of the book as well as attaching newspaper clippings from that time period. The most important is the added author’s note as well as bibliography and quote sources.

Design
            Although various types of illustrations are used throughout the story, they complement each other well. The use of different font types also helps the reader get a small taste of what things looked like in that time period.

How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg

 

Design
            The design of the book looks like something that would appeal readers that enjoy reading scary stories just by the title, choice of font and the picture of a skeleton physician on the front cover. Inside the book are only in black and white pictures with insects, tombstones and skulls on the pages borders which complements the book’s spookiness quite well.

Style

            The style used to write this book was indeed a spooky one. Right in the beginning of the book you can see a warning that states not to not read the book if you do not enjoy gore, accompanied by a skull and cross bones. The rest of the book proceeds to describe facts in graphic detail of how important people in history died and how they were buried.

We Are The Ship by Kadir Nelson

 

Organization
            The book “We Are The Ship” by Kadir Nelson is about the history of negro league baseball. The book uses the theme of baseball to separate the chapters of the book by innings, making the reader access certain parts of the story more readily. It also includes an index at the end of the book if in case the reader wants to find a specific person, team, place or event.

Accuracy

            This book successfully validates all the events in the story. It includes quotes and excerpts from baseball players that played during those times. It also includes a very lengthy but easy to read index that includes a bibliography, filmography, as well as endnotes for each chapter.

Hitler Youth by Susan Bartoletti

 

Accuracy
            Hitler Youth includes a very extensive bibliography of works used to write the story. The bibliography also includes firsthand accounts of people that helped the author such as people that translated German works for her. The book also includes a timeline of the historical events that happened in the course of when the story takes place as well as a foreword that introduces the people in the story (with pictures) and an epilogue that states what happened to those people from the story. The book’s pictures mostly come from the Library of Congress as well as from museums making this a book with highly accurate information.

Organization

            The book includes a table of contents that highlights the topics that will be discussed in the story. The book also includes an index so the reader that find specific topics or terms. The index includes bold page numbers that indicate that specific page contains photographs.

Visual Elements of Art seen in Children's Books

The visual elements of art are:

- Line
- Shape
- Color
- Texture
- Composition

The visual elements of art come together to create not only illustrations but often times to create a piece of literature. Such statement is especially noted in children’s picture books. The visual elements of art work together to attain the reader’s attention as well as keeping it. It also obviously portrays what is going on in the story but also sets the tone for how the story will be.

 

 

Line

The book “Mirror, Mirror” by Marilyn Singer is the perfect example of the visual element of line. The book has small poems which are divided by a line. The small poems are divided with one poem on one side and the same poem written from end to the beginning of the previous, changing the outcome of the second poem. The pictures are also divided by lines to describe the opposing sides of the poems.

 

Shape

 

 

In the story “My Teacher is a Monster”  by Peter Brown we can see the visual element of shape with the type of illustrations that can be respectively described as construction paper cutouts with added features in what looks like perhaps colored pencils. The illustrator puts together the “cutouts” to illustrate simple things in basic shapes such as the rectangular students’ desks and park benches as well as the actual characters and their attires.

Color

 

Although the book “Olivia” by Ian Falconer consists mostly of black and white drawings, it uses the color red to bring attention to the main character of the story. Olivia’s clothes and personal things stand out in the color red all through out the story to convey how much she is the center of attention in the book.

 

 

Evaluation Criteria for Picture Books

Characters

 

The character of Max in the story “Where the Wild Things Are” by Maurice Sendak has a behavior that is age appropriate to the intended reading audience. Max starts off in the story being mischievous which leads him to trouble, throwing a tantrum and being sent to his room with no dinner. His imagination starts to wander and he goes in an adventure where he becomes King of the Wild Things due to his bravery and being “the wildest thing of them all”. Just like any child away from home he starts to miss his mother and gives up his throne to go home. His strong sense of self and well as his wild imagination make him a remarkable character in the story.

Plot

 

In the book “This is Not My Hat” by Jon Klassen, the narrator of the story is the small fish. The small fish just stole a hat and he is convinced that he will not get caught. Throughout the story he remains convinced they will not find him. The pictures, on the other hand, demonstrate otherwise as the reader sees the others characters emotions and actions. The reader is engaged because they keep wondering if perhaps the small fish will indeed not get caught somehow. The pictures in the story play an enormous part in the plot of the story.

Setting

 

The story “It’s a Book” by Lane Smith has the common setting of a house. The most important thing about the setting of this particular story is not only the location of where the story takes place but the time period. The monkey’s (main character) friend the jackass keeps asking what the monkey is using because he’s absolutely dumbfounded as to what it is. The rabbit keeps asking the monkey questions using technology jargon. The use of rabbit’s technology terms makes it quite evident that it is a story that is taking place right now as we speak.

Theme

 

“The Paperbag Princess” by Robert Munsch has many themes. Such themes are about being witty and outsmarting your way out of a troubling situation, and finding yourself valuable and surrounding yourself by those who think the same while getting rid of those who don’t. Elizabeth outsmarted the dragon to save Ronald. After she did, Robert looked down on Elizabeth because she was dirty from the dragon’s flames. Elizabeth’s pride and self-worth allowed her to leave Ronald due to his lack of appreciation for what she did for him. It was a great closure to the story and made Elizabeth look smart and powerful and not like a damsel in distress which is how princesses are often portrayed.

Illustrations

 

In “The Three Pigs” by David Wiesner we can see various types of illustrations throughout the book. It starts with simple and light-colored pictures. As the story continues we see the pigs jump out of the story and attain a more three dimensional form and different ranges of color. The pigs enter a nursery rhyme and their illustrations change again into a very simplified animation with the use of pastel colors. The pigs jump into another story that transforms them into black and white characters. All the switches in illustration types allow the reader to really see how the pigs come alive as they are jumping into different stories. You can also see falling text and crumpled pages as the pigs dismantle their story. These types of illustrations allow the reader to really believe that what is happening in the story is like a reality.

Cultural Markers

 

The Legend of the Bluebonnet by Tommie DePaola is one that most definitely depicts cultural markers.  DePaola is widely known for depicting various cultures in his works. The Legend of the Bluebonnet is based on an old Texas tale and Native Americans. Although its accuracy cannot be verified within the book due to it being based on a tale, the story does a very good job about demonstrating Native American life in a non-stereotypical way through its use of appropriate skin tones and attire as well as terms such as Native American names.