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BEN52701 Contemporary Trends in Children’s Literature
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Picture Book Reading Log
Purpose: to help you become familiar with the genre and format of picture books, so when we talk about them in class, you will have examples and ideas in your head already.
Read 10 picture books and record them in a reading log.
Learn more about picture books by following the links below and exploring libraries, book stores, and the Internet on your own.
The Reading Log
- Your reading log is due on March 14, at the beginning of the fourth class this semester.
- You should have 10 or more book entries in your reading log. You can write this by hand (neatly) in a notebook, or type it out on a computer.
- Each book should have a different author &/or illustrator.
- Each entry consists of three parts.
- Bibliographic information: Title, author, illustrator, publisher, publication date, etc. (follow MLA style)
- A brief summary. Just two or three sentences should be enough.
- Your comments about the book as a picture book. In other words, make sure you write about the pictures such as their functions, style, media, visual elements, and how they relate to the story in the book. Write just a few sentences about what you noticed or found interesting about the pictures and how they fit in with the story, and about how the story portrays (deals with) characters who are different.
Example of one entry:
a. Sendak, Maurice. Where the Wild Things Are. New York: Harper Collins, 1963.
b. A boy acts wild at home, so his mother calls him a “wild thing” and sends him to his room without any dinner. Then, his room turns into a wild place and the boy, Max, takes a boat to the land of the wild things where he becomes the ruler of large scary beasts. Finally, he comes home, and his dinner is waiting for him in his room.
c. I especially like the middle pages where there are no words. It makes it seem more wild. The colors aren’t bright. I think this makes it feel more thoughtful, not just a happy story. I assume this story is Max’s fantasy. I think he is angry at his mother and this is a way that he releases his tension. The monsters are interesting because they are both scary-looking while not looking scary at all. I’m not sure how the illustrator did this.
Grading (10 points)
- 9-10: Excellent. Carefully and neatly done with insightful comments and wide variety of books.
- 7-8: Good. Nicely done. Possibly a little repetitious. Not always insightful comments about pictures.
- 5-6: OK. The work has been done, but summaries may be copied, and comments appear rushed.
- 0: Not received.
- Late Reading Logs will still be graded and can receive ½ credit.
Picture Books Links
- Click here for the ALA definition of a picture book and info on how they judge picture books.
- Click here for the most recent youth award winners
- 100 Picture Books everyone should know. A PDF from New York Public Library.
- An Illustrator’s Guide to Creating a Picture Book (notice all the different aspects to consider.
- Illustrated Review of a book about the Picture books and visual story telling.
- Find picturebooks read aloud on YouTube by simply typing the title (and author).
Picture Book Presentation
(5-6 min.) Individual presentations given in new small groups.
Purpose: to learn more about other picture books and practice critiquing picture books.
Introduce a high quality picturebook to a small group of classmates, telling why the story, and especially the pictures, are good.
- Choose a high quality picture book that you enjoy.
- Introduce this book to a small group (this will be a new group, not your study group).
- Bring your book to the presentation so you can properly introduce it. (if you can)
- Tell the group why you think this is a good book. Make sure you use the criteria you have read about in the articles and what we have discussed.
- Prepare a 1-page handout to help you make your presentation.
- Talk about both the pictures and the text.
- Make sure you have prepared well beforehand so that you stay within your time. But you should also be able to say much more about the book if you have more time.
- Don’t make your presentation too short. You should be able to explain your ideas at greater length and with more examples as classmates ask you further questions.
The Hand out
- This must be on one side of one A4 size paper, neatly formatted, and with a normal size font.
- Feel free to creatively design this handout using ideas about picture book design we have discussed.
- Make 5 copies, one for each person in your group and one for me.
- Include all the publication information of your book (title, author, illustrator, publisher, date)
- Include your name and student number.
- Give a 1-2 sentence summary of the book.
- List, and briefly explain, several points that make this book good.
- Put at least one picture from the book in your handout.
- Be creative about how you present your information. Using charts, graphs, colors, word maps, or any other ideas are welcome, but most importantly, express your ideas clearly.
After the presentations
- Compare your four ideas of what made your books high quality. Did you all mention the same points? Are there any other points you can say about your group members’ books? Do you have any questions about your group members’ books? After hearing the other presentations, did it make you think about any other ideas for your own book?
- You will give one copy of your handout to me. (Please write your original group number in the top right corner.)
Grading (20 points)
- Choice of book. (Books based on movies or TV shows, or already discussed in class, are examples of a poor choice.)
- Organization. The handout should look neat and be easy to understand.
- Depth of thought. It should look like you have considered the major factors about what goes into making a high quality picture book.
- 18-20: Excellent. Well designed, creative and attractive. Clear, abundant, and insightful information
- 15-17: Good. Nicely designed with good information and some original ideas.
- 13-14: OK. The basic information is all there, but with little attention to design or insightful points.
- 10-12: Poor. Missing basic information or misunderstood the assignment.
- 0: not received
- If absent on day of presentation, you can receive half credit if you still turn in your handout on time via a classmate
Book Responses
Write a brief response (around 250 words) to three of our four class texts (the guest lecture about war and peace counts as one text). You can choose which three texts you wish to respond to. Each response is due in class on the second/last day we discuss the book. Your response should make and explain one or two insightful ideas about the book from your own point of view.
Keep in mind:
- Print out the response on A4 size paper and format it properly with correct heading.
- Give your response a meaningful title.
- This is not a summary or book report. Do not summarize unless it helps support your ideas.
- Generally, each idea will be one paragraph with several sentences that support/explain your idea.
- Consider quoting from the book or even using a picture from the book (if so, make sure you explain the quote or picture).
- You can think about what you gained from your own reading and/or what we talked about in class, but don’t repeat too much of what was said in class.
Here are some questions you can consider writing about in your response, but it’s best to come up with your own ideas.
- How easy or difficult was this book to read?
- How much did you enjoy or not enjoy reading this book?
- Which part was your favorite?
- Was there a part you really didn’t understand?
- What new idea or insight did you get from this book?
- Who would you like to share this book with?
- Share this book or part of it with someone and tell about his/her response.
Grading
- 9-10: Excellent. Insightful, meaningful points that are explained clearly.
- 8: Good. Good ideas with explanations that show individual thought.
- 7: OK. Typical ideas with explanations, but little individuality. Possibly too many points without sufficient explanation for each one.
- 6: Barely OK. Seems rushed. Unclear points or explanations.
- -1 point if poorly or improperly formatted.
- -1 point if there are serious proofreading problems.
Term Paper
(Due 5/30 & 6/6) (3 pages; around 1000 words).
Purpose: To develop critical reading skills. To show how different books speak about similar issues. Students should gain critical skills by closely observing the different ways that separate books treat a particular topic.
Write about how two or more books deal with the same class topic (Class topics are shown in purple on the schedule webpage).
- Your paper should have a single, clear main idea (not just topic) in the introduction of your paper.
- If you are interested in another topic, please confirm with me. It may be fine.
- At least one of the books must be one of the four main novels we read in class. The other may be something you have read on your own or in fall semester of this class. If you have another idea, please ask. I like it when students have their own creative ideas.
- Use information or ideas discussed in the class lecture related to the topic of your choice, but you are not limited to only the ideas discussed in class.
- Be sure to quote, and paraphrase, or summarize sections of your books appropriately. Be sure to use quotation marks and page numbers appropriately according to MLA style.
- You can include pictures if they help you make your point. You must write about any pictures you include.
- You don’t need to use any outside references, but if you do, you absolutely MUST cite properly using MLA style.
- Include both explicit and implied meanings.
Grading (100 points)
- Demonstrate a strong understanding of your topic and the books.
- Show that you understand ways in which ideas are presented subtly.
- Demonstrate understanding of topics and ideas discussed in class.
- Plagiarism. Any papers that include even a single sentence that is copied from another source without giving credit to that source will receive a 0.
Final Presentation (6/13)
(5-6 min.) Individual presentations given in new small groups.
Purpose: to consider similarities and differences between children’s literature and literature for adults.
Compare and contrast one children’s story from class this semester with another work of literature, not meant for children.
- This presentation must not be read, but you can refer to your handout.
- You can reuse some of what you wrote about in your term paper.
- You can compare and contrast with any other work of literature (not meant for children) written English. It may be something you have read for another class or something you have read on your own.
- Remember to pay attention to both similarities and differences between the two works, but keep it focused (probably on the same topic you wrote about for you final paper.)
- You must make a visually interesting 1-page handout to help you make your presentation.
- You can have a combination of sentences, paragraphs, poetry, charts, pictures, graphic organizers or anything else to make your points clear to your peers and to me (who won’t be able to hear your presentation).
- Remember that this can be no more than one page, but it can be creatively organized and you do not need to follow MLA format for this.
- Consider what you have learned about design from discussing picturebooks and graphic novels.
- Feel free to include your own art or handwriting as long as it is neat and clear.