In next week’s class, we’ll be talking about four information books:
- Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
- Me…Jane by Patrick McDonnell
- Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen
- Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, illustrated by Bryan Collier
Things sure have changed since I was in elementary school. Instead of providing every fact known — or at least everything needed to write a report — information books nowadays aim to be as engaging as possible in order to get children interested in their subject. The idea is that it’s better to leave them wanting more and then provide a bibliography at the end of the book. I think this is a big improvement.
The other new development is that many new information books provide information on several levels, often using different typefaces. Every year, some of my ed students are frustrated by this kind of delivery, finding it draining or overwhelming, and they fear their students will dislike it, too. Others, particularly visual learners and those who know kids with attention issues, love it. I think the key is to let children explore these books rather making them “accountable for” reading and retaining every word. If the subject grabs a kid, then he or she might go through the book a second, third, and even fourth time, reading and noticing more and more.
Please join us in discussing these books at the links above. We’re also reading three articles related to Dave the Potter‘s Coretta Scott King award. You can find the articles at the links below, but we’ll discuss them here.
- Bryan Collier’s CSK acceptance speech
- Marcia Wernick’s profile of Bryan Collier
- “Dave the Potter and Stevie the Reader” by Megan Lambert
The post Information books | Class #4, 2015 appeared first on The Horn Book.