Pablo Cantu
LSSL 5360
October 22, 2016

Textbook Assignment #4

K What You Already Know About the Topic	W What you learned about the topic	L What you still need to learn about the Topic	S How do you plan to share what you learned?

Read chapters on (a) Nonfiction, (b) Historical Fiction and (c) Graphic Novels

K What you already know about the topic?

(A) The most I can tell you about nonfiction is that it deals with the truth.  All information on nonfiction literature is something that is true or that has actually happened.  There is no embellishing, no made-up part, and no lies.  From my experience in a library; nonfiction takes up at least half of all the books in a library.  Nonfiction can include books about music, study guides, and biographies to name a few.  (b). My previous knowledge of Historical Fiction is very small.   Historical Fiction is where a story takes place in the past.  In other words, the main setting of the stories take place in a time period that has already taken place.  For example Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter takes place in the 1800s (c) I really do not know that much about Graphic Novels.  What I think I know is that Graphic Novels are similar to comic books, but they are longer in terms of the story and graphic in nature; very gruesome and dealing with a lot of violence.  In other words, Graphic Novels are mainly for older teens and adults because of the content of the material in the book.  I would think that The Walking Dead would be considered a graphic novel if it wasn’t published as a comic book.

W What you learned about the topic

(a) I learned that the genre of nonfiction is more of an umbrella of sorts.  It includes various forms of literature from narrative to expository approaches.  Biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs are included in this category.  There are a wide variety of texts that fall under this category.  There are five points to look at when evaluating Nonfiction for Children.  The first thing to look at is 1) what are the qualifications of the author?  How is he/she an expert to be able to write this book?  Where did they go to school; where have they worked, what do they do? For the most part, you can find this information on the jacket of the book. Another place that you can locate this information is on the author’s personal website. Otherwise, we would have to accept that whatever the author wrote is in fact truth.  We can also look at book reviews to see If someone has had a problem with the authenticity of the information contained in the book.  The next part is 2) are the facts accurate?  We need to ask ourselves if the information listed in the book are true.  Unfortunately, unless we are constantly checking every fact written in the book; we have to take the information presented at face value.  We can once again look at the book reviews to see if a critic has stated that the information that is listed in the book are false.  The next part to help us evaluate the nonfiction book is 3) what is the purpose and scope of the book? In other words, what is the main topic being discussed in the book?  Is it clear to the reader what the main part of the book easy to identify?  Is this book for older kids or the younger ones?  The next part is 4) How does the organization of the book assist readers in location information?  In other words, does the table of content let us know what topics are to be discussed in the book or is it vague as to what each chapter is about?  Also, is there an index and does help us find information in the book quickly without having to read the entire book.  The last part that will help us evaluate nonfiction for children is that 5) What roles do the visual play?  Do the visuals in the book actually help what the author is trying to describe or are they just there like paint on a wall.  Do the visuals help elaborate the text, does it help that it does overwhelm the readers with the text.  (b). Historical fiction is any story that is set in the past.  The problem that lies with this definition is what is the past for kids?  Some of them feel that whatever happened two hours ago is history?   Some kids might believe that history is usually anything that happened before they were born.   An example that is used is September 11, 2001.  I see 9/11 as a contemporary issue, mainly because I lived through this terrible day and the days afterward.  But kids that were born after 1999 do not have a recollection of what happened, so for them its history.  Historical fiction allows the reader to vicariously experience what it might have been like to live in a previous time and place.   The criteria used to see if Historical Fiction for children is appropriate is 1) Does the book tell a good story that effortlessly blends the history in the story itself.  Examples would be Sarah, Plain, and Tall  or  Little House on the Prairie. 2) Are the facts of the historical period accurate?  We can look at reviews to see if they are accurate.  The National Council of Social Studies produces an annual list of Notable Trade Book in the Social Science.  3) How are the values of the time brought to life?  Were some things valued more or less in different time periods?  4) Is everything consistent with the social milieu?  The clothing, architecture, music, even the speech patterns need to reflect the historical period that is covered in the story.  5) Does the theme of the story relate to contemporary readers?  The book should relate themes that apply to contemporary readers.  The themes should be universal in nature. (c) Graphic Novels.  There is a bunch that I did not know about graphic novels.  First of all, they are not all gruesome and violent.  Some are very sweet and comical.  First of all, I learned that graphic novels are not part of a genre of literature.  They are more about form or format.  Graphic novels can be about history, fantasy, nonfiction and in reality, all genres can be written in graphic novel form.  One last thing, graphic novels are not just for older teens and adults, they can be written for all ages. Including preschool children and elementary aged kids.   The term graphic novel is used to describe any book in comic boo format that resembles a novel in length and narrative development.  It differs from picture books and comic books in their complexity.  A graphic novel consists of a cover and inside pages that have panels, gutters, and dialog balloons, thought balloons, captions, and sound effects.  They are read right to left like traditional text and top to bottom.  Graphic novels can create both an enjoyable and informative experience for the reader.  Graphic novels tell a story using pictures in sequence, panels, speech balloons, and other conventions of the comic book form and format.  The difference between books, picture books, and graphic novels, is that graphic novels are generally longer in length and have a more developed narrative.  Also, they differ from illustrated chapter books because the illustrations are an integral component of the story.  Graphic novels are like any traditional stories because they have the same elements in the story, such as plot, characters, setting, themes and climax.  There are some important elements regarding graphic novels.  1) Color can be used in a variety of ways in graphic novels.  Some questions to consider are:  what colors are predominant? What might the colors represent or symbolize? What would happen if different colors were used? Does the graphic novel use a full-color process? And are the colors bold or muted or pastel?  2) A line is a component of the art in a graphic novel and the direction of a line can imply different things.  A diagonal line might indicate movement or loss of balance, a horizontal line might mean rest or peace or calm. A vertical line could indicate height but also strength.  Some questions to consider are:  Are the lines thin or thick, are they bold or sketchy?  How does the artist use line to draw the reader’s eyes in a certain direction?  And how are lines used to frame the panels? 3) A composition is how the illustrations are put together.  Size and placement are two critical components.  Some questions to consider include: what is at the center of the panel, the top, the bottom; and what might the placement of the object signify?  Are some elements of the illustration in the various panels larger than others? 4) Frames can be used to contain text and illustrations and create panels.  Questions to consider regarding this are:  what type of frames are used in the book?  Do the frames vary throughout the narrative or remain consistent? Are the frames within the frames there to accentuate anything in the story?  If the frames were removed, how might the story change?  Art sometimes breaks the border of the frame, what might the artist be conveying with the techniques? 5) Speech balloons contain the text and dialogue of the graphic novel.  Does the book separate text from illustrations or does it bleed into the illustrations without separation?  Some questions to consider are: does the text appear in black and white or in color?  Are different colors used?  Does the word differ in any size and shape? How is emotional intensity indicated; with balloons, color, or lines? Is the text in addition to speech, how is It set differently, and why is it necessary? 6) White space is important in graphic novels.  Events usually happen in white space.  Questions to consider are: are the panels roughly the same size or shape?  Does anything bleed into the white space or gutters? Does more happen in one panel than in others? How does the author move readers from one panel to the next? 7)  Media and technique and style of illustrations function in graphic novels as it does in any form of art.  Come questions to consider are: what media is being used, colored pencils, watercolors, or tempera?  What illustrative style is used, is this cartoon considered art?  Can you identify illustrations work in other books?  There is a lot that I learned about the graphic novels that I had no clue about.  I now need to find some different graphic novels to be able to use this information to help me evaluate these books.

L What do you still need to learn about the Topic

(a) Like any student studying any subject; we always have something new to learn.  I still need to learn how to evaluate nonfiction books for children.  The only way would be is to read several nonfiction books and evaluate them using the criteria that I learned.  I need to see what nonfiction books would be appropriate for different age groups, because depending on where I find a job; I will need to be able to order books that are appropriate for their age group and for the book not be at a lower level or higher level.  And that is only something I can do with practice.  (b) In regards to Historical fiction, I need to read more of a variety to be able to evaluate them using the information I just learned.  And just like every other genre or format that I have learned about I just need to grab a book and just read and just have more experiences with these books and be to assist my patrons in what to choose depending on the era they wish to read about.  Of course, this is in reference to fiction books and not nonfiction.  (c)  Of all the genres and forms of literature that are out there, graphic novels are the one that I know the least about.  I need to get my hands on some the series of graphic novels, like Baby Mouse, Squish, Comics Squad, Hilo, and  Lunch Lady, and become familiar with this format.  Another book that I should read, is Fun Home which I am familiar with the Tony Award-winning musical but not the graphic novel.  I also need to learn about the different types of graphic novels, which include manga, personal narratives or perzines, and nonfiction.  I have ordered some graphic novels that deal with Economics and will see how well they work with my students.

S How do you plan to share what you learned

(a) To help me evaluate nonfiction books, I plan to have my economics students read different biographies regarding businessmen and entrepreneurs.  They will need to read books from our High School library as well as some that books that I will check out from the children’s library and local elementary schools.  I will ask them a series of questions to help them evaluate what they learned from these books.  They questions are 1) Tell me how the book would be different if it had been written 50 years earlier or 50 years later.  2) Describe your favorite illustration in one of the books.  Which illustration do you wish you could have done yourself?  3) Would this book make a good documentary?  Why?  4) Explain what you think the author did to research and write this book?  And 5) How would this book be different if it had been written for an adult or a kindergarten student? 6) What kind of teacher do you think the author would make/ 7) If you had a chance to interview the author of this book, what would you ask them? 8) Describe three facts, theories, or incidents that you found particularly interesting?  Tell us why?  9) Examine the title and jacket of this book.  Do they present a fair representation of the contents of this book?  And 10) Select the book you think was the most well written.  Pretend that a book company is considering publishing this book and you most defend the book.  Describe what you would say to persuade them of its value in learning.  These 10 questions can easily be used in any subject to help the students understand the information that they are reading.  So I also plan to share this information with my colleagues.  (b) In regards to historical fiction, I will use the criteria that I learned and share that information with my colleagues as well.  I will also share this with the new book club that was just established last week at my school.  They can use those questions among others to evaluate the book (if it’s a historical one) they had selected.  (c) In regards to graphic novels, I will use the information that I learned and share it with my colleagues and the book club that was just established.  I will also give them the following discussion questions that can be used when reading the graphic novels.  These questions are 1) How is character revealed and developed through the text, or through the illustrations? Did you we learn something different from text versus the illustrations?  2) How does the artist use color? Does color play a role in relating the mood and tone in a story?  3) When reading graphic novels that are found in a series. We can ask which of the character from the graphic novel series would make for an interesting spin-off.  Why? 4) How is mood conveyed through the illustrations? Through the text? Which is better?  I hope by sharing this information with the book club, I will also be able to learn from them as well.