Chapters 1-5: Children's Literature, Briefly

Chapter 2: What Is a Good Book?
I think this chapter will be helpful to me when I am picking out books to put in my library for my classroom. I thought the section about quality was especially helpful. According to the text, quality is apparent by elements such as language, character, plot, illustrations, mood, tone, and theme. I also believe a good book could be something that would spark the interest of one particular student. One book might be really interesting to one student but really boring for another. I believe this chapter helped me to realize I need a wide selection of books to suit a diverse group of children.

Chapter 3: How To Recognize a Well-Written Book?
I guess I always thought childrens' books were of no interest to me, but after reading this chapter, I realized that they are very interesting. They have the same elements as adult books just different. I liked the beginning part of this chapter where it discussed word choice and gave the example of different ways a story was told. It really showed how much of a difference word choice can make in a story. Also, I really enjoy books that have similes, metaphors, personification, and imagery; I believe these are important elements that keep the reading interesting, especially for children. For example, in Buzz, by Janet Wong, the very last sentence uses figurative language, "like a busy bee". This painted a very vivid picture in my head, and I hope it would do the same for children.

Chapter 4: How to Recognize a Well-Illustrated Book?
I thought this chapter hit home. I work at an after school daycare program. This one little girl always likes to show me books, but she can not read yet. I let her flip through the pages and then I ask her to tell me a story according to the pictures. She actually does get the main ideas of the story just by looking at the pictures; I think that is a well-illustrated book. Just like in the text, the pictures can define the setting, the characters, emotions, and actions. I also think color plays a huge role in how appealing books are to children. The use of bright colors will definently draw children in and hopefully keep them there until the last page :).

Tunnell, Michael O. and James S. Jacobs. Children's Literature, Briefly. 4e. Upper Sadle River NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008.