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Narrative and Information
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From: Megan Schliesman <schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu>
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:50:09 -0500
Two things that have come up (perhaps as much implicitly as explicitly) in our comments about books for younger readers are information (what is included, how is it presented) and narrative/narrative style. I was meeting with teachers in the CCBC the other day who were here to spend time looking at a range of non-fiction for younger readers, and this is part of what they were thinking about as they looked for books to consider as "mentor texts"--individual books that teachers might read aloud repeatedly as students explore a subject.
As we transition from talking about books for younger readers to books for older readers (or perhaps expand our discussion to include books for older readers), I'm wondering to what extent, if any, how you think about non-fiction and evaluate individual titles changes with the age of the audience when it comes to these two components--or any components. Obviously, non-fiction for older readers tends to be more comprehensive in terms of the amount of information it includes. But in my mind narrative style still plays a huge role. But does it play less of a role than it does in books for younger readers? I don't have a simple answer. I do know a book that isn't written in a style I find engaging is one I'm hard-pressed to finish,but I haven't sat down and thought about whether there are times the subject itself is fascinating enough to carry me through.
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 15 Mar 2012 09:50:09 AM CDT
Date: Thu, 15 Mar 2012 09:50:09 -0500
Two things that have come up (perhaps as much implicitly as explicitly) in our comments about books for younger readers are information (what is included, how is it presented) and narrative/narrative style. I was meeting with teachers in the CCBC the other day who were here to spend time looking at a range of non-fiction for younger readers, and this is part of what they were thinking about as they looked for books to consider as "mentor texts"--individual books that teachers might read aloud repeatedly as students explore a subject.
As we transition from talking about books for younger readers to books for older readers (or perhaps expand our discussion to include books for older readers), I'm wondering to what extent, if any, how you think about non-fiction and evaluate individual titles changes with the age of the audience when it comes to these two components--or any components. Obviously, non-fiction for older readers tends to be more comprehensive in terms of the amount of information it includes. But in my mind narrative style still plays a huge role. But does it play less of a role than it does in books for younger readers? I don't have a simple answer. I do know a book that isn't written in a style I find engaging is one I'm hard-pressed to finish,but I haven't sat down and thought about whether there are times the subject itself is fascinating enough to carry me through.
Megan
-- Megan Schliesman, Librarian Cooperative Children's Book Center School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison 600 N. Park Street, Room 4290 Madison, WI 53706
608/262-9503 schliesman_at_education.wisc.edu
www.education.wisc.edu/ccbc/
Received on Thu 15 Mar 2012 09:50:09 AM CDT
