Children’s Book Essay
Analysis of a Children’s Book
100 points – 25% of overall grade
General Guidelines
Select one children’s book, which is developmentally appropriate for children ages three to six years. You will analyze the text’s cultural relevance, as well as it’s developmental fit based upon four early childhood developmental characteristics.
Original guidelines required you to link to 4 developmental characteristics. Revised guidelines only require you to link to 2 developmental characteristics. They may be from two different developmental domains (physical, cognitive or psychosocial), or from within the same developmental domain (i.e. both from the cognitive domain).
Your essay will be about 4.5 to 6 pages in length (including title page and reference page) and will be comprised of the following sections:
Required Sections
Title Page
Include a color of the children’s book, a title, your name, school, course number, term
Introduction
1/2 – 2/3 page.
Briefly describe the book (title, number of pages, content, illustrations, font size, language – examples of vocabulary and average length of sentences, etc.). Explicitly discuss how the book is meant for preschoolers, providing specific examples of the above-mentioned aspects.
Critical Analysis of Diversity
¾ – 1¼ pages.
If you have selected a book that centers characters from non-marginalized backgrounds, address each of the following questions.
- Who authored & illustrated this? (this will require you to research the author/illustrator)
- What do they want us to believe about the world? What kinds of behavior does the book present at normal?
- What assumptions does the book make about age, gender, race, class, sexuality, disability status and culture (including the age, gender, race, class, sexuality, disability status and culture of the reader)?
- Whose voice(s) is missing or minoritized AND what might the story be like from that missing perspective?
If you have selected a book that centers characters from historically marginalized backgrounds (race, sexuality, disability status, etc.) address each of the following questions
- Who authored & illustrated this? (this will require you to research the author/illustrator)
- What do they want us to believe about the world? What kinds of behavior does the book present at normal?
- How might this story differ if told from the dominant (non-marginalized) perspective?
- Whose voice(s) might still be missing or minoritized AND what might the story be like from that missing perspective?
Feeling stuck or intimidated by his section? You might find this Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books helpful.
Analysis of Developmental Characteristics
1-1.5 pages total (approximately 1/2 – 2/3 page per developmental characteristic)
Analyze the developmental appropriateness of the book, by relating it to two early childhood developmental characteristic. For each of the two subsections, include
- Topic sentence clearly stating the developmental domain (e.g., psychosocial development) and developmental characteristic (e.g., Erikson’s stage of initiative vs guilt).
- An explanation of the developmental characteristic/ability/issue. Reference and cite either the textbook, lecture, or outside reputable source (e.g., a peer reviewed journal article, not a blog post). Paraphrase rather than directly quoting(I want to see your understanding & ability to synthesize the information, not just your ability to cut and paste).
- Discuss how the developmental characteristic/ability/issue is demonstrated in the children’s book. Consider elements such as storyline, morals, language used, illustration and more. Some links may seem obvious, and others you can arrive at my discussing how the children’s book would be read/experienced alongside a caregiver.
First Developmental Characteristic
Second Developmental Characteristic
Summary
1/3 – 1/2 page
Summarize, briefly recapping the developmental characteristics that align with the children’s book, as well issues of diversity present or not present.
References
Include a reference page, following APA 7th Edition.
