Informational Texts - Reading Response

 

Johnson, Dinah. H is for Harlem. Illustrated by April Harrison. Christy Ottaviano Books, 2022. $18.99. 9780316322379 Gr K-4.

This book is organized as an alphabet book. For each letter, a person, place, organization, or idea connected with Harlem, New York is named. Then there is a short paragraph, explaining that icon and at times naming more Harlem icons that start with that letter. Most pages are easy to follow, but some letters have a confusing organization because the paragraph starts with other topics rather than the person/place/etc. that was named initially. This issue only occurs a few times, so I don’t think it would prevent children from understanding the content. The alphabetical format allows the author to cover a wide range of topics and people related to Harlem. The paragraphs on each page allow for a few interesting details without too much overwhelming information for young readers. If anything, I think the amount of information included could encourage readers to do further research to learn more about a person or organization that especially interests them.

In her Author’s Note, Dinah Johnson mentions that she is a student of African American culture, and she has spent time in Harlem which is a “second home” to her. These points establish her as knowledgeable about the people and places she introduces in the book. According to her website, she has a PhD and teaches English at the University of South Carolina, so this again establishes her authority. Unfortunately, no reference aids are included - such as a bibliography, a table of contents, or a glossary. A table of contents isn’t necessary with the alphabetical format; however, a bibliography or at least some suggested sources for further research would have increased authority and benefited readers who want to learn more.

Each letter stands out with a bright color overlaid on a square of a different color. Within the letter, a piece of the page’s larger illustration subtly appears. The illustrations, often put together in a collage style, are detailed and vibrant. They show actual Harlem buildings and feature life-like depictions of the people mentioned in a paragraph, although no one is labeled so there could be some confusion about who each person is. Sometimes the people depicted on the page aren’t specifically from the paragraph but are residents and artists from Harlem’s community. The illustrations take up most of the pages, with text being in a much smaller space. This will hold the interest of visual learners or younger children. Overall, the illustrations are beautiful, especially with their focus on the many lives impacted by Harlem culture.

Noble Maillard, Kevin. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story. Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Roaring Brook Press, 2019. $18.99. 9781626727465 Gr PreK-1.

The organization of this book is extremely effective at creating an appealing picture book for younger readers while also providing detailed information for older children and adults. Each page spread starts with “FRY BREAD IS _____” in capital letters, and then includes a few lines in regular sentence case giving a short description of that spread’s topic in direct and vivid language. This keeps the narrative simple while also teaching some basics about fry bread and Native American culture. After the picture book section, the author gives his recipe for fry bread. Then he has an in-depth author’s note where he explains each “FRY BREAD IS” category with details, both historical and present day, reflections from his own life, and information from sources which are footnoted and then listed on the last page, along with a few other reference books. Perhaps most significant is Noble Maillard’s note that he is the fry bread maker for his family and learned his recipe from his Aunt Fannie.

Although he has very personal ties to fry bread, the author tries to stay objective when he acknowledges that different tribes have different fry bread recipes, and they disagree about whose recipe is the best! This acknowledgment of the diversity in present day Native American communities is discussed several times in the Author’s Note, and is also expressed in the endpapers, which list many tribes, all of whom were contacted to confirm the “common usage of their tribal name.” The reference aids, the inclusion of different tribes, Noble Maillard’s own personal experiences and expertise, plus the information in his author bio that he is a professor and journalist, all combine to give him a strong sense of authority on the topic of fry bread and the larger topic of the Native American experience.

The illustrations perfectly match the book’s themes of family and diversity. They show adults and children, all with different skin tones and physical attributes, smiling and working together. Almost every page shows someone holding or hugging another person, demonstrating closeness and love. Children are listening to and learning from their elders, whether they are making fry bread or sharing important stories from their past. The illustrations allow the overall tone of the book to be positive and loving, while the facts in the Author’s Note can remind older readers that Native Americans have faced suffering at the hands of the U.S. government and their story is one of incredible resilience despite adversity. Overall, this book is a perfect example of how topics can be expressed in different ways to suit different ages of audiences.

Paeff, Colleen. The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem. Illustrated by Nancy Carpenter. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2021. $18.99. 9781534449299 Gr PreK-3.

This book narrates a fascinating topic in a clear and engaging manner. The tone is conversational, but advanced vocabulary words are used in a way that demonstrates respect, not condescension, for the book’s readers. The book is organized chronologically, with the year in bold letters at the top of a page and then the story of what happened in that year in smaller text. There are a fair number of words on each page, so this book would be best for elementary readers that have the patience to sit and listen or read themselves. The author uses a combination of long and short sentences to emphasize certain points. A lot of information is included, which might dissuade younger readers. But the topic is never allowed to be dry history; the narration of Joseph’s life chronology along with the overall chronology of London’s sewage problem helps with this.

The illustrations ingeniously pair with the text. The detailed, sometimes humorous, sometimes gruesome pictures will engage younger readers who might struggle with the long paragraphs on each page. Additionally, almost every spread shows Joseph Bazalgette, so readers can be entertained by finding him. One of the most striking aspects of the illustrations is the depiction of some people as skeletons. This really got across how deadly cholera was and how it was spread through drinking water that touched almost everyone.

Interestingly, the author is not a professional expert on this topic. Indeed, this book was actually her debut novel – an impressive debut, considering the awards it won! Paeff shares her story of a trip to London being her inspiration for writing this book, furthered by her own experience visiting the Crossness Pumping Station. Since she can’t rely on her expertise to establish authority, she makes sure to include a more detailed timeline in the back of the book, along with lists for Further Reading and a Selected Bibliography. She also has an Acknowledgements section where she references several experts who helped her as she researched and wrote. Giving so many sources demonstrates that she did a lot of research to write this book, even if sewage or history aren’t her areas of professional study.

Stewart, Melissa. Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate. Illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen. Charlesbridge, 2021. $17.99. 9781580897167 Gr 1-4.

This book makes some interesting choices to allow the content to engage a range of ages. It quickly defines estivation as summertime sleep. Then it follows a list organization, with each page spread sharing an animal who estivates. There are three pieces of text to look at on each spread. The largest text follows a compare and contrast sentence structure to connect examples on subsequent pages. For instance, “Some insects snooze in groups…” is on one spread, and then the next pages finish the sentence with “…but others rest all alone.” Smaller text gives a short description of the animal featured on that page, explaining how it goes to sleep. Finally, there is a sketchbook page with black and white illustration, the common and scientific name of the animal, its size and its location. Younger readers may not have patience for the sketchbook page details, while older readers will take time as they read to study each level of textual information. This three-pronged format allows different levels of information to be conveyed. My only quibble is that all the other information disrupts the flow of the sentence that connects two spreads. By the time a reader reads all the information and turns the page, they may have forgotten what the first part of the sentence was. For me, this makes the compare and contrast format less effective. I think compare and contrast could have been used without making one sentence cover two spreads.

The illustrator mentions in her note her approach to illustrating this book. She decided to show the animals awake and active in their sketchbook illustration, while the full-page color illustration shows the animal sleeping or getting ready for sleep in its habitat. The illustrations are detailed and accurate, with the sketchbook pages labeled to demonstrate whether or not the drawing is actual size. This adds to the informational sense of the book; this is a story of real-life animals.

The author’s authority is established quickly in her bio, where we learn that she has written over 180 books for children and has a biology degree. Clearly she is an expert not only in the natural sciences, but in conveying scientific information to children. The back of the book includes even more detail about each animal, more information about estivation, and two lists of sources, one titled “Continue Your Exploration” and one titled “Selected Sources.” I like how the Author’s and Illustrator’s Notes share the processes each person went through so that children can not only learn about science but also about an artist’s experiences. I feel that even this reference information shows a respect for the reader’s curiosity and is geared toward children reading independently.