SELECTION

CRITERIA
History & Historical Fiction
 QUALITY OF WRITING &
ILLUSTRATIONS
 FICTION
– Is plot engaging?
– Are the characters well developed?
– Does the setting connect to the story?
– Are the facts balanced with fiction, the
historical background always
subordinate to the story?
– Will the reader leave the story
understanding more about that
particular time or place?
 QUALITY OF WRITING &
ILLUSTRATIONS con’t.
 NONFICTION
– Does the text have voice to interest
young people?
– Is the scope of the topic appropriate to
the intended audience?
– Does the organization and format of the
book make is easily accessible?
– Do the illustrations clarify and extend
the text?
 AUTHENTICITY
 FICTION
– Is there evidence of how the author
acquired necessary background?
– Is there any contradiction or distortion
of know events of history?
– Is the narrative language appropriate to
the time, including figures of speech?
– Does the story reflect the values and
spirit of that time?
 AUTHENTICITY, con’t.
 NONFICTION
– Is there ample documentation?
– Is the information up to date?
– Do the illustrations accurately portray
the topic?
– Is there a clear distinction between fact
and theory?
– Are different points of view on issues of
the time presented or acknowledged?
 FREE OF CULTURAL BIAS
 FICTION
– Are the characters portrayed as
individuals without stereotyping?
– Does the dialogue maintain the natural
cadence of the native language or
dialect without making it difficult to
read?
– Do people of color lead as well as
follow/solve their own problems?
FREE OF CULTURAL BIAS, con’t.
– NONFICTION
 Do the illustrations contain accurate,
authentic representations of people and
scenes?
 Is the culture accurately portrayed from the
point of view of someone inside the cultural
group?
 What kinds of experts reviewed the text?

 Does the author avoid oversimplification?

 CURRICULAR RELEVANCE
 FICTION
– Does this book contain sufficient history
to be used to meet social studies
standards?
– Does the book provide information
about a particular era or way of life?
– Would this book be best used by the
whole class, by a small group, or as an
unassigned supplemental text?
CURRICULAR RELEVANCE, con’t.
 NONFICTION
– For what educational purpose is the
book intended?
– Does the book foster critical thinking?
– Who is the implied audience?
– What curriculum standards might be
addressed with this book?
– Would this book be best used by the
whole class, by a small group, or as an
unassigned supplemental text?
 “You think your pain and heartbreak
are unprecedented in the history of
the world, but then you read. It was
books that taught me that the things
that tormented me the most were
the very things that connected me
with all the people who were alive, or
who had ever been alive.”

 James Baldwin, 1924-1987