Nonfiction Form (Biography and Nonfiction Books)

Your Name: Jennifer Lopez Romero Title: Creatures of the Desert World
Author: Barbara Gibson Illustrator: Barbara Gibson
Publisher/Date: The National Geographic Society, 1999 Genre: Informative
EVALUATE THE BOOK USING THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS
1. Explain how the cover and first pages of the book attract and hold the reader’s
interest. Give 3examples from the book

1. In the cover of the book there is a bunny and mountains as the background.
2. In the fist page there are little lion with their mother and one spiny lizard.
3. There are also cactus, something that can be familiar to the children.
STYLE AND LANGUAGE – Explain how the book shares information with children.
Examples: “little-known facts;” new vocab sprinkled in the text; and selection of
information to create/maintain reader’s interest. Give 3 examples from the book
1. The book uses a vary of words that can be easy for children to understand.
2.The book also talks about weather and seasons.
3. The book talks about different animals that lives in the dessert; children can learn about new
animals.
ACCURACY – up-to-date research, references given, no mixing of fact and fiction.
Explain:
 The book talks about animals that live in the Arizona Sonoran Dessert. And the types
of weather in the dessert.

INFORMATION – Child’s interest, unusual subjects or viewpoints - personalized

content – new perspectives, first-person accounts, and fascinating comparisons. Give 3
examples from the book.
1. Children may be interest in learning about the animals that live in the dessert, and the kind
of food that they eat.
2. The book also talks about the plants in the dessert.
3. the book also talks about the animals that hunt their food to survive in the dessert.
EVALUAT THE BOOK FOR ILLUSTRATION WITH THE FOLLOWING:
Media (paints, pencils, pen, watercolors, charcoal, photographs, crayon, acrylics, chalk,
oils): watercolor
Visual elements (line, shapes, colors, textures):
Lines: curve lines, and horizontal lines.
Colors: Gray, brown, light and dark green, yellow, orange, dark blue.
Texture: soft.
How are illustration and text combined to share the information? What does illustration
show that text does not explain?
 The text explains the information about the different animals and the environment in
which they live and the illustration show it.
Describe the Page design: use of borders, text placement and font size, information
boxes, charts, vocab identified, use of white and dark space, illustrations placement and
types of illustrations:
 The pages do not have boarders, the text is place on one side on top of the pages and
the illustration cover both pages. There are not white or black spaces on the pages.
2. Child Development Theories –Select 1 theory
Identify the stage Concrete Operational________________ and age level_______7 to
11_____________ for the theory. Explain the development for this level.
Explain how the book fits the developmental level.
 Logical thinking with concrete objects and personal experience.
Give 3 specific examples from the book to support your evaluation.
1. The book talks about the dessert; children can relate to this kind of environment.
2. The book talks about animals; these animals may be new to children or they have already
seemed them.
3. It talks about the Arizona Sonoran desert, children may know about this dessert that is not
that far from las Vegas.
3. OVERALL RATING 1 2 3
(3 high, 1 low)
Explain the rating:
 The books gives good information about the animals, an the illustrations are amazing.