Chapter 11: Realistic
Fiction
Realistic fiction is at times known as modern realistic
fiction (MRF) or contemporary realistic fiction (CRF). Stories in this genre are set in present-day
times and are believable. Setting,
characters, and events are entirely realistic, which separates this kind of
literature from fantasy, science fiction and even historical fiction. When evaluating realistic fiction, readers
should ask themselves three questions.
Is everything in the story consistent with the real world where
modern-day children live? Readers should
consider the speech, behavior, cultural elements, and gender of the characters
to be believable and on trend. Does the
story have a theme that develops naturally?
Contemporary or modern realistic fiction may have more than one theme
and should appear slowly and consistently throughout the story. How does the topic of the book relate to
contemporary readers? These books confront
sensitive and tough issues our society and children are facing in today’s
world. Topics like death and loss, as
well as sexuality and sexual orientation are among many of the challenging
issues that have become the focus for many young adult books, in particularly realistic
fiction text.
Reading Chapter 11 made me understand a little bit more
the reason why so many teenagers gravitate towards this genre when selecting
books at the library. Realistic fiction
is always very enjoyable to read, due to its contemporary issues and ability to
tackle difficult issues that many people see as unthinkable. I believe books in this category are
essential to young adult readers, because it important for them to be able to
see themselves or see the hardship some people go through. Many times, parents avoid speaking about
certain topics with their children, and this leaves children thinking they are
misunderstood or left out. Books can be
the window and allow readers to see the lives of others, or they can be mirrors
and lets them see how their life may be portrayed. I am curious to know if current books labeled
realistic fiction, will still be labeled the same years from now, probably
not.
Lesesne,
T.S. & Karin Perry. (2016).
Realistic Fiction. Retrieved
February 18, 2018, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zKJ3mRS3RHcrsyGAT_606buFycZ1Ap_4YwpAwBobnUY/edit?usp=sharing
Chapter 12: Nonfiction
Nonfiction is discussed as having both narrative and
expository approaches. It includes
biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs.
There is specified criteria for evaluation nonfiction literature for
children. The first item to consider,
are the author’s qualifications. Looking
at the Author’s Note section of a book or browsing the author’s website, may
provide information on the author’s credentials. Knowing and identifying authors who have
developed solid reputations in nonfiction writing is encouraged when assessing
this type of literature. Author’s like:
Kathleen Krull, Don Brown, Steven Jenkins, and Seymour Simon have paved the way
with their respectable reputation.
Secondly, making sure the facts are accurate should be considered. There is no need to be an expert on the
subject, you may visit The Children’s Book Council to look up information. Readers need to know how to find out the
right information and be able to effectively and efficiently do their own
research. The third consideration is to
know what the purpose and scope of a book is.
Books are written for different purposes and some have a broader scope,
while other books have a much narrower scope.
Knowing how the organization of the book assists readers in locating
information, is the fourth consideration when evaluating nonfiction literature. Readers should be able to find information
efficiently, and to do so, books are organized using table of contents,
indexes, timelines, glossaries, and many other text features. The final consideration is to ask what role
the visuals play in the piece of literature.
Visuals may elaborate and break down the text to help readers not feel
overwhelmed with the text. Betty Carter
and Dick Abrahamson provide a set of questions to ask students about
nonfiction. These questions will assist
readers when evaluating this genre.
In Chapter 12, Dr. Perry and Dr. Lesesne commenced with
Dr. Robert Small’s observation of nonfiction being the only kind of book that
is defined by what it is not, and that is something I had never considered
before. Knowing the criteria needed in
evaluating nonfiction is so crucial, and I now understand why. Growing up and now as an educator, we are
used to seeing fiction as fake or not real, and nonfiction as literature that
provides real information, something I now know it is not always the situation. Take for instance, newspapers, I appreciate
Carter and Abrahamson’s questions for evaluating nonfiction, and plan to use
them personally and with students as they can be a great guide and provide a
form of reference in this genre.
Realizing the nonfiction section in the libraries is usually the
biggest, was mind-blowing, but then again, how can it not, if so many genres
fall under nonfiction.
Lesesne,
T.S. & Karin Perry. (2016). Nonfiction. Retrieved February 19, 2018, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hCIMSa5xRZNxxrWeJ4S1z7NYqbhOuVToOhspjl25MIM/edit
Chapter 13: Fantasy
and Science Fiction
Chapter 13, introduces fantasy fiction as stories that
violate the laws of physical reality.
Science fiction is divided into two categories, soft science fiction and
hard science fiction. Soft science
fiction includes stories with science elements like in any other narrative,
whereas hard science fiction creates worlds that are scientifically realistic. Science fiction is a subgenre of fantasy,
yet, fantasy is not always science fiction.
Science fiction and fantasy for children, needs criteria of four factors
to be considered, to evaluate it. First,
characters must behave in consistent and believable ways. Characters must be realistic, regardless of
the imaginary or scientific aspects of the story. Next, there must still be rules for the
fantasy world. Even if the authors bend
or flex the story to their standards, they must still follow guidelines. Subsequently, the authors must assist readers
in the “willing suspension of disbelief.”
For instance, the authors must provide elements or evidence in the
storyline that will allow readers to believe the events in the story. Finally, the themes should explore universal
truths. The themes must be general and
be applied into life in the real world.
There are many sub-genres within science fiction, and some might even
overlap or blend with others.
Apocalyptic stories deal with the end of civilization, where as
post-apocalyptic stories occur after the end of civilization. There are three different subgenres that fall
in the category of punk: steampunk, cyberpunk, and biopunk. Steampunk, is set in the Victorian era, and
involves steam powered machinery.
Cypberpunk, deals with hacking and computer technology, and is typically
futuristic and dark. Biopunk, are
stories with a spin-off of cyberpunk, yet involves the manipulation of human
DNA or viruses. The subgenre dystopia,
contains storylines with propaganda used to control citizens, the worshiping of
a leader, or residents being under constant surveillance, and in return there
is a resistance to the government. The
extra sensory perception subgenre, has three elements that need to be
considered: telepathy, precognition, and clairvoyance. Robots, androids, cyborgs, and artificial
intelligence is another sub-genre that deals with relationships between robots
and humans. Space, extra-terrestrial and
aliens’ subgenre involves the interaction between humans and aliens and is set
in space. Time travel and parallel universe, contains paradoxes and go back in time. Lastly, virtual reality or gaming, includes
characters lost in a virtual world or a game environment.
Before reading Chapter 13, I had a preconceived notion of
what science fiction was, and boy was I wrong.
In my mind, science fiction was anything that had futuristic elements. Little did I know, it is more than just
futuristic elements, it involves a great scale of subgenres that require certain
criteria. This criteria is very useful
and will definitely come in handy when evaluating or suggesting science fiction
books for students. Furthermore, I am
delighted to know the difference between hard and soft science fiction, because
I now know how to distinguish each subgenre.
I will encourage students to explore these subgenres and find books they
are attracted to. I know in my case, I
am excited to read Etiquette and
Espionage by Gail Carriger, a steampunk book mentioned by Dr. Perry in the
video.
Lesesne, T.S. & Karin Perry. (2016).
Fantasy and Science Fiction.
Retrieved February 22, 2018. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16M24GkDiegz093uW4LCD06jAkkjyLQVq0xW-_ksJ99Q/edit
Chapter 14: Graphic
Novels
Chapter 14, examines graphic novels, which
are a format and not a genre. For that
reason, it is possible to have history, fantasy, and nonfiction graphic
novels. This format of literature has changed
and is now extended from young elementary children to secondary and all the way
to adults. Graphic novels are full-length
stories told in paneled, sequential, and graphic format. These novels are not just for the uninterested
or readers with special needs, they may be enjoyed by a broad span of readers
as well. They promote literacy by
motivating readers, teaching mood and tone, and exposing them to all elements
of literature. Graphic novels may be used
in curriculum as well, since they can be resourceful tools that help students
with features of history, science, literature, and even art. Parts of a graphic novel are: panels,
gutters, dialog balloons, thought balloons, captions, and sound effects. Just like traditional texts, these books are
read from left to right. There are four main
categories of graphic novels. Manga, are
Japanese style novels read from top to bottom and right to left. Superhero novels include mainstream
publishers like Marvel and DC. Perzine, are
personal narratives or autobiographical stories. Nonfiction graphic novels are similar to perzines
yet include social issues.
Reading
Chapter 14, has made me realize I have been looking at graphic novels with a
negative eye. I am thrilled I began to read
and view this chapter with an open mind, because it has provided amazing
information I never thought about before.
To be honest, I used to see graphic novels as a form of cartoon, something
I have never been a big fan of, not even as a little girl. This chapter however, has enlighten me with
an abundance of material I know will be helpful when recommending this format
to teachers and students. I need to
promote graphic novels, just like any other book, which can be read for
enjoyment as well as learning and for a variety of grade levels. As a mother, I now understand why my son
always gravitates towards graphic novels, when we are the library or book
store. These books are immensely filled
with information presented visually and textual, but most importantly they can
be applied in many contents or subjects.
Who would have known graphic novels come in so many categories? Not me, I know for sure I would have never
thought graphic novels come in nonfiction or biographical. I will encourage the use of graphic novels in
the classrooms, during research studies.
I am sure kids will not be dreading to read and investigate information
written in this form.
Lesesne,
T. S. & Karin Perry. (2016). Graphic
Novels. Retrieved February 22, 2018, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Haiojb-wyE0wJo-qC1NYdDOAyB2pL-9tdwRwgeQ9P94/edit
Chapter 15: Peck’s Questions
Chapter 15, provides Robert Peck’s 1978 ten
questions to ask about a novel. These
questions are intended to guide readers into a greater evaluation of the
story. When readers ask themselves these
questions, they think critically about what they have read and reflect upon it.
The ten questions to ask about a novel
are: 1. What would the story be like if the main
character were of the opposite sex. By
asking this, readers minimize gender stereotyping. 2. Why is the story set where it is? This helps draw attention to the importance
the setting has, as a device used by the author. 3. If you were to film the story, would you
use black and white or color and WHY? This allows readers to visualize the tone
of the story. 4.) If you could not use all
the characters, who would you eliminate and WHY? This question allows readers
to identify characters that add quality to the story and those who do not. 5. How is the main character different from
you? This influences the reader to examine the main character and see if they
can relate to him/her. 6. Would this
story make a good TV series? Why/not? By
asking this, it encourages the reader to observe the ending focus of the and
the sequential nature of the chapters. 7.
What one thing in the story has happened to you? This examine the compares the
story to the readers’ own life, making it personable to the reader. 8. Reread the first paragraph of Chapter 1.
What is in it to make you read on? If nothing, why did you continue to read?
This question allows the reader to go back and realize what “hooked” him/her
into reading the rest of the book. 9. If
you had to design a new cover for the book, what would it look like? This captivates
the readers to consider the book’s marketing strategy compared to the reader’s spin
or choice of presentation of the book. 10.
What does the title tell you about the book? Does it tell the truth? Readers evaluate whether the title is a narrative
hook or symbolic.
Reading
Peck’s ten questions, makes me wonder why I had never seen these before in all
my years of teaching. They represent an
amazing resource that can be utilized in all grade levels and in all forms of
formats or genres. These questions
require a higher order thinking process that fosters the reader’s reflection of
their reading and contain no right or wrong answers. I look forward to share and incorporate this set
of questions with colleagues and students in my school, as well as a reference
tool for myself when I review literature.
Lesesne,
T. S. & Karin Perry. (2016). Ten
Questions to Ask About a Novel.
Retrieved February 24, 2018, https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ianIDwDEIMQAY9W_98o5xYxTA0BhgEXKKMeJu1GUA2g/edit
