Incredible Informational Books

Author Qualifications

The author of Choosing Brave is Angela Joy who is an award-winning children's book author. In the author's note, Joy explains that she visited the National Museum of African American History to do research for this book. The bibliography has ten solid resources such as PBS which indicates that Joy completed thoughtful research for the book.  

Intellectual Content

The intended audience for this book is upper elementary and middle school students. The depth and breadth of this content is appropriate for the intended audience. However, the subject matter of Emmett Till's murder is intense, so teachers will have to determine if this is the right book for their classes. Based on my research of Emmett Till, the information in Choosing Brave is accurate. 

Writing Style

Joy's writing style is lyrical with repeated phrases like "It was the harder thing," manageable vocabulary, and short lines written in verse. The author's writing style is direct and not patronizing in any way. For example, "the sheriff set out to dig a grave that day, to hide the crime in the mud of Mississippi" (p. 1). I like the fact that Joy included a list of innocent Black boys and men who were killed recently for no good reason such as George Floyd. 

Organizational Methods and Reference Aids

Joy uses a chronological organizational method with flashback in her narrative, which is easy to follow for the intended audience. The author included author's and illustrator's notes, a list of songs for the Choosing Brave soundtrack, a glossary, a timeline of the crime, and a bibliography. All of the reference aids are useful to learn more about Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley and how they sparked the Civil Rights Movement. 

Format of the Work and Illustrations

The text of the book is small and either black or white ink, it is placed appropriately on the pages among the illustrations, and it is complementary to the style of the book. The illustrations are magnificent because they reflect the somber tone of the story. It looks like the illustrations are actually screen prints or stencils with heavy use of black ink and white space. I think the use of black ink represents the courage and strength of Mamie Till and Black people in general.

Joy, A., & Washington, J. (2022). Choosing brave: Mamie till-mobley, Emmett Till, and the voice that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. Roaring Brook Press.

Author Qualifications and Intellectual Content

Kevin Noble Maillard is qualified to write Fry Bread because he is an experienced writer and member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. The author's lengthy bibliography shows that he completed thoughtful research for this book. The intended audience for this picture book is grades K-2 because the font size is large, the kids in the pictures are babies through early elementary students, and the story is told in verse with short sentences and chunks of text. The narrow focus on the connection between fry bread and the Native American family is perfect for a young audience. 

Writing Style and Organizational Methods

Maillard's writing style is very matter-of-fact in describing the fry bread and Native American families. He uses age level appropriate vocabulary that is easy to follow and is not condescending to children. The author does a good job of organizing the material by starting more generally by describing the fry bread's shape, color, and sound, and then describing the fry bread more abstractly and how it represents so many things like time, place, and tribe.

Reference Aids

Maillard included extensive author's notes about Native American history in the United States, which are organized by headings within the story. He included an extensive bibliography for anyone who wants to do further research on Native American history and food. Speaking of food, the author gives us his recipe for fry bread in the back of the book.  

Format of the Work and Use of Illustrations, Graphics, Special Techniques

Martinez-Neal's illustrations are sketches with a muted watercolor palette, and he does an good job of creating the  characters' expressions that show the love that goes into making fry bread. The illustrations are mostly close ups that dominate the two page spreads and show the importance of family in Native American culture. The book makes me want to makes some fry bread with my kids who would enjoy eating it.

(ILT), M., Kevin Noble/ Martinez-Neal, Juana, & Martinez-Neal, J. (2019). Fry Bread: A native american family story. Roaring Brook Press.

Author Qualifications and Intellectual Content

Colleen Paeff is an award winning children's book author and has joined a critique group and picture book group to improve her writing. Paeff's research, depicted in the extensive bibliography and acknowledgements, included working with several experts in waste management. The intended audience are kids ages four to eight years old, and the story is about engineer Joseph Bazalgette who fixes London's pollution problem. I think that an older audience (ages 8-12) would enjoy this book more than the intended audience. 

Writing Style and Organizational Methods

Bazalgette's story is easy to follow because the language is clear and the text is organized in chronological order with headings of important years in the process of fixing London's pollution problem. The vocabulary used in the text like cholera, embankment, and Parliament make the book more appropriate for upper elementary school students. In addition, the use of detail in the picture book (breadth of content) is best for older students who can focus for longer periods of time. 

Reference Aids and Format of the Work

Additional information in the back of the book discusses the importance of clean water to all living things on Earth and the challenge of keeping water clean with the increasing population and climate change. A timeline, author's note, further reading list, bibliography, and acknowledgments are provide great resources for more research on this topic. To be honest, the cover art would not be attractive to my elementary school self because it looks so old timey. 

Use of Illustrations, Graphics, Special Techniques

Many of the illustrations are relatable and funny with people pinching their noses from the stench of the Thames, flying poop, and even someone sitting in an outhouse. The vintage muted color palette used in the illustrations give the reader a feeling that they are going back in time. Nancy Carpenter's illustrations enhance the meaning of the text rather than distract from it. 

Paeff, C., & Carpenter, N. (2021). The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette solved London’s poop pollution problem. Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Author Qualifications and Intellectual Content

Jason Chin is a children's book author and illustrator and is qualified to write this book based on his extensive research about the Grand Canyon. Chin's writes about the assistance he had from four Grand Canyon experts in his acknowledgements. He includes the largest bibliography I have seen so far divided into books, websites, and papers as well as a list "for further reading." The intended audience is grades 3 through 5 because the pages have more advanced vocabulary and large chunks of text on a page with smaller font. 

Writing Style and Organizational Methods

Chin's writing style is clear and easy to follow. The story follows a girl and her father as they start at the bottom of the canyon and climb to the top. The vocabulary in the book is fairly advanced and includes vegetation, dominance, and conifers, so teacher-librarians may need to do some vocabulary pre-teaching or discuss the context clues to determine the meaning of words. 

Reference Aids and Format of the Work

Grand Canyon has so many reference aids, which would be helpful for researchers looking for more information. The inside of the front cover has a map of the Grand Canyon, and the inside of the back cover shows a cross section of the canyon with all the layers of rock. Additional information in the back of the book includes blurbs on human history, Grand Canyon geology, fossils, the Colorado River, and much more. 

Use of Illustrations, Graphics, Special Techniques

I found the illustrations on the border of the main illustrations to be distracting. In fact, the book has so much information, it could be made into two books. One book would be the story of the girl and her father, and the other book would be the history and geology of the Grand Canyon.

Chin, J. (2017). Grand canyon. Roaring Brook Press.