Children’s Literature Evaluation Form

Your Name: Gabriella Chay

Book Title: If You Were a Kid During the Civil Right Movement
Author: Gwendolyn Hooks
Genre: Children Literature, historical fiction
Illustrator: Kelly Kenndey
Publisher/Year: 2017
Evaluate the Book for the following elements
Style and Language: Using examples for the book, explain the following: Word
choices, dialogue, rhythm, rhyme and sentence length. Share unexpected insights or
interesting information the reader learns from this story. (5 points)
The word choice used is formal fiction because the characters talk to one another in
complete sentences and the book is very educational. There is a dialogue between
the characters. There is no rhyming. Unexpected insights and interesting information
are kids are learning about an important event in history.

Character: With examples from the book, provide the following- (5 points)
Who is the main character?
How can the reader relate to the character?
Who are the supporting characters?
The main character is Joyce Jenkins. The reader can relate to her about thinking of a
time when they either experienced or saw someone else was discriminated against.
The supporting characters are her brothers and parents.

Plot: Summarize the major events of the story (6 points)

Joyce Jenkins recently moved to a new town with her family and in her new town she
will be attending a new school where segregation is happening. Joyce has never
experienced segregation. The other character in the book Connie is trying to figure
out what her two brothers are planning as well. Both families are trying to navigate
how to fight for equality changes in the country forever.
Setting: Explain the place and time of this book. (2 points)
Theme: What is the main message of this book? (2 points)
The setting is Oklahoma in the years 1954-1968.
The theme of the book is how activism is important for equal rights and treatment of
African Americans in the United States.

Illustration: Analyze the book you selected with the following categories
Style (realism, surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, naïve, cartoon art)? (2
points)
Cartoon Art

Media Choice (paints, oils watercolors, pencils, pen, charcoal, crayons, acrylic, chalk):
(2 points)
Crayons

Give examples of describe how the following visual elements are used in the
illustrations: (3)
Line: The lines used to outline the illustrations
Shapes: Characters, objects, nature
Color: bright colors
Texture: there does not seem to be texture used in the book
Page design (placement of the illustrations, use of borders, white and dark space and
all pages the same or different). (3)
The placements of the illustrations are some cover the whole two pages while others
only cover one whole page. They do cover all the way to the border. There are white
spaces used in the book to describe certain things happening in the book and the
meaning. The pages for the most part seem to be the same.
Child Development Theory: Choose either Piaget, Erickson or Social Emotional to
describe the connection to the book Chose 1 only (5 points)
Piaget:
Name the stage_____________________ and the age_______________________
Explain the cognitive development from this stage and provide an example from the
book to support your choice:

Erickson:
Name the stage_____________________ and the age_______________________
Explain the cognitive development from this stage and provide an example from the
book to support your choice:

Emotional Development:
Identify the age: 4-5
Explain the social development for this age and how the book relates
to the emotional level you chose:
During this age kids, have more developed friendships, are moor cooperative with the
rules, understand others emotions, and they understand the difference between real
life and make believe. The book relates to the emotional level because kids are able to
express their feelings on segregation.

1 would not recommend 2 average 3 highly recommended

Your rating of the book: 3

Why?
This was my first time reading this book, I think it did provide important and informal
details during the civil rights movement. The book title is very eye-catching as well
because the reader is able to learn from the title that the events of the book would
take place as if we were the characters.
Book Extension Activity (15 points)

Your Name: Gabriella Chay

Book Title: If You Were a Kid During the Civil Rights Movement

Book Author: Gwendolyn Hooks

Publisher: New York: Childrens Press, an imprint of Scholastics Inc

Date: 2017

1. Pre-K/CCSD K-2nd Grade Core Standard

2nd

2. Objectives (What will children expect to learn?)

Students will be able to explain and understand who Rosa Parks is and what
importance she made during the civil rights movement by watching a Brainpop
video them completing the short quiz as a class. Then be able to explain how it
relates to the book in their journals.

3. Materials and Equipment needed:

pencil
notebook
book

4. Teaching (What will you do?)

I will first introduce the objective, once I do that I will then let the students know
we will be reading about the civil rights movement by reading the book “If You
Were a Kid During the Civil Right Movement.” Once we read the book we will
continue discussing as a class what they learned. I will then go into how we will be
learning about Rosa Parks and how she had an impact on the civil rights
movement. We will then as a class watch the Brainpop video and then take the
short quiz. Once we complete that I will hand each of them a paper and they will
explain how the book and the Brainpop video relate to one another.

5. Closure:

From this activity the students should be able to explain what civil rights are and
why it is important that we learn about it.