We were asked as part of Module 2 to select a resource and evaluate it according to the Hughes-Hassell and Mancall (2005, pp.46-47) contextualised general selection criteria. I am considering Don’t call me bear by Aaron Blabey.
| Primary considerations | |
| Criteria | Questions to consider |
| Appropriateness |
Is the content appropriate for my learners? YES Does it match their development level? Reading level? YES Social development? Learning style? Ethnic or cultural background? YES Will the work be of interest to my learners? YES |
| Scope |
What is the purpose of the work? Entertainment / informative Is the level of detail appropriate for my learners? YES Does it support the school curriculum or interests of the students? YES |
| Accuracy |
Is the material up-to-date and accurate? YES Are opinions and biases, if they exist, acknowledged as such? N/A Does the creator of the work identify the sources used to create it? N/A Does the creator cite credible sources, including specialists or experts in the subject area? N/A |
| Treatment |
Is the style of presentation appropriate for the subject matter and does it have appeal to my learners? YES Does the creator avoid stereotypes dealing with race, gender, age, region and socioeconomic level? YES Does the resource reflect our diverse society? N/A |
| Arrangement and organisation |
Is the information arranged and organised so that students can understand it? YES Is the resource organised so that students can easily locate information? YES |
| Authority |
What are the creator’s qualifications? Popular Author How knowledgeable is the creator about the subject? Does the creator cite credible sources, including specialists or experts in the subject area? N/A Has the creator published or produced other materials on this topic? YES |
| Comparison with other works |
How does this work compare with others in the same genre and format or on the same subject? YES How might my learners use this work? Read How might my educators use it with students? Read-alouds, starting point on Australian animals |
| Secondary considerations | |
| Criteria | Questions to consider |
| Physical quality | Do physical elements such as the clarity of images, illustrations, speech and music, the consistency of navigation icons, and the legibility of typefaces or fonts support the purpose of the work and the learning styles of my learners? YES |
| Aesthetic quality | Will the work appeal to the aesthetic tastes of my learners? YES |
| Literary merit | How well does the author, illustrator or producer deal with literary components such as theme, setting, character and style? ? |
| Reputation of author, illustrator or producer | Do my learners use other works by this individual and would they find this title interesting and worthwhile? YES |
As you can see from the above, I would choose and include this resource in my school collection. The only criterion I really struggled with was the one on literary merit. As this is a child’s picture book it doesn’t delve deeply into theme or character development, but as it a book written for children I would classify it as children’s literature.
The thing I noticed about these selection criteria is they are probably more suited for non-fiction resources. To assess fiction based on authority and accuracy is hard and could often not be relevant.
References:
Hughes-Hassell, S. & Mancall, J. (2005). Collection management for youth: responding to the needs of learners [ALA Editions version]. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/lib/csuau/detail.action?docID=289075
Just finished reading: Don’t call me bear by Aaron Blabey
