Evaluating Rubric

This is the rubric that I will be using to evaluate children's and adolescent's literature on this blog. I absolutely love children's literature, and while there are tons of fantastic books to read to children, there are definitely some books out there that may not be worth reading. Good children's literature is so crucial if we want to create a love of reading and learning in the children that we teach, whether it's as parents, teachers, or anything in between. My hope is that this blog will help to guide you to be critical of the books that you are sharing with the young ones in your life, and to consider how deeply impactful children's and adolescent's books can be. Check back soon for some book reviews!

	4	3	2	1
Illustrations	The illustrations in the book portray people as being complex human beings, avoiding stereotypes, tokenism, or images that are derogatory to a group of people.	There is about one illustration in the book that has stereotypical or derogatory images that does not properly represent the complexity of human beings.	There are about two illustrations in the book that have stereotypical or derogatory images that do not properly represent the complexity of human beings.	There are about three or more illustrations in the book that have stereotypical or derogatory images that do not properly represent the complexity of human beings.
Diversity of Characters	The book transcends stereotypes and portrays people of color, girls, children from low income families, or people with disabilities as positive, with leadership abilities and action roles in the book.	The book represents diverse people having positive, leadership roles, however still has some stereotypes.	The book has little diversity in the portrayal of characters and is stereotypical of some characters in the story (such as a white-male as the primary, positive role in the book)	The book is portrays inaccurate or unfair stereotypes of people, lacking culture and diversity.
Storyline	The storyline of the book is interesting with a well-constructed plot that involves achievements of diverse peoples.	The storyline of the book has interesting parts and a well-constructed plot that involves the achievement of diverse peoples.	The storyline has interesting parts and a well-constructed plot but does not involve achievements of diverse peoples.	The storyline lacks an interesting plot, and does not involve the achievements of diverse people.
Character Development	The characters are well-developed and grow throughout the story, building character interactions with other characters and showing positive development.	The characters show some growth through-out the story, but there was room for more growth and development to support the storyline.	The characters show little growth through-out the story.	The characters are one-sided and do not grow or adapt throughout the story.
Social Messages	The book sends messages to children or adolescents that are self-affirming and help to build a positive self-image.	The book has mostly self-affirming messages for children’s or adolescents that will help to build self-image.	The book’s message is not very self-affirming for children and does not help to build a positive self-image, and contains some bias.	The book contains messages of bias and stereotypes that are not self-affirming or positive for a child’s self-image.
Grammar/ Language	The book uses grammar and language that is appropriate for the age avoiding derogatory terms, offensive language, or loaded words.	The book has very few words that may not be appropriate for the age of the students, or may be offensive.	The book has some grammar that is not appropriate or is derogatory.	The book contains loaded words with negative undertones.
Cultural Relevance	The story has characters and a plot that are relatable to children from multiple backgrounds or cultures.	Some of the storyline is not relatable for the children, but most of the characters are relatable.	The story has some characters that are relatable; however, the story is not relatable or outdated for children today.	The story’s characters and plot has little cultural relevance and characters that are not relatable to for children or adolescents today.
Author/Illustrator Background and Perspective	Based on the author’s background information, they seem knowledgeable about the topic that they wrote about and have experiences to help their credibility for the book.	The author seems to lack background knowledge or experiences pertaining to the topic of the book, but most of the information in the book is still accurate.	The author seems to lack background knowledge or experiences pertaining to the topic of the book and it is apparent in the book as not all of the information is accurate.	The author does not seem credible to be writing about the book topic because the information in the book is not accurate.