Biographies and Informational Books

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Biographies and

Informational Books

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BIOGRAPHIES

• Biographies often the gap between historical fiction and nonfiction books.

• Bio = life and graphy = writing.

• This very specialized variety of nonfiction writing focuses on the lives of human beings, usually people who are famous.

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TYPICAL PERSONALITIES IN BIOGRAPHIES

Biographies are easy to identify in most library collections because they are so specifically about a person’s life.

Some of the most typical biographies in children’s literature are:

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Scientists and Inventors

• Perhaps the most popular children’sinventor in biographies is Thomas Edison.

• Other popular books about inventors include Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, George Washington Carver, the Wright brothers, Marie Curie and Alexander Graham Bell.

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POLITICAL LEADERS

• This category can include presidents, senators, kings and queens and other world leaders.

• Current events definitely affect the type of biographies that are published.

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POP CULTURE & TRULY TALENTED• This category does have a pop culture facet to it.

Many musicians & actors who are no longer popular today have had bios written about them.

• On the other hand, deserving musicians & actors do have their bios written, too.

• Artists and authors are less trendy, but have their stories told also.

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SPORTS PERSONALITIES

• A few sports figures have withstood the test of time. These include Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Jim Thorpe.

• There is also a trendy element to sports figures, and not all the bios published today will want be read after a few years.

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EXPLORERS AND ADVENTURERS

• Men and women who live on the edge make for a great biography for kids to read.

• Many biographies are often used to augment a social studies curriculum.

• Other explorers who aren’t part of the school curriculum are still popular with students.

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HUMANITARIANS• Biographies for those people who enrich our

world and uplift our lives like Jane Addams, Mother Teresa, Albert Schweitzer and Florence Nightingale are still popular and always inspirational.

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PEOPLE WHO OVERCAME TREMENDOUS ODDS

• People in this category have a special kind of heroism. Many bios have been written about people like Helen Keller who have overcome insurmountable odds.

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VILLAINS• Should there be a place for the truly wicked in

children’s biographies? Some villains have exciting tales to tell, such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James.

• Others, like Adolf Hitler have biographies written about them so that the lessons we learn from history will never be repeated.

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OTHER INTERESTING PEOPLE

• There is a current trend in children’s biographies to write about ordinary people who have interesting lives.

• Books like these let children know that everyone has an interesting story and can make a significant contribution.

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TYPES OF

BIOGRAPHIES

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AUTHENTIC BIOGRAPHY• Written as true nonfiction, only statements

made by the person are included as dialogue. • Written using the same techniques fiction

writers use to draw in the reader.

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COLLECTIVE BIOGRAPHIES• Contain a number of short biographical pieces

about subjects that have a trait in common• Viewpoints can be widely varied and

subjectivity is evident• The scope of the biography will determined by

the format, the age of the reader and the purpose for writing the biography.

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PICTURE BOOK BIOGRAPHIES

• These biographies are usually an introduction to a person’s life and are intended for younger readers.

• These books provide and overview and focus on the highlights of a person’s life.

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SIMPLIFIED BIOGRAPHIES

• Simplified biographies are aimed at newly independent readers and include many pictures and slightly more text than picture book biographies.

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COMPLETE BIOGRAPHIES

• These books span the entire life of a subject. • They start with information about a person’s

birth and tell the whole tale of the their lives.

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PARTIAL BIOGRAPHIES

• Some biographies cover a segment of a person’s life, like covering only the year’s of a sports figure’s life while he played pro ball or covering the years a person was president.

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JUDGING BIOGRAPHIES FOR YOUNG READERS

• There is a need for authenticity.• Biographies don’t use quotation marks unless they

have a source and a direct quote.• Personal perspectives do find their way into

biographical writing and interpretation of events is human nature.

• Biographers have to make sure they don’t overly glorify their subjects.

• Basic good standards of writing have to be employed.

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INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

• What are informational books? They are nonfiction and present current and accurate knowledge about something in our universe.

• The information in them is verifiable.• Nonfiction is divided into two categories:

biography and informational books.

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000-099 News, Internet, Museums & Magazines

100-199 Psychology, Witch Trials & Philosophy

200-299Religion & Mythology

300-399Education, Fairy Tales, Folk

Tales & Social Sciences

400-499Language

500-599Sciences & Mathematics

600-699Technology, Health & Cooking

700-799Arts, Sports & Recreation

800-899Literature

900-999Geography, History & Travel

92 Biography T

DEWEY DECIMAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

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Three reasons why nonfiction isn’t read as much as fiction:

• Information books are not usually used for pleasure reading.

• Children’s visits to the nonfiction section of the library are often only used for reports.

• Information books have a reputation for being boring.

The good news is that in recent years informational books have gotten much better.

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What “catches” a child into reading an informational book?

• Attractive design• Compelling details• Little known facts• Fascinating facts• Unusual subjects or

viewpoints• Personalized content• New perspectives• First person accounts

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TYPES OF INFORMATIONAL BOOKS

• Activity books: include any kind of books that invite the reader to engage in a specific activity.

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Concept Books

Concept books are usually the first type of informational book a child experiences.

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Journals and Interviews

Journals and interviews are the two most commonbooks based on primary sources.

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Photo Essays

Photo essays use photos to capture emotion and to verify information.

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Pop-Ups

Today there are excellent pop up informational books. They rip easily, so they are difficult to have in a library collection.

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Reference Books

Encyclopedias, dictionaries and atlasesare examples of reference books.

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Series

Many series about specific subjects are available in nonfiction books.

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Social Histories

Social histories look at an era, event orprevailingattitude.

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Survey Books

• Survey Books present an overview of a subject.

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Miscellaneous

Joke books, magic books, sheet music books, puzzle books all fit into this category.

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For next week: WRITING ASSIGNMENT #4: Annotated Bibliography/Resource GuideChoose one school grade (kindergarten – 6th grade) subject area or topic (must be approved by the me!) and collate a resource guide that consists of 15 non-fiction books and at least 2 other non-book sources. Chapters 13 & 14 of our text will provide guidelines to help you with your choices. The resource guide you write should include an annotation that consists of:•2-3 sentences summarizing the content of each item•2-3 sentences evaluating each item.•2-3 sentences explaining why you chose each item.Your paper should include an introduction about why you chose the subject or topic. The paper should also explain how you went about finding your sources. Some examples: the rainforest, adoption, Greek gods and goddesses, fire safety or to make it more meaningful to you choose a topic related to your major.