1. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Chapter 12 Biography

2. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Biography  Biography for Today’s Child  Criteria for Juvenile Biography  Types of Presentation and Coverage  Autobiographies and Memoirs

3. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Criteria for Juvenile Biography  Choice of Subject  Accuracy and Authenticity  Style  Characterization  Theme

4. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Juvenile Biography: Choice of Subject  Does the subject’s life offer interest and meaning for today’s child?  Will knowing this historical or contemporary figure help children understand the past or the present?  Can the subject’s experiences widen children’s views on the possibilities for their own lives?

5. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Juvenile Biography: Accuracy and Authenticity  Do the text and illustrations reflect careful research and consistency in presentation?  Does the author provide notes about original source material, a bibliography, or other evidence of documentation?  Are there discrepancies of fact in comparison with other books?

6. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Juvenile Biography: Accuracy and Authenticity (cont.)  Are there significant omissions that result in a distorted picture of the subject’s life?

7. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Juvenile Biography: Style  Are quotations or dialogue used in a way that brings the subject to life?  For a fictionalized biography, does the choice of narrator’s point of view add to the story?  Is the author’s style clear and readable, with background material included naturally?

8. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Juvenile Biography: Characterization  Is the subject presented as a believable, multidimensional character, with both strengths and weaknesses?  Does the author avoid both eulogizing and debunking?

9. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Juvenile Biography: Theme  Does the author’s interpretation of the subject represent a fair and balanced approach?  Does the author avoid oversimplifying or manipulating the facts to fit the chosen theme?

10. © 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Types of Presentation and Coverage  Picture-Book Biographies  Simplified Biographies  Partial Biographies  Complete Biographies  Collective Biographies