Nonfiction Form (Biography and Information Books)

Your Name: Leyla Varela Title: The Bluest of Blues, Anna Atkins and The
First Book of Photographs
Author: Fiona Robinson Illustrator:
Publisher/Date: Abrams Books For Young Readers/2019
Genre: Biography

EVALUATE THE BOOK USING THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS

Explain how the cover and first pages of the book attract and hold the reader’s interest. Give
3 examples from the book.

1. The cover page is a blue sketch of Anna Atkins

2. The cover contains white prints of different plants and hints of red flowers
3. The first pages of the book contain big sketches of Anna and her father, as well as,
sketches of the plants and animals they inspect

STYLE AND LANGUAGE – Explain how the book shares information with children.
Examples: “little-known facts;” new vocab sprinkled in the text, and a selection of
information to create/maintain the reader’s interest. Give 3 examples from book

1. The book includes the year of the information they are providing about Anna (ex: “1807-
The English Meadow”).
2. The book includes a few facts about naming insects, animals, or plants (ex: “The naming
system was created more than seventy years before, in 1735, so that scientist from different
countries could discuss their research with less confusion. Latin was the language
chosen..”).
3. The book explains what a cyanotype print is and explains the process by showing Anna’s
examples. Ex: “The cyanotype print. This process doesn’t need a camera, just two chemicals,
paper, water, and strong sunlight”.

ACCURACY – up-to-date research, any sources or references provided, no mixing of fact and
fiction.

Explain:
The author provides a bibliography at the end of the book as their references. They also
include illustration credits to where she got the actual pictures of Anna Atkin’s photographs,
as well as, a list of institutions that are currently holding Atkin’s cyanotypes! The book also
provides dates for every major event mentioned on each page that can be fact-checked.

INFORMATION –Explain how the book captures a child’s interest: unusual subjects or
viewpoints - personalized content – new perspectives, first-person accounts, and fascinating
comparisons.
Give 3 examples from the book.
1.New perspectives
2. Interesting facts
3.

ILLUSTRATIONS-- Select a 2-Page Spread to evaluate the book with the following:

Media (paints, pencils, pen, watercolors, charcoal, photographs, crayon, acrylics, chalk, oils): Explain the
media choices used:
- The book’s illustrations use a mix of pencil, watercolor, photographs, vintage fabrics, and wallpapers.
illustration and text combine to share the information:
What does the text explain and how illustrated?
- The text shares information about Anna, and her accomplishments, and explains how women weren’t
allowed in societal clubs during this time.
What do illustrations show that text does not explain?
- The illustrations give us an idea of what fashion was like during her time by the way she dressed and the
way her father was dressed. The illustrations also give us real examples of her work that words cannot
describe the uniqueness of them.
Page design – Describe the following: use of borders; text placement and font size; use of information
boxes, charts or identification of vocab use of white and dark space; types of illustrations and placement on both
pages:
- The book contains white and dark space throughout the whole story, as it is mainly in blue and white.
There is no use of borders, and the font size stays consistent throughout the story. There are no boxes or
charts; there are Latin words in the book but it is translated.

Child Development Theories –Select 1 theory:

Identify the stage:

- Concrete Operational/Age level: 7-11
Select one trait from the developmental stage/level.
- Broaden schemes: classifies objects according to several features

Explain and give 3 specific examples from the book that fit the developmental stage/level.
1. The book contains many pictures of different insects and plant species that the reader can
identify while reading the book.
2. In the book, the only other color besides blue and white is red. The red is shown through a
poppy flower. The reader can identify this flower throughout the book.
3. Throughout the book there are many illustrations and the reader can identify which ones
are cyanotypes after reading about them in the book.

1. OVERALL RATING 1 2 3
(3 high, 1 low)

Explain the rating: I would give this biography a rating of 3 because I absolutely enjoyed
reading it! I loved how the majority of the book is in blue and white, which I think is very
unique and makes the book stand out. Despite the look of the book, I found it very
informational, as I have never learned about Anna Atkins. The author did a great job of being
informational, creative, and factual. I also loved how the author included a picture of Atkin’s
actual cyanotypes!