Aspects of Art

A Checklist for Evaluating Books for a Mock Caldecott Program

Reviewer (student’s) name_____________________________________

Book Title_________________________________________________

Illustrator________________________________________________

After examining the illustrations in the book, circle or underline at least one choice for each category:

COLOR:

Quiet Active

Soft Bright

Combination Other______________

MEDIUM:

Watercolor Pen-and-ink

Photographs Oils

Gouache Cut paper

Colored pencil collage

Mixed media Other_________________

STYLE:

Realistic Cartoon

Photographic Abstract

Stylized Combination

Other_________________

ACCURACY:

Art matches author’s descriptions Doesn’t match

DESIGN:

Many pictures on a page Few pictures

Large drawings Small drawings

Many words on a page Few words

Combination

NECESSITY:

Illustrations help in understanding the story

Illustrations limit understanding

Rate the illustrations on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest, 5 the lowest:

1 2 3 4 5

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the story’s theme? (What is it about?)

2. What is the mood of the story? (sad, dreamlike, funny, etc.)

3. What age child would like this book? Why would the art appeal to children this age?

4. Do the illustrations represent the story in a way that increases your interest in or understanding of the story? Why or why not?

5. Do the illustrations match the story, theme, or mood? Why or why not? (Include aspects of art listed on the other side of this page.)

Circle a number below to indicate whether you think this book is Caldecott Medal quality. Remember, according to the criteria for the Caldecott Medal, your rating should be based on illustrations first, then the story, overall design, etc.