Abigail Geisel

LLED 402

Written Critique

December 7th, 2016

Written Critique: Pollution

Childrens literature today is addressing a number of underlying

issues that have been ignored in the past. One topic that came to mind

was pollution in our earth. Pollution has been an ongoing problem for a

number of years now; it has been a well-known issue and has been

addressed often but it seems as if we are not even making an attempt

to stop littering and polluting our environment. When we are polluting

the earth, it has a negative effect on a number of aspects including our

air, land, and oceans. I believe pollution is a relevant issue because it

effects not only a certain community or country, but also our entire

world is at risk. Although it is rare that pollution disturbs our daily life,

it tends to be a bigger problem for our animals and marine life,

something children might not understand.

Combatting pollution is relevant because of many problems we,

as humans, are causing that are harming our earth. I believe bringing

attention to this topic is extremely important for children. They are the

future of our world, and they can have a big impact. If they arent

informed about the damage pollution is doing to our earth, there is no

way they can act upon it. Addressing the issue and broadening
childrens knowledge on it is the first step to potentially fixing this

growing problem. As for my community, and myself, expanding our

knowledge on pollution is relevant because it has been an increasing

problem in the larger cities that surround us, so eventually it might

become our issue. Polluting is obviously relevant at a global standpoint

because it is having a direct impact on our planet.

I selected pollution as my topic because I can recall seeing a

wide variety of childrens books that discuss what polluting is, the

different forms, and how its detrimental to the earth. I noticed that for

the most part, these books do a fantastic job of explaining the subject

in simple, relatable, and interesting ways. It is difficult to get children

to understand the urgency and concern of this topic, so I find it quite

intriguing to see how the authors are able to create great literature out

of not so fun material.

Childrens literature naturally includes books about personal,

community, or worldwide issues; so in my opinion, books on polluting

can display a standpoint on all of these platforms. The topic can be

approached in a number of ways when the directed audience is

children, it can attend to the subject in almost any manner. The books

Ive come across have been educational, intended for children, and

well written. In my opinion, the issue of pollution can be integrated into

literature easily and successfully.

 Literature can play a huge role in attending to my topic, because

of the many purposes it serves, connections it makes, and interest that

forms. In the resources Child Responds to Literature, Childrens

Literature: A Window to Understanding Self and Others, and Creating

Space for Childrens Literature, there are crucial points about reading

that must be considered when choosing books and strategizing on how

they are used in a classroom. Each resource makes a good connection

on how literature has an important role in learning, no matter the topic

or subject. They all consider what needs to be included and reinforced

in order to produce the most productive type of learning.

Focusing on how pollution harms ocean-life, the picture book

Abigale the Happy Whale is an excellent example of a good balance

between literature and addressing a huge issue. It is a fiction book

about a healthy whale that, on a journey, encounters a few other sea

animals that have been harmed in one way or another due to some

sort of pollution. The Golfin Dolphin has an injured snout from a golf

club that was thrown into the sea, Blackie the Goldfish is covered in

thick black oil, and Wordsmith the Swordfish has a wheel stuck on his

sword. The story continues as Abigale and the head whale try to help

their friends by coming up with a plan to get the Land People to

notice what theyre doing. One aspect I found to be interesting and

effective is the fact that in order to fix the pollution problem, they are

only working to get the humans to recognize what theyre doing. They
are not necessarily coming up with plans to fight back with the

humans, they know that if they are able to at least get their attention

the humans will respond accurately. This childrens book should be

appreciated for its blend of humor, interesting storyline, and

incorporation of an environmental message. The illustrations give the

characters personality and help children get a visual of what these sea

creatures actually experience when swimming in polluted water.

This text can produce strong responses because of its realistic

fiction aspect. In the article Child Responds to Literature, Norton talks

about how interactions with literature allow children to experience

things such as relationships with others and the environment, and

understand things on a whole new level that they wouldnt have the

opportunity to otherwise. With something so simple like this picture

book, children are given the chance to form these opinions and have a

taste of discovery. Although its already very obvious, Norton says,

Literature can contribute considerably toward our understanding and

thus our respect. I find this short observation to be very important to

young readers. As they are reading and understanding the book, they

will gain respect for the topic as well as for the literature. It is crucial

that children comprehend what they are reading, because once they

are able to make a connection they will gain a whole new level of

appreciation for the content and message. Another thing that I find

interesting and relatable in the article is when it discusses how children

will start to make their own inferences from the text. I think Abigale

the Happy Whale is a great example of a text where inferences are

necessary. When talking about how the sea animals got harmed, the

children must use their skills to figure out what might have happened,

how it did, and why. It gives them a little bit of leeway for them to

make an assumption, therefore strengthening their reading skills. This

picture book is a great introduction to the topic of ocean pollution and

it also contains a number of opportunities for the child to utilize literary

elements.

A fantastic chapter book that has a lot to offer regarding

pollution is Pondering Pollution by Tamra B. Orr. It includes chapters on

investigation the problem, making connections, working on solutions,

and looking ahead. The book includes so much information from all

different aspects and is put into easy to understand manner. It catches

readers attention because it does have a storyline about a girl who

has asthma, making it all the more relatable.

I believe Pondering Pollution serves as an excellent text in the

sense that it is relatable, or it can help understanding of how pollution

can affect others. In Feeney and Moravciks Childrens Literature: A

window to understanding self and others, they talk about how a good

story makes a connection with the reader. They can help them

understand themselves, others, and the world they live in. This article

has points that fit exactly what Pondering Pollution is serving as for
children. Having these direct connections fosters a deeper awareness.

Another thing the article draws attention to is how literature can serve

as a model for many things, such as development of positive values

and ways to cope with problems. It says how it can support the

development of these values and give insight on how to act on a

problem. I think this can make a significant connection to the chapter

book, in a way that it will teach children important values about

keeping our earth clean and harm-free, as well as how to deal with a

problem like this. The child could identify with the main character in

the book, leading to a spark of interest on how they can work to stop

pollution. Again, making these connections is crucial for understanding

the literature and allowing it to make an impact. Lastly, Feeney and

Moravcik discuss how childrens books are written to address a

particular issue. This is completely true for this chapter book, it was

written for the sole reason of educating the reader about pollution.

Although it says that it cannot always accurately teach a moral or

lesson, I believe in this case it does since it is not typically a sensitive

topic. Feeney and Moravciks observations on childrens literature align

well with my topic and the chapter book I have selected.

One text that acknowledges almost every aspect of pollution is

Pollution: Causes, Effects, and Control by Roy M. Harrison. This text

supplies so much information that ranges from the sources of

pollutants and their environmental behavior, to the effects it has on

humans, and the action that can be taken in order to control pollution.

The material you can get out of this book is endless because of its

consideration in every topic. It is well written and quite informative,

supplying the reader with much detail.

In Creating a Space for Childrens Literature, Serafini discusses

how to make your classroom the best and most effective area where

children can have an wide variety of books and genres. It brings up the

fact that building an extensive classroom library can enhance your

room drastically. Although this informational text could be far too

advanced for children, supplying it as a reference can be a great tool.

Offering a range of books from different levels is helpful for the child,

they can learn to ease off of easy texts and work towards the more

difficult ones. Having an informational text, such as this one, available

can really turn enhance the classroom setting. Serafini also brings up

that literature should be included in content areas. This idea is spot on

when it comes to my topic: pollution cause and effects could absolutely

serve as science unit for children. Having extensive literature that you

can either read aloud or just have as a reference in your classroom

library is something that will drive the lessons on certain subjects. It

mentions that the literature brings the information to life, something

that I think other subjects struggle doing. Including literature in these

content areas can benefit the curriculum across the board. Something I

found that was interesting was that Creating a Space for Childrens
Literature has a section on becoming more sophisticated readers

ourselves. I think this idea is brilliant, in the fact that we should be able

to analyze and comprehend whats being said in the text in order for

our students to do the same. Again, supplying these informational

books with high content and detail can serve as an outlet for teachers

to get the opportunity to become better readers and learners. We

simply must be able to do what are asking and expecting our students

of.

After researching three relevant books to my topic, I have found

that each one contains literary elements and/or serves as a great

platform for learning: whether it is about the issue of pollution or just

literature in general. They all have qualities that can improve an

individuals ability to read, make connections, analyze text, and further

knowledge. No matter the topic, literature can always go hand-in-hand

with bringing attention to it. I believe that with the worldwide issue of

pollution, these three texts I have chosen can help inform children on

the problem and offer solutions, as well as further their literary

abilities.
 References

Children's literature: A window to understanding self and others

Feeney, S. and E. Moravcik. 2005. Children's literature: A window to

understanding self and others. Young Children. 60(5). pp. 20-28.

Child Responds to Literature

Norton, Donna and Saundra Norton. 2010. Child Responds to Literature. Through the

Eyes of a Child. Upper Saddle River. Prentice Hall. 0137074018. Ch. 1. pp. 1-38.

Creating space for children's literature

Serafini, F. 2011. Creating space for children's literature. Reading Teacher. 65(1). pp. 30-

34.