Criteria for choosing storybooks

I'm going to copy from the subject's notes some criteria about how to choose a good storybook. I think that this would be very useful for me in the future: 

Teachers should select authentic storybooks that are accessible and relevant for children. The difficulty of a story depends on several factors, such as the language, the repetitions, the length of the story and the illustrations. Many authentic storybooks can be used with a variety of ages and levels, depending on how the teacher exploits the story.

The success of the story depends on choosing the right one for the lingusitc level of the child. We must take into account the following criteria to select storybooks:

Level

Is the level accessible? Does the story provide comprehensible input? Does the story provide an appropriate level of challenge?

Literary devices

What literary devices are there in the story? How do these literary de vices help children understand the story and participate in the storytelling? How do these encourage anticipation and memorization?

Content/subject matter

Is the story interesting and amusing? Is it relevant to my pupils’ interests?

Illustrations/layout

Do the illustrations support the understanding of the story? Are they attractive and colourful? Do they help children to develop visual literacy? Do they show life in the target culture?

Educational potential

Does the story help children to become aware of and develop their learning strategies? Does the story foster cross - curricular links? Does the story provide

cultural contents? Can different kinds of intelligence be developed through the story?

Motivation

Is the story motivating? Is it related to my pupils’ personal experience? Does it help to develop a positive attitude towards the target language and culture? Does it provide positive learning experiences and build confidence?

Values

Does the story help pupils to become aware of important values? Does it provide children with opportunities to work together? Does it help pupils to understand themselves and develop their self - esteem?

Global issues

Does the story develop an awareness of environmental issu es, sexism, racism, health and safety, etc.? Does it help to understand life in other countries?

Language / content

Is the language authentic? Does the story offer children a rich experience of language? Does the story provide information about the targe t culture? Does it contain cultural references that are difficult to understand?

The teacher

Do you like the story? Do you feel you can tell it well?

REFERENCES

Notes for the subject by Susana Martínez