Grade: The grades are one librarian's overall opinion of the books. A is excellent, B is good, C is fair...

How Books are Evaluated

Organization and Presentation of Subject Material:

• is the book cover and book design age appropriate and appealing?
• are the illustrations and photographs appropriate and of good quality? Are they labeled?
• does the text present useful and factual information? Are terms defined in text? Is there a glossary?
• is the text age appropriate in writing style and coverage? Is it easy to understand?

Accuracy:

• is the content current? Objective? Accurate?
• what are the author's qualifications? Does the author collaborate with experts?

Encourages Further Inquiry:

• is there a Table of Contents, Index, Bibliography, or Suggested Web Sites?
• are there suggested activities or experiments?

Diversity:

• if people are shown in photos and illustrations, do they represent a multicultural, diverse society and avoid stereotypes?
• is agriculture represented as an appealing occupation or way of life?

Ag Books for Kids was created as an independent study for a M.S. in Crop Science at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Dr. Fred Below advisor.

Karen Woodworth Roman has a M.S. in Library Science (UIUC, 2004), is a M.S. in Crop Science student at UIUC, and is a M.S. Ed. in Instructional Technology Student at Northern Illinois University.