Down syndrome in Children's Literature - Review

Book Title
Sam's Top Secret Journal
Book author Sean Adelman
Published year 2012
The book is developmentally appropriate for the intended audience. Agree
The book is well written. (Overall impression of the writing) Agree
The information presented is current and accurate. Agree
The illustrations or photographs used are positive and add to Not Applicable
the quality of the book.
The book avoids loaded words and is respectful. Agree
The book avoids stereotypes of Down syndrome. Agree
The book promotes the acceptance and understanding of people Agree
who have Down syndrome.
The book provides a positive example of the inclusion of people Agree
who have Down syndrome in society.

Would you recommend this book to others?


Yes



Brief Review

Sam's story is interesting and up to date. She interacts with
her family and the community. My only question would be
about the level of language used by Sam; she's very articulate
and her level of expressive language may seem a bit artificial
to some readers. Some people who have Down syndrome do
reach this level, but I'm thinking it may be above average.











Literary Standards
Character Development: Is the character who has
Down syndrome: Dynamic (credible, consistent,
multidimensional, ever-growing) or Static (does not
undergo important change or learn from his or her
experiences, unbelievable)?
Dynamic
Plot: Is the story line: Well developed (interesting
and believable) or Forced (dull and unnatural)?
Well developed
Theme: Does the book concentrate on Down
syndrome, or are other themes present? (i.e.:
friendships, family life, animals, community, etc.)
Other themes
Conflict Resolution: Is there a believable solution to
the main conflict in the story?
Yes
Tone: Is the overall tone of the story Happy (reflects
respect and empathy) or Sad (reflects pity)?
Happy
Style: Is the writing style appropriate? (consider
language, humor, and sentence structure)
Somewhat appropriate
Setting: Is the setting of the story Well developed
(clear, believable, detailed, and enhances the story)
or Trivial (unimportant, not well defined,
unbelievable) ?
Well developed
Point of View: Is the story told from the perspective
of the character with Down syndrome?
Person with Down syndrome
Didacticism: Is the moral of the story presented in a
way that is overly Didactic (preachy, forced,
overbearing) or Natural (seems well integrated into
the conflict of the story) ?
Somewhat natural




Current accurate information
Developmentally
consistent and
believable (Character
who has Down
syndrome behaves
and speaks
appropriately)
Realistic
(Character who
has Down
syndrome is
represented in
a realistic
manner)
Situations
(Character who
has Down
syndrome is in
realistic
situations
school,
community,
family)
Factual
(Medically
correct
information
about Down
syndrome)
Language
(Terms used to
describe Down
syndrome are
appropriate)
Current
(Current
terminology
is used)
Partially Agree Partially Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree




Illustrations
Physically
accurate?
Positive
emotional tone?
Add to
story?
Avoid
stereotypes?
Visually
appealing?
Do not interfere
with text?
Not Applicable Not Applicable Not
Applicable
Not Applicable Not Applicable Not Applicable



















Inclusion
The character
who has Down
syndrome has
successes
instead of, or
in addition to,
failures.
The character
who has Down
syndrome is
portrayed as
one of us
not one of
them.
The character
who has Down
syndrome is a
contributing
member of
society not
just the
recipient of
charity,
patience, and
service from
others.
The book
shows the
character who
has Down
syndrome in a
range of
community of
settings not
just special ed.
classrooms,
sheltered
workshops,
Special
Olympics
The character
who has Down
syndrome is
has a range of
relationships
not just with
family and/or
paid service
workers.
Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree
The story
elicits
empathy from
the reader
rather than
pity
The character
who has Down
syndrome
makes his /
her own
choices
Other
characters
have high
expectations
for the
character who
has Down
syndrome.
The character
who has Down
syndrome
interacts with
non-
handicapped
characters
The story
could be to be
told in the
same way
even if the
main character
did not have
Down
syndrome.
Agree Agree Agree Agree Agree