Text Complexity Analysis of

My Librarian is a Camel: How Books Are Brought to
Children Around the World

by Margriet Ruurs

Text Type: Informational

Text Description

This book describes the challenge of getting books to remote areas around the world and the unique and interesting ways some communities overcome that challenge. In addition to the central text, each two page spread includes photos, geographical and other information about the country in which the people receiving the books live. Students work only with carefully chosen sections of this text.

Placement

Despite its high quantitative measure, this book is appropriate for students in grades 3-5, largely because the text is narrowly focused and well supported by visual information. The organizational structure, both across the text and within each section is clear and predictable and supports comprehension. Sections of the text have been chosen to be accessible to third graders.

Quantitative Measure

Quantitative Measure of the Text: 980L

Associated Band Level: 4-5

Qualitative Measures

Meaning/Purpose: Slightly Complex

This story has multiple levels of meaning that are conveyed largely through common metaphors (“But the soldiers can never close the windows that have opened for my granddaughter.”). On some pages, the meaning of figurative language is supported by the illustrations.

Text Structure: Slightly Complex

The book is divided into 13 two page spreads, one for each community. Each section is identified in the table of contents and is clearly labeled with a simple header. The general focus of each section is the same (how a remote community gets books). Within each section, the text has a predictable problem/solution structure. Photos and captions strongly support students’ understanding of the written text. Graphics and a text box on each page offer general facts about each country that are interesting, but largely supplemental to the central text.

Language Features: Moderately Complex

The text is syntactically complex, and includes long, complex sentences with subordinate phrases or clauses. The text also includes a number of academic vocabulary words that may be unfamiliar to students. Domain specific vocabulary (primarily geographical terms) is used in the text boxes; the same terms appear repeatedly throughout the text.

Knowledge Demands: Moderately Complex

The remote geographic areas on which the text focuses are distinctly different from the places where most students live. Photos and captions help bridge gaps students may have in geographical and cultural understanding. The text boxes often include geographic information which is helpful in supporting student understanding of both the problems and solutions described in the central text.

Considerations For Reader and Task

Lack of geographic knowledge and cultural differences may make understanding this text challenging for some students. Targeted use of some of the information in the text boxes will support students in making connections between the place in which people live and the unique problems and solutions described in the text. Photographs may help students better understand unfamiliar cultures. A Close Reading Guide helps students to understand the problem/solution structure that repeats in each section, to effectively use the photographs and captions, and to locate specific information in the text boxes. The language demands of different sections of the text are uneven; the specific sections of the text chosen are the most accessible to third graders, and language work supports students in segmenting and understanding complex sentences. Note: Care should be taken to ensure that students understand that the book focuses on the challenge of getting books to remote communities, and that these communities are most often atypical and not representative of the geography and culture of a country as a whole.

Specific supports for English Language Learners, students with special needs, and students who need enrichment are included in the module.

Rationale

This text was chosen to provide students with specific, concrete examples of the value of books and reading by showing the effort and creativity that people around the world apply to the problem of connecting readers with books. The book also offers opportunities to help students distinguish between informational text and literary text (on the same topic) read earlier in the unit, with a specific focus on how details in a text are used to support a very clear and consistent main idea. In addition, the importance of photos and graphics in clarifying and extending student understanding of the central text make this book an excellent vehicle for teaching the skill.

Text Analyses: Grade 3