Tags
What do the kids think? by Melissa Stewart
A couple of weeks ago, I posted this open letter to John Schu, Colby Sharp, Donalyn Miller, and Travis Jonker on my website. And Donalyn kindly invited me to post here, too.
My letter was inspired by my general frustration with the kidlit community’s current focus on narrative nonfiction. Now I openly admit that I, too, like many of these titles. But here’s the thing. I’m not a kid. And what I see is that kids aren’t as excited with these titles as the adult gatekeepers. There’s a disconnect, and I think that needs to be addressed.
So I asked: How do you—dedicated educators who know what gets your students excited—go about finding the right nonfiction book for the kids you serve? Most of the people who responded to my post said something like: “by knowing the kids and their interests.” In other words, it seems that content is king. Do you, readers of Nerdy Book Club, agree?
In the early grades, we know that kids enthusiastically read the Guinness Book of World Records and similar “browsable” nonfiction books. But what would you recommend as a next step for these students? What kinds of nonfiction picture books would also fascinate them? What upper elementary or middle grade nonfiction is most likely to grab their attention?
Is there a gap in what we offer kids? Do we need a bridge, a stepping stone between the browsable fact books and rich, complex long-form nonfiction? If so, what might that bridge book look like?
What are the best nonfiction books from a young reader’s point of view and how can we give them more of that?
Melissa Stewart is the award-winning author of more than 150 nonfiction books for children. Her lifelong fascination with the natural world led her to earn a B.S. in biology and M.A. in science journalism. When Melissa isn’t writing or speaking to children or educators, she’s usually exploring natural places near her home or around the world. You can find her online at http://celebratescience.blogspot.com and http://www.melissa-stewart.com and on Twitter as @mstewartscience.
Nerdy Book Club 
I’ve seen a lot of kids really fall in love with the big Dorling Kindersley encyclopedia type books – the sort that are about 3 inches thick, but are full of amazing photographs, and like Guinness Book of World Records, they are extremely browsable.
I wish I had a good answer to this question! But I know why I don’t – I’m not a reader of NF myself with the exception of reading for a specific purpose. I’ve noticed that primary students are so full of questions about the world that they naturally gravitate toward NF. Walk into a MG classroom, you’ll see a sea of novels. Personally, I need to read more novel length informational books before I can sell them to students. Big book gap for me! On another note, I think kids get excited about the power of writing through studying craft in NF and trying it out themselves. What is this author trying to say here? What do I have to say about the world?
I feel like there is a gap in children’s nonfiction (although I would love to be proven wrong). There is more and more out there for the primary grades. National Geographic does a couple of great early reader series. There are many great nonfiction picture books about science, art, history, biography, and math. There are also great, well written nonfiction books for the middle school like Bomb or the Scientists in the Field series. I am having trouble, though, finding nonfiction at an appropriate level for my fifth graders that is not a DK book. Although I love DK books (and the kids do too), they are more of a survey book – students can open up to any page; they don’t need to read the entire book. I know Nic Bishop and Seymour Simon get in this area some, but there needs to be more. Can anyone help me with series and/or authors?
Hi Melissa,
I am glad you continue to bring up this important question. As a second grade teacher I have found myself reading a lot of narrative non-fiction during read aloud time. Finding expository non-fiction that I can use to model reading strategies for this younger group of readers can be very challenging though. National Geographic Kids series and Scholastic True or False series are very popular with my students. There is also a new series that Scholastic publishes called “Who Would Win?” where 2 animals are compared, like the great white shark and killer whale. They love these books too. In fact, animal books are most popular with books about the solar system coming in second, and weather topics coming in third – at least in my classroom. When choosing non-fiction books my students prefer books that have features that will help them understand the text, such as headings, labels and bold words. They love when words are different colors! And this makes sense. These visual features are so important to helping them stay with the text. They love labeled diagrams and will study them over and over. Just like fiction, 6-8 year olds can’t sustain themselves easily for longer books. Think of Henry and Mudge and that’s about how long a book should be, at least early in the year. Second graders love non-fiction. Nearly half of my class prefers reading non-fiction. I realized my class library lacked the non-fiction my students needed last year, so I have been trying to find more on their reading level. I need to dedicate more of my kid lit reading time to finding more titles! Thanks for your post.
I have been struggling with the same question in my 5th grade classroom all year. On reflection, I know I don’t have the same passionate discussions about NF texts as I do about fiction. When I look on our wall where we record our read alouds, there are no NF texts, even though we have read them during the year. Yes, finding content that sparks interest and curiosity is important, but how I model the reading of NF will also influence kids. I agree with Barb, really studying the craft of NF and how to read it goes a long way in developing curiosity. Thank you for nudging me to think about this important topic again! I wish I had some suggestions for great texts. I look forward to ideas from others.
Both Lynette and Barb have mentioned the importance of teaching nonfiction craft. Are there any resources that nonfiction authors could provide that would make this process easier for educators?
Am I crazy for thinking that textbooks themselves are to blame for the lack of enthusiasm students have for non-fiction? Think about it. Student’s entire experience in the classroom is with dry, fact driven informational text that is meant to be absorbed purely for test taking purposes, whereas the fiction they read is meant to be enjoyable in addition to whatever other purpose it serves in stimulating their intellect.
I completely enjoy reading narrative non-fiction as an adult, learning about all kinds of things especially when I’m not expected to regurgitate any of it in an essay or standardized test.
The Diary of Ann Frank comes to mind as a stalwart non-fiction title that serves multiple purposes. Biographies are perhaps the best means of personalizing history or particular achievements in a relatable way that distinguishes information dynamically.
I think of an author like Vicky Alvear Shecter who has two middle grade biographies of historical characters: Alexander the Great and Cleopatra, and wrote a young adult novel about Cleopatra’s daughter. In all likelihood, in was the market (among other reasons) that motivated the decision to publish the YA title as a novel.
Textbook sales are driven by school boards, but the publishing world outside of textbooks is driven by consumer sales. I’m sure that if efforts put toward entertaining, enlightening, non-fiction books that aren’t compulsory assignments would find an audience and enjoy some market success. Look toward best-selling adult non-fiction to guide your thoughts about about what might sell the best for the audience of the intended age group. And, how is the reading experience going to be enjoyable for the audience?
My students (5th) vary on what they read in terms of NF. Some really like BOMB, but for some it is too hard. Several really enjoy National Geographic’s books and the Face to Face series that is written for our grade level.
I see this too. We need some ladders or courses of study for non-fiction too. I feel like there may be books out there, but I am not familiar enough with them. I have that book gap. Also, it seems that the adults in charge, myself included, are not as widely read in non-fiction so it is more difficult to do booktalks and reader’s advisory well.
I teach seventh, eighth and ninth grade. I don’t have much on my shelf, but books that they really have liked is Bomb, Amelia Lost, The Great and Only Barnum, and the Nathan Hale graphic novels.
Melissa,
This year our primary team decided to pool money to boost the nonfiction selections in our book room. It was not easy. What did we have to go on? Teachers brought their list of subjects taught in their content areas, and that was where we started. We were dealing with topics as commonplace as the seasons, weather and life cycles to more specific – earthworms, composting, and rock formations. From there we poured through catalogs such as National Geographic, Crabtree, and Harcourt and others, but it was a guessing game. From those catalogs all you get is a picture of the book and a level range. You may see an inside page, but rarely. So, you order blindly and hope you get good books. In some cases you do, in others you find them to be real stinkers. It’s frustrating! You’re right, it’s hard to get kids interested in a book if you’re not interested in the book. So those “stinkers” will probably sit unused until the next time we decided to weed through our book closet.
You did a workshop for the Vermont Council of Reading a few years back, and since then I’ve looked for ways to use nonfiction books more effectively. The workshop was about using nonfiction books in Readers’ Theater, which I’ve tried with success. The problem is getting more quality non-fiction picture books in the classrooms. We’ve tried to build good classroom libraries filled with books that will enrich their understanding and reach young readers, but even finding picture books in book stores is not easy, and unless you sit and read through every book you buy beforehand, who knows whether all of the information is credible. I’ve been glad to see that you are writing some books for National Geographic, which helps me to believe that there are credible authors writing these books. We also have the benefit of having Gail Gibbons as a nearby author, so teachers have a lot of her books in their classrooms.n But other than that it’s hit or miss.
So, it’s a guessing game, but one thing I don’t have to guess at and that is, when we do find good books – the kids love them!
To help you find good nonfiction, there’s a blog meme that has been around for years called Nonfiction Monday. Librarians and authors get together and post lists of their reviews of great children’s nonfiction every Monday. Check for schedule here: http://asuen.com/blog/?page_id=27 and an example list here: http://blog.wrappedinfoil.com/2013/02/nonfiction-monday-is-here-today/
Thanks so much for these helpful answers. I hope others join in the conversation. These ideas will really help me and lots of other authors as we develop new nonfiction books for kids.
Perhaps Nonfiction gets off on the wrong foot from the get-go. If you already have an idea that the students aren’t going to enjoy it, that may unfairly cast the books in the wrong light. Like fiction, nonfiction books have to be engaging and interesting.
For the younger kiddos, titles with captivating photos or illustrations may be key. Scientists in the Field series, Seymour Simon, and titles about animals or machines may help get them interested. For older students, try something like How They Croaked by Georgia Bragg or Superman VS The Ku Klux Klan by Rick Bowers. The Basher books by Dan Green are fun, short and cover a wide variety of subjects. I could probably go on for way too long with book recommendations, but I’ll stop for now…
Offer a variety of titles to your students because each one is an individual and it is a rare book that will find a place in the heart of all 30 (or so) kids in a classroom. But if you have numerous titles to choose from, the chance of each student finding a book they love increases. When students have a questions about anything, see if you can guide them to the answer using a nonfiction text, even if you know the answer yourself.
I actually enjoy reading and purchasing nonfiction for my middle school. You can find some of the signs I use to promote titles on my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/24855230@N07/ My students like the 100 Most books, How They Croaked, Is That a Fact series, Guys Write, Danica McKellar’s math books, and I buy lots from YALSA’s Quick Picks NF list and Excellence in NF lists.My young son loves the Who Will Win? series and Seymour Simon’s books.
I agree with Melissa’s post, and the comments. During forty years teaching, the last dozen at third grade level with readers ranging from emerging to highly advanced, I found that using quality picture books is a leveling strategy, since the range of subjects, titles, readability, and genres available is amazing! The authors of these materials are equally impressive, and the back matter often provides links, other titles, further data about the topic, and challenges to the reader that lead to independent research.
A good starting place for quality is the sidebar menu of participating authors on the I.N.K. blog (Interesting Non-fiction for Kids). http://inkrethink.blogspot.com
The posts are for adults (writers, teachers, parents…) but the participating authors have links to their own websites and welcome contact from readers of every age. They are award winners, every one!
That said, go to a library juvenile non-fiction section and select biographies (often sports figures are well represented, but so are others) and whatever science or history topics you are pursuing in class. Check them out, bring them to your class, and make notes on which ones are the most popular before spending scarce dollars on unknowns.
And Melissa, I love your books!
I’m a fan of magazine pieces and shorter narrative non-fiction across various topics as the “bridge” you ask about. In fact, we use Time for Kids a lot, for bringing science and environment and sports into our discussions. I’d also point to the ever-growing array of graphic novels within the non-fiction format (but suggest teachers read them first — some stink as examples of exemplary writing, some may not be appropriate for grade level, etc.)
Kevin
I’ve found students to love the Eyewitness books–lots of pictures to pour over. Steve Jenkins also does wonderful nonfiction–lots of cool pictures with short, fascinating facts. I wonder if David Macaulay’s books also might be a good bridge. I haven’t done book talks with them, so they tend to stay on the bookshelf, but I can imagine if I talked them up kids would love pouring over the diagrams and maybe get into the heavier reading that some of his books (Cathedral, Castle, Pyramid, …) have.
As an elementary media specialist I do slot of recommending of true animal stories-whether they are of animals with commendable character such as Hachiko or survival stories like Knut or friendship stories like Mazee children in 2nd-5th really seem to enjoy the stories as well as having their interest in non-fiction sparked. I have also found that simple biographies are a good stepping stone into non-fiction.
Here is another question I’d like to pose… What about those books that combine a fictional storyline, with non-fiction facts. When I think of the Holocause novels my 8th graders are reading, I know they are picking up facts and knowledge, while reading a fictionalized story. I swear I’ve learned more from Ken Follett novels, than I ever did in high school history class. Can’t background knowledge also be built while reading fiction?
My kids like non-fiction in general, but my boys LOVE, LOVE narrative non-fiction in the graphic form like the Hyperion/Center for Cartoon Studies series’ titles on Harry Houdini and Helen Keller.
As a mom to two little girls (ages 10 months and 6), I am constantly looking for information to satisfy my oldest’s desire to learn more about a subject. I love the idea of there being narrative non-fiction, and I am excited that I read through this post because there are so many great suggestions to find great titles. I am finding out quickly, with a daughter in Kindergarten, that there is a huge emphasis on reading this type of book.
For me it is hard to make that distinction because I am a researcher/scientist, not an educator or writer. I always think of non-fiction as research. So, if we are reading a book that talks about egyptians, we will go to the library and look through the stacks for books about Egypt, we will search on the internet for information, or take a trip to our local museum to see the mummys. I often share books with my daughter that are well above her reading level. However, if there are dynamic pictures with captions, she will spend a good deal of time looking through them. The key for her (as she is stepping into reading on her own), when it comes to non-fiction, is for it to have lots of great photographs or illustrations to give her context. She needs that window to look into the world she has never experienced.
My book gap is nonfiction, so as a 4th grade teacher I have difficulty with getting nonfiction moving. I feel the disconnect when the students are just looking at the pictures but not reading for content.
Two book series seem to draw them in though. I have several of the “You Wouldn’t Want to be…” series and the Basher series. I am able to choose and present the books depending on the unit we are working on or they will look at them in down time or even check out for independent reading.