Chapter 12: Nonfiction

 Nonfiction is difficult to define because it includes many different styles, formats, and genres. Finding good nonfiction titles requires you to ask yourself some questions. 

• What are the author's qualifications? One way to find out is to go to the author's website and learn more about their research and/or expertise. You can also read about them on the back flap of books and read any author's notes included. A qualified author of nonfiction will include accurate facts and information.
• Are the facts accurate? Educators cannot be experts at everything so we need to look at resources that are available to assist us. There are two lists put out by the Children's Book Council called Outstanding Science Trade Books and Notable Trade Books in Social Studies. Nonfiction reviews are not always easy to find so these lists are a great resource to use when checking accuracy. 
• What are the purpose and scope? What fits your particular need? Do you want something with a broad scope or narrow scope? What exactly do you want to focus on? There are books that can cover a wide range of topics and those that focus on a very specific topic.
• How does the organization of the book help children find information efficiently? Things like a table of contents, index, timelines, back matter glossaries, etc. help children find specific bits of information. This is helpful when books are being used for research.
• What role do visuals play? Visuals not only add to the text, but they also help break up the text which can keep children from feeling overwhelmed by the text. Visuals include illustrations, photos, paintings, charts, maps, graphs, etc.

One of my favorite nonfiction writers is Seymour Simon. When I taught science to third and fourth graders, I had a large collection of his books. Students loved looking at the amazing photos that he is famous for in his books.