5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books

Once upon a time, nonfiction books for children routinely included concise, stodgy writing. Most of the books were text heavy, with just a few scattered images decorating, rather than enhancing, the content and meaning. But nonfiction has changed dramatically over the last two decades, evolving into a new breed of visually dynamic, engaging texts that delight as well as inform. The timing of these groundbreaking changes couldn’t be better, as English Language Arts standards now put an increased focus on nonfiction reading and writing. 

For decades, we’ve classified fiction as a way to study, understand, and, ultimately, teach it better. However, up to now, nonfiction hasn’t received this same level of intention. In 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books, Melissa Stewart and Marlene Correia present a new way to sort nonfiction into five major categories and show how doing so can help teachers and librarians build stronger readers and writers. Along the way, they:

• introduce the 5 kinds of nonfiction—active, browseable, traditional, expository literature, and narrative—and explore each category through discussions, classroom examples, and insights from leading children’s book authors; 
• offer tips for building strong, diverse classroom and library collections;
• provide more than 20 activities to enhance literacy instruction; and
• include innovative strategies for sharing and celebrating nonfiction with students. 

With more than 150 exemplary nonfiction book recommendations and Stewart and Correia’s extensive knowledge of literacy instruction, 5 Kinds of Nonfiction will elevate your understanding of nonfiction in ways that speak specifically to the info-kids in your classrooms, but will inspire all readers and writers.