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

Once upon a time…children’s nonfiction books were stodgy, concise, and not very kid friendly. Most were text heavy, with just a few scattered images decorating the content and meaning, rather than enhancing it. Over the last 20 years, children’s nonfiction has evolved into a new breed of visually dynamic and engaging texts.

In 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children’s Books, Melissa Stewart and Dr. 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 texts and library collections
• Provide more than 20 activities to enhance literacy instruction
• 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.