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Re: Notable Non-Fiction
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From: smithhemb_at_aol.com
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:14:56 -0400 (EDT)
And, of course, for most people, 99+% of the writing they'll do is non-fict ion, so if we think you need to be a good reader to become a good writer, t here's another argument for reading more (and especially better!) non-ficti on in schools.
Having taken up a dare a few years' back and started peddling cutting-edge historical scholarship to 8th graders, I've been thinking a lot about non-f iction for kids (especially as this series of guest lectures starts threate ning to morph into a book or website). But what I think I'm noticing is th at even as juvenile/YA non-fiction gets increasingly rich and interesting, and as adults increasingly turn to more visually-oriented sources for their history, the market for non-fiction books for kids appears to be drying up .
My impression is that both school and public libraries seem to be purchasin g fewer non-fiction books for their childrens' collections and relying more and more on the web as the primary research tool. And classroom assignmen ts seem to reflect that shift.
Is this just my small corner of the universe or are the rest of you seeing this as well?
Sue Hemberger Washington, DC
Message-----
From: Chelsea Couillard To: ccbc-net Sent: Mon, Oct 11, 2010 9:00 am Subject: Re:
Notable Non-Fiction
I often come back to something that one of the presenters at last year's No rthwoods Children's Book Conference shared. In a discussion about nonfictio n, she pointed out that something like 75% of adult reading (maybe even mor e, I can't recall) is nonfiction reading - contracts, news updates, directi ons, work emails, etc. But most of the reading that our kids do in school i s fiction reading, and there really is a difference between the two.
Received on Mon 11 Oct 2010 03:14:56 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 15:14:56 -0400 (EDT)
And, of course, for most people, 99+% of the writing they'll do is non-fict ion, so if we think you need to be a good reader to become a good writer, t here's another argument for reading more (and especially better!) non-ficti on in schools.
Having taken up a dare a few years' back and started peddling cutting-edge historical scholarship to 8th graders, I've been thinking a lot about non-f iction for kids (especially as this series of guest lectures starts threate ning to morph into a book or website). But what I think I'm noticing is th at even as juvenile/YA non-fiction gets increasingly rich and interesting, and as adults increasingly turn to more visually-oriented sources for their history, the market for non-fiction books for kids appears to be drying up .
My impression is that both school and public libraries seem to be purchasin g fewer non-fiction books for their childrens' collections and relying more and more on the web as the primary research tool. And classroom assignmen ts seem to reflect that shift.
Is this just my small corner of the universe or are the rest of you seeing this as well?
Sue Hemberger Washington, DC
Message-----
From: Chelsea Couillard To: ccbc-net Sent: Mon, Oct 11, 2010 9:00 am Subject: Re:
Notable Non-Fiction
I often come back to something that one of the presenters at last year's No rthwoods Children's Book Conference shared. In a discussion about nonfictio n, she pointed out that something like 75% of adult reading (maybe even mor e, I can't recall) is nonfiction reading - contracts, news updates, directi ons, work emails, etc. But most of the reading that our kids do in school i s fiction reading, and there really is a difference between the two.
Received on Mon 11 Oct 2010 03:14:56 PM CDT
