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Notable Nonfiction
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From: Melissa Stewart <hbeeprod_at_msn.com>
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 07:42:15 -0400
I complete with Marc Aronson when he says, "It is that nonfiction literacy -- that ability to think with information and render the results on a page -- that the new standards demand. And there the internet is at best a supporting player. . . . I see our nonfiction books as modeling ways to "pull many facts together." as Celeste says. We cannot cover every fact, but we can show how to do it. Teachers thus can use our books to model process, even as their students use Google to hunt for bits and bytes of information."
While the New Nonfiction does provide facts, perhaps an even more critical service is its ability to serve as Mentor Texts for nonfiction writing. Our books are exhaustively researched, and books for older readers generally have extensive source notes and well as authors' notes that discuss the research process. Some authors, such as Susan Campbell Bartoletti, are also discussing their "extreme research" methods in greater detail on their blogs.
In nonfiction picture books like The Redwoods by Jason Chin, The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton, Where in the Wild by David Schwartz, An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston, Neo Leo by Gene Baretta, Wolfsnail by Sarah Campbell, Mosquito Bite by Alexandra Siy and anything by Steve Jenkins, the authors, illustrators, editors, art directors, and designers go to great lengths to present the content in visually dynamic ways. This appeals tremendously to young readers and hooks them on the content. These books get kids fired up about the content, which is a critical first step. It shows them how wonderful the world is to explore and discover. These books are so wonderful because they are created with care and passion and attention to details. These books are often also perfect for Readers Theater adaptation, Reading Buddy programs, etc. Snippets of text on the Internet could never serve such purposes.
Nonfiction picture books like Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights by Debbie Miller, Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart, Rain, Rain, Rain Forest by Brenda Guiberson and anything by April Pulley Sayre (especially Vulture View and Home at Last) feature luscious lyrical language that exemplify the six traits of writing. They can be used as models of organization, voice, sentence fluency, and word choice. And again, many of the authors have blogs in which they discuss their writing and revision processes.
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by Kathleen Kudlinski and any of the scientist in the field books can show students the scientific method, a somewhat abstract process that is often hard to explain in a classroom setting.
There are so many ways that today's creative, narrative and literary nonfiction books can be used to enrich the lives and the educations of our students. It's a great time for nonfiction!
Melissa Stewart
Received on Wed 13 Oct 2010 07:42:15 AM CDT
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 07:42:15 -0400
I complete with Marc Aronson when he says, "It is that nonfiction literacy -- that ability to think with information and render the results on a page -- that the new standards demand. And there the internet is at best a supporting player. . . . I see our nonfiction books as modeling ways to "pull many facts together." as Celeste says. We cannot cover every fact, but we can show how to do it. Teachers thus can use our books to model process, even as their students use Google to hunt for bits and bytes of information."
While the New Nonfiction does provide facts, perhaps an even more critical service is its ability to serve as Mentor Texts for nonfiction writing. Our books are exhaustively researched, and books for older readers generally have extensive source notes and well as authors' notes that discuss the research process. Some authors, such as Susan Campbell Bartoletti, are also discussing their "extreme research" methods in greater detail on their blogs.
In nonfiction picture books like The Redwoods by Jason Chin, The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton, Where in the Wild by David Schwartz, An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston, Neo Leo by Gene Baretta, Wolfsnail by Sarah Campbell, Mosquito Bite by Alexandra Siy and anything by Steve Jenkins, the authors, illustrators, editors, art directors, and designers go to great lengths to present the content in visually dynamic ways. This appeals tremendously to young readers and hooks them on the content. These books get kids fired up about the content, which is a critical first step. It shows them how wonderful the world is to explore and discover. These books are so wonderful because they are created with care and passion and attention to details. These books are often also perfect for Readers Theater adaptation, Reading Buddy programs, etc. Snippets of text on the Internet could never serve such purposes.
Nonfiction picture books like Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights by Debbie Miller, Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart, Rain, Rain, Rain Forest by Brenda Guiberson and anything by April Pulley Sayre (especially Vulture View and Home at Last) feature luscious lyrical language that exemplify the six traits of writing. They can be used as models of organization, voice, sentence fluency, and word choice. And again, many of the authors have blogs in which they discuss their writing and revision processes.
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by Kathleen Kudlinski and any of the scientist in the field books can show students the scientific method, a somewhat abstract process that is often hard to explain in a classroom setting.
There are so many ways that today's creative, narrative and literary nonfiction books can be used to enrich the lives and the educations of our students. It's a great time for nonfiction!
Melissa Stewart
Received on Wed 13 Oct 2010 07:42:15 AM CDT
