Kids and Nonfiction

As I shared in a previous post, it’s important to pinpoint what your child likes to read.  Although our tendency is to think along the lines of fictional stories, many children love nonfiction.

Not only is nonfiction fun and fascinating, it is also an integral component to your child’s academic development.

6 Reasons to Use Informational Text in Primary Grades

I have often thought of nonfiction as the catalyst which gets kids reading.  From an early age, we read books about animals, flowers, space and dinosaurs (to name a few) with our kids, but as they get older, we tend to move away from informational text.  Maybe it is the misconception that nonfiction is boring or scarce but let me tell you, this is far from the truth.

Forget scouring for facts in an encyclopedia, nonfiction has been reborn and reimagined with a multitude of engaging books and resources available to readers of all ages.

In trying to find nonfiction books for Elsa (specifically ones about WWII), I stumbled across the Interactive History Adventure series by Capstone Press.

These stories are quick reads, where the reader is essentially a character who dictates the path of the story.  Elsa absolutely loves these books.  She told me she finds herself rereading portions, making different choices for her character so she can learn all about the events.

Presently, we started with all of the WWI and WWII titles (we are waiting on a few to ship from the USA..these aren’t easy to get in Canada) but hope to explore more titles related to other historical events like Westward Expansion and The Revolutionary War.

The Interactive History Adventures are geared toward middle elementary but for middle school students, try Young Readers Editions where adult literature is adapted for young adult readers.

Two books in particular that my students enjoyed were, The Boys in the Boat and The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

For more nonfiction books, check the links below.  Now is the time to start formulating your summer reading list and getting your kids hooked on nonfiction.

Goodreads: Best Children’s Nonfiction

Goodreads: Popular Middle Grades Nonfiction

The 10 Best Narrative Nonfiction Books for Middle Graders in 2019

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