Nonfiction

K-Gr 2—A small bear wanders through a dreary landscape, describing feelings of extreme loneliness...

Gr 2–4—These biographies provide clear and concise information for reports and may inspire aspiring writers by focusing on the authors' childhoods, overcoming obstacles, and dedication to writing...

Gr 3–5—Opening with a true/false quiz, and including a recipe for a throat gargle, instructions for making a nesting site for orchard mason bees (one a very finished product and another using a tin can and some bamboo), and a list of foods that would be unavailable if bees disappeared, this attractive book will be welcomed by classroom teachers and homeschooling parents alike...

Gr 2–4—As in Sit-In (Little, Brown, 2010), the Pinkneys present important figures and a pivotal moment during the Civil Rights Movement in a fresh and visually compelling manner...

Gr 8 Up—"…In time so long ago begins our play,/In star-crossed galaxy far, far away...

If you had told me as recently as a year ago that I was doomed to become The Nonfiction Dialogue Stickler of Doom (copyright pending) I would have said . . . . well, honestly I would have asked where you came up with that term.  Then, once you’d defined it (Nonfiction Dialogue Stickler of [...]

Rapture Practice by Aaron Hartzler. Little, Brown & Co. 2013. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. It’s About: Aaron Hartzler’s memoir about growing up in an ultra-religious Christian family. It is funny; touching; rebellious; believing; and loving. The Good: I have a bit of a fascination with religion, especially those that say they have the answers. [...]

Attendees of SLJ’s annual Day of Dialog received an information boost from the pre-BEA event’s first panel of authors and illustrators. Moderated by Kathleen T. Isaacs, author of Picturing the World: Informational Picture Books for Children, the lively discussion offered Jim Arnosky, Jennifer Berne, Elisha Cooper, Thomas Gonzalez, and Jonah Winter the chance to share with librarians more about their creative processes, who they write for, and why they choose to create nonfiction for young readers.

Back in January, we had a conversation (in reference to Derf Backderf’s Alex Award-winning My Friend Dahmer) about what makes a graphic novel “nonfiction” and the rigidity of categories like “fiction” and “nonfiction.” A couple of new comments have been added to that thread, so please head over to the above link to read the whole chain, but [...]