Susan E. Goodman recently wrote a post for the I.N.K. (Interesting Non-Fiction for Kids) Blog in which she observed that in response to my "Build a Bookstore" posts last month, many of you (and I!) failed to include many non-fiction suggestions in our short lists of "must-have" titles for bookstores.
I think there are several possible reasons for this — at least FOUR, which is the number I’ll enumerate here. The first is the simple fact that I limited the number of titles you could recommend (just five each!), thereby limiting the possible slots that could be occupied by non-fiction. (Notice how much more effective that was, though, than when I allowed people to list up to 10 books for the adult category…!) The second is the fact that the first books we "expect" to see on any store’s shelves are often either "hot" titles or classics, and there are far fewer non-fiction than fiction books that fall into either of those categories.
The third reason I’ll suggest hinges on the fact that I asked readers to list books that they’d expect "any decent bookstore" to carry, when I’m not sure the average reader expects even most "decent" bookstores to have a fantastic selection of children’s non-fiction, because I don’t think such selections are the norm. How many bookstores do you know that have a truly STELLAR children’s and YA non-fiction section? Probably not that many, unless you’re lucky enough to live in an area with great independent bookstores with a real emphasis on children’s books. The lack of children’s non-fiction in any given store, though, is probably less often a statement about a buyer’s preferences, than a statement about what’s selling in that store’s market. In my observation (and from what I’ve heard from bookseller after bookstore) children’s and YA non-fiction generally sells less well than fiction, at least to the average bookstore customer.
For this reason most stores’ children’s non-fiction sections contain an odd hodge-podge of titles — ideally enough to satisfy people looking for books on a few specific subjects but not so much non-fiction as to bog down their inventory. Children’s bookstores tend to do much better than we general bookstores do in this area, but nevertheless, non-fiction for kids and teens is the area where we crown the libraries king. A decent library has an infinitely wider and deeper non-fiction selection than any bookstore could dream of carrying.
My observation is that the average adult customer rarely browses the children’s non-fiction shelves unless they’re a.) a teacher or librarian, b.) an adult reader who tends to stick to non-fiction, or c.) a parent who’s very involved in their child’s education (be it as a homeschooling parent or otherwise). The average customer (child or adult) WILL go pointedly to the children’s non-fiction shelves when they need a book about a specific subject (i.e. sharks or Abraham Lincoln), but otherwise? Most of them spend considerably less time browsing the non-fiction section of a bookstore than they do the fiction. (To my endless frustration as a buyer!!)
And HERE we have my FOURTH suggestion for why there were so few non-fiction titles to emerge during "Build a Bookstore Week": I think it’s easier to conjure up a list of favorites if we compartmentalize things a bit. Just as, when it comes to movies, I find it easier to name the year’s "Best Comedy" and "Best Drama" (thank you, Golden Globes) than lump everything together and name one "Best Picture," I find it much easier to tell you my favorite non-fiction books about nature, or my favorites about the arts, or sports, or… name a subject.
With these things in mind, and because I really DO want to give non-fiction its due, I’m proposing another week-long swath of sharing. We’ll call this one "Your Favorite Non-Fiction" and it’ll work like this: Today you’re invited to share your favorite children’s and YA non-fiction books that answer the question "WHO?". In other words, today is biography day. And, yes, autobiographies and memoirs are also welcome here.Yes, I’m giving biographies their own day and not lumping them in with history ("WHEN?") on Wednesday, because there are just soooo many good books that fit the "WHO?" bill!
I am NOT limiting you to a number of titles on any of these days, because I think there will be less overlap here, and really — I want to know what non-fiction books you think are the best, be there two of them or twenty-two! If you’ve got time to give a reason beside each of them, so much the better. If not? Then just a list of titles + authors will do.
Tuesday’s list of books will answer the question "WHAT?" which is probably the week’s most open-ended category, but it saves me having to do one day of science, one day of nature, one day of sports, one day of art, one day of music, and so on through every topic under the sun. Any book that answers "WHAT?" to you is welcome here. (Note that you may have to think hard about whether something is more "WHAT?" or "HOW?" which is Friday’s subject.)
Wednesday is (you guessed it) "WHEN?". That means history books belong here — specifically world history, which isn’t specific at all. (And world history does include American history, you realize.)
Thursday’s theme will be "WHERE?" This is your chance to tackle geography, world cultures, maps, atlases, and so on.
Friday, as I’m already mentioned, will feature books that tell us "HOW?" which can mean how things work, how people work, how things in this world came to be, how someone did something, made something, said something. And HOW!
Saturday (yes, we’re going all the way into next weekend) will be reserved for WHATEVER! That means Saturday will be a non-fiction free-for-all. Any books that don’t conveniently answer one of the week’s five questions or that speak equally to all of them (The Race to Save the Lord God Bird is one of these beauties) can go here.
And finally, SUNDAY. Sunday is HOLE DAY. No, not Holy Day (though for some of you it might also be that), but HOLE Day. This is where I invite you to tell the world the specific topics on which you think we desperately need (or would just do well to have) MORE non-fiction books. There are definitely holes in the non-fiction world. Name them on Sunday so that the writers of the world may be inspired to start filling them.
Now, without further ado (and I realize there was a LOT of "ado" before you got to this point) let’s move on to your favorite non-fiction books about "WHO?". To get the ball rolling I’m going to name a few of my own. I could go on for pages and pages here but I’ve already done that today, so… SIX. I’m stopping at SIX. (ugh!)
This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie by Elizabeth Partridge (Viking, 2002)
I had little interest in the life of Woody Guthrie when I started reading this book and by the end I was buying his CDs in bunches plus reading lengthier "adult" books about the guy (which, I might add, were not half as good as this one). To me the BEST sort of non-fiction is the kind that does this — makes you care, flips a switch, lights a spark;leaves you wondering. My brain felt larger and more open when I finished reading this book, which is one of those feelings I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Hana’s Suitcase by Karen Levine (Albert Whitman, 2003)
I love the unusual structure of this book, which unravels like a mystery. Two parallel plotlines, revealed in alternating chapters, eventually converge at a point that answers the book’s central question: what ever happened to Hana? I’ve had great success recommending this one to kids in grades 5 – 9.
Chuck Close, Up Close by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan (DK Ink, 1998)
It pains me (PAINS ME!!!) that this book is out of print, as I think it’s such a valuable tool for discussions of so much MORE than just art. For one thing it’s a great book about living with a disability, be it a learning disability or a physical disability, as Chuck has lived with and risen above both with astonishing success. Oooooh do I ever love this book!! BRING IT BACK!
Rocks in His Head by Carol Otis Hurst, illustrated by James Stevenson (Greenwillow, 2001)
This is one of my favorite, favorite books to give as a graduation gift. This is the heartwarming, oddly inspiring story of a man whose passionate love for and knowledge of one subject (geology) ultimately landed him a wonderful job and a formal education, though he’d never gone after either. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it.
Gertrude Is Gertrude Is Gertrude by Jonah Winter, illustrated by Calef Brown (Atheneum, February 2009)
I love the playful tone of this ode to writer Gertrude Stein by Jonah Winter whose books just keep getting better (as if they weren’t already good enough). It is wonderful to read a book that makes non-fiction (and writing non-fiction) seem FUN, and this one certainly accomplishes that, while introducing young readers to a woman they’d have been unlikely to encounter until much later in life had Jonah not decided to change that.
Of Beetles and Angels: A Boy’s Remarkable Journey from a Refugee Camp to Harvard by Mawi Asgedom (Little, Brown, 2002)
Mawi’s memoirs about his family’s move, as refugees, from rural Ethiopia to suburban Ohio is eye-opening, moving, entertaining and inspiring. This is one of those books that should be read by both kids (grades 5 and up) and their parents, all of whom are likely to find it speaking to them.
It is TORTURE to stop at just six but I don’t want to steal from any of your picks, so… Go! Write! Fill the comments with great WHO? books. Introduce the world to great biographies and who knows? Maybe all bookstores’ non-fiction sales will improve!
For children in grades 1 through 3, AMAZING SCIENTISTS by Donna Pitino (Abrams and Company, Waterbury, CT, 2006) is about three scientists who changed our world: Galileo, Marie Curie, and George Washington Carver (my favorite!). It’s available as a “big book” for the classroom with attachable Velcro pieces so the children are actively involved and as smaller versions of the same book so children can read along.
My favorite is Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio by Peg Kehret. It is very readable and allows readers to learn about how serious polio used to be.
Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet and Boy and Going Solo by Roald Dahl. Very entertaining, interesting reads.
Hi Alison et al.–First I hope you realize that I wasn’t really being critical in my posting at I.N.K. I liked the idea of supplying the imaginary, wonderfully stocked, bookstore and wanted to ask readers who were particularly interested in nonfiction to come up with nonfiction suggestions as well. Of course, I do think that blogging about how to increase kids nonfiction sales at bookstores would be a great subject–I’d promise to chime in if you do. (And would love to hear the comments of others!) Meanwhile, let me add to your list of nonfiction bios and memoirs today. You have already mentioned three of my favorites–Chuck Close, Up Close, This Land is Your Land, and Rocks in His Head (which is coincidentally the subject of my net blog entry on Jan. 8). But how about The Man who Went to the Far Side of the Moon by Bea Uusma Schyffert, Dance by Bill T. Jones, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers by Mordicai Gerstein, Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, The Wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis, Pedro and Me by Judd Winick. My fellow writers at I.N.K. have written so many good bios that I’d hate to pick between them, but they could fill a shelf or two all by themselves.
A River of Words: the Story of William Carlos Williams by Jennifer Bryant
Henry David’s House by Henry David Thoreau, illustrated by Peter Fiore. selections from Walden accompanied by colorful paintings
The book that made me want to write when I was a teen. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Beautiful, really.
Hi Alison, My favorite bio series for the 2nd – 4th grade is Penguin’s WHO WAS series, great info and terrific drawing from John O’Brien & more Picture book “novellas” biographies by Cheryl Harness (National Geographic); How I Learned Geography by Uri Shulevitz is gorgeous and such a “child’s eye” description, in words and pictures, of a childhood memory and still my favorite hand sell, World’s Greatest Elephant by Ralph Helfer with Ted Lewin’s incredible images. The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain by Peter Sis is amazing for the 5th and up group.
**Waves hand, jumps up and down** Hey, hey, I was the only Non-fiction book commenter as Susan mentioned in her INK post. (And, I mentioned an arty few, too!) My VERY favorite NF “
What happened to the rest of my post? My VERY favorite NF “Who” book is FRIDA by Jonah Winters. In every class I have read it to (from K to 5th grade), I have had everyone’s attention and they come away with a great appreciation for Kahlo’s work. (Off to find today’s Bob Edward piece on Education Reform in the new Administration and Art Education… just mentioned to me by my husband!)
I’ll follow your lead, Alison, and limit myself to six titles. Thank goodness you and others have already listed some favorites, because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to keep the list that short! WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE, by Barbara Kerley and Edwin Fotheringham; THE BOY WHO DREW BIRDS, by Jacqueline Davies and Melissa Sweet; ABRAHAM LINCOLN, by Amy L. Cohn, Suzy Schmidt and David A. Johnson; ELEANOR ROOSEVELT, by Russell Freedman MARIE CURIE, by Kathleen Krull
I love the creative approach to biography that certain National Geographic books are taking. GEORGE WASHINGTON, SPYMASTER by Thomas Allen gives a fascinating and fast-moving account of the James Bond side of a stuffy, iconic figure and AIN’T NOTHING BUT A MAN by Scott Nelson (with Marc Aronson) is an amazing account of a historian’s quest to discover the “
My post was cut off – here’s the rest: AIN’T NOTHING BUT A MAN by Scott Nelson (with Marc Aronson) is an amazing account of a historian’s quest to discover the “real” John Henry of folklore fame. Aronson’s SIR WALTER RALEGH AND THE QUEST FOR EL DORADO brings the Elizabethan age to life. Russell Freedman’s THE VOICE THAT CHALLENGED A NATION eloquently tells the story of Marian Anderson. James Rumford’s SEQUOYAH is one of my favorite picture book biographies of all time, and so is Bonnie Christensen’s WOODY GUTHRIE: POET OF THE PEOPLE, which is a great introduction for those too young for the Partridge biography of Woody. Aack, it is hard to stop at six!!
_When Marian Sang_ by Pam Munoz Ryan. This book is simply gorgeous and introduces kids (and adults) to someone they may not be familar with – classical singer, Marian Anderson. It’s a great addition to a collection in time for Black History Month.