In December 2017, I published this post with my view of the nonfiction family tree, showing how nonfiction for children has evolved and blossomed over the last couple of decades.
And I was blown away by the response! It quickly became one of the most
popular posts EVER on this blog.
In the last 2 years, an idea that I posted just to see if it might resonate with anyone has become more and more popular. Teachers and librarians really see how classifying books in this way can help students think about the wide world of nonfiction and all that it has to offer.
As I thought more deeply about the relationship among the various categories, I realized that the tree analogy didn't quite work. Now I'm using this visual:
As time has passed, I keep hearing the same questions about the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction classification system, so I've provided some answers below. If you have other questions, please let me know.
Q: Do all nonfiction books really fit neatly into one of these 5 categories?
A: Most do, but there
are definitely books that cross categories, and that’s a good thing! So why
have categories at all? Because as students try to make sense of the wide world
of nonfiction, it helps to have general categories that are easy to understand.
Then, as children become more sophisticated readers and thinkers, they can explore
the exceptions. The idea of students debating the various ways a particular
nonfiction title might be classified makes my heart sing.
Q: I know what traditional expository nonfiction is,
but some of these other terms are new to me. Can you provide some exemplar
titles?
A: Yes!
Browse-able
Nonfiction
These books feature short blocks of text and they’re chock full of photos and text features. They’re a fact-loving kid’s dream come true. Readers can dip in and out or read the book cover to cover.
These books feature short blocks of text and they’re chock full of photos and text features. They’re a fact-loving kid’s dream come true. Readers can dip in and out or read the book cover to cover.
These offshoots of browse-able books are
highly interactive and/or teach skills readers can use to engage in an
activity. This category includes how-to guides, cookbooks, field guides, craft
books, toy-book combinations that involve building a model, etc.
Brain Games: The Mind-Blowing Science ofYour Amazing Brain by
Jennifer Swanson
Narrative
Nonfiction
This category typically dominates kidlit awards because the
books feel familiar and comfortable to people who have a natural love of
stories and storytelling (most editors, book reviewers, librarians, literacy
educators, etc.). Narrative nonfiction tells a true story or conveys an
experience. It includes real characters and settings; narrative scenes; and,
ideally, a narrative arc with rising tension, a climax, and denouement. The scenes,
which give readers an intimate look at the events and people being described,
are linked by transitional text that provides necessary background while
speeding through parts of the true story that don’t require close inspection.
Expository Literature
These high-quality books explain, describe, or inform in ways that appeal to many young readers. In fact, a recent study shows that more than 75 percent of students like expository books as much as or more than narrative titles, and 42 percent have a moderate or strong preference for expository nonfiction (Repanskey, Schumm, & Johnson, 2017).
These books feature captivating art,
dynamic design, rich engaging language, and some of all of the following text characteristics: strong voice,
innovative point of view, carefully-chosen text structure, and purposeful text
format. You can find a lengthy list of expository literature in this Nerdy Book Club post, but here are
some of my recent favorites:
Posts
Your examples are so helpful! I've been reading as many as I can. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your support, JoAnn.
DeleteI love, love, love this, Melissa!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna. so glad you find it useful.
DeleteLove this post and the examples for each category. Thank you so much.
ReplyDeleteThis is wonderful!! Thank you for sharing, Melissa!!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome. Good luck with your writing.
DeleteThanks for your insight and all the great titles!
ReplyDeleteLots of folks asked for sample titles. I'm glad they're helping.
DeleteYou might consider non-fiction poetry as a category. Check out work by Leslie Bulion.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love Leslie's books and am looking forward to her upcoming Leaf Litter Critters.
DeleteThere seem to be two schools of thought regarding poetry.
1. It's neither fiction nor nonfiction and would have it's own family tree.
2. It could be classified as either narrative (if it tells a story or conveys an experience) or expository literature if it explains, describes, and informs.
A book like Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson or Before She Was Harriet by Lesa Cline-Ransome would be narrative, and books by Leslie Bulion or Joyce Sidman would be expository literature.
Thank you as always Melissa! My teachers love learning from you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for spreading the word, Jenny. Happy New Year!
DeleteThanks, Melissa Off to the library !
ReplyDeleteThis is such a helpful post! Thanks, Melissa!
ReplyDeleteThank you Mellissa - I've ordered each of the Expository Literature ones from the library and these different definitions REALLY help.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! As a librarian and aspiring kid's writer, so helpful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Thank you! Being one of those story loving librarians, I've not thought (or read very much) non-fiction. I do purchase high interest and award winning titles but now I have some categories to guide my purchasing and a great new lesson to share with my students to promote reading some great titles.
ReplyDelete