Alyson Beecher, an elementary school teacher, writes a blog called “Kid Lit Frenzy.” As a firm believer in the value of non-fiction picture books, her monthly blog is filled with helpful suggestions and insights into how to make nonfiction read alouds a rich reading experience. She says, in a recent posting, that she never gets to many of the titles in her “must share” stack of books. Reading non-fiction books requires a lot of time: time for discussion, time to think and absorb, time to write, draw and celebrate the richness of each book.
Her blog is filled with lists of many of her current non-fiction favorites. She includes brief commentaries on what she thinks each book will bring to the reader. A few of her suggestions follow.
“A Boy and A Jaguar” by Alan Rabinowitz. The reader can learn that a love for animals can be deep and a promise to protect them can be deeper.
“Galapagos George” written by Jean Craighead George deals with animal extinction. Beecher writes that “reading about a special creature that actually became extinct prompted both outrage and sadness” from her students.
“Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes” by Nicola Davies enabled her students to wonder about the world they cannot easily see. “The power of something very tiny is a very big idea.”
These are only three titles that blogger Beecher discusses. Check out her site; it’s very informative.