Sunday, October 29, 2017
Liz - Nonfiction
As a child, I remember reading nonfiction both for school and for pleasure. I had a set of Childcraft books in my room that I loved to flip through to learn interesting facts about all sorts of things. I enjoyed magazines that had true stories about kids my age, and I also enjoyed reading the obituaries and birth announcements in the newspaper. One of my favorite books when I was young was Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. I remember reading it for a third grade assignment in school, and that sparked my interest in biographies and memoirs. Even now, the nonfiction I gravitate toward is that of stories about real people or events. I have to admit, as an adult, I don't choose nonfiction for pleasure reading - unless it is a memoir or collections of essays. For many years, I have made it my goal to read more nonfiction, and it just hasn't really happened. I love fiction so much that I find it hard to choose a nonfiction book that I may or may not enjoy. I do find that when forced to read some nonfiction (for example, our book club for class), I generally really enjoy the books and find them interesting! This is a goal I will continue to work on for years, I think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm the opposite! I'm drawn to non-fiction rather than fiction. I always have a hard time deciding if I'm going to like the book and I'll be disappointed if it's not worth reading.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason your comment about the Childcraft books make me remember that we use to get Scholastic News in the classroom when I was kid. I loved those!! We have actually started to use them in my classroom this year. I'm still excited to see the new issues. I also remember going to the dentist and being excited to go the waiting room because he had Ranger Rick magazines.
ReplyDeleteI STILL love Scholastic News! I remember them as a student (though I think we used Weekly Reader - same thing, really), and now I enjoy reading them with my students. I like that now there is an interactive component through the Scholastic News site so kids can watch videos or do other activities that complement the magazine.
DeleteMaybe give some historical fiction a try! I read The Lilac Girls last year and absolutely loved it. It's from the point of view of 3 different girls who all have a different role during WWII(working at the French Embassy in the US, German doctor, and a Polish Jewish woman in a concentration camp) and their stories all intertwine at one point. I think historical fiction is a great start for those wanting to read more nonfiction, because it has historical truth but a great story that keeps your attention and makes you paint a picture, just like fiction.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly enough, historical fiction is one of my MOST favorite genres. I just finished The Nightingale, and enjoy most anything from that time period (WWII). The Book Thief and Number the Stars are a couple of my favorite books for younger readers. I used to love the American Girls series - all time periods. The nonfiction I like most is narrative - written like a story. I just feel I connect to it more and can be more engaged. I think this is why I prefer memoir and biography when reading nonfiction text.
DeleteI love Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes! Historical fiction is my favorite genre. My students and I really like the I Survived series. I agree with Holly that historical fiction is a great genre for anyone who is not too sure of nonfiction.
ReplyDeleteI love historical fiction, too! Always have. I think it's partly why when I choose to read nonfiction (or am required to read it), I like memoirs or biographies from the past, because then it feels a bit like historical fiction, which I really enjoy.
Delete