Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Behind the Books: What Does “Informational Book” Really Mean?

There
are three contradictory definitions floating around, and they are causing a lot
of confusion.

Since
1970 or so, the librarian community has used the term “informational
books” to describe everything in the nonfiction section except poetry, drama,
and folktales.

Beginning
in the 1980s and solidified in 2000 by a landmark paper by Nell Duke, the
literacy education community has used the term “informational books” to
describe a narrow subset of nonfiction books that present information about
science, history, and other content areas. According to this definition,
informational books do not include biography, how-to descriptions, or any
kind of narrative writing. This definition is roughly equivalent to the more
useful term “expository nonfiction.”

In
2010, the Common Core State Standards introduced a third definition that is
much broader. It includes all narrative and expository nonfiction books plus reference
books, directions, forms, maps, persuasive essays, etc.

In
my opinion, if a term doesn’t have a standard, universal definition, then it’s
useless. That’s why I avoid using “informational book.” I just use “nonfiction.”

 

And yet, it seems like the
confusing term is here to stay, so it’s important to know all its possible
meanings.

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