Many of us
fell in love with reading because a caring adult handed us just the right book
at just the right moment. But children can fall out of love just as easily.
Consider this anecdote from my childhood: The summer after third grade, my
town’s children’s librarian handed me Little House on the Prairie by
Laura Ingalls Wilder and showed me where the rest of the series was shelved.
Like many white girls of my generation, I fell head over heels for the books
and was oblivious to their problematic treatment of Native Americans. Oh, how I
yearned to be a pioneer girl and share the Ingalls family’s adventures. By the
end of the summer, I’d devoured the entire series.
When I
returned to school, I couldn’t wait to discuss the books with my classmates. I
remember standing under a little brick portico outside the William E. Norris
School in Southampton, Massachusetts, gushing to the head librarian’s twin
daughters who were the same age as me. They knew everything about books and
reading.
After I’d
finished raving, one of them said six words that broke my heart: “You know
they’re not real, right?” She explained that even though the author and the
main character had the same name, the books were fiction—made-up stories.
Years
later, I discovered that the series actually is semi-autobiographical, but by
then, the damage had been done. Because I felt duped by the author and betrayed
by books, I stopped reading for pleasure. For more than a decade, I read only
to fulfill school assignments.
Flash forward to the first
semester of graduate school, studying science and environmental journalism at
New York University. The syllabus for one class included The Next
One-Hundred Years: Shaping the Fate of Our Living Earth by Jonathan Weiner.
I dutifully purchased the book, intending to skim it, but soon, I was totally
engrossed. I slowed down to savor the information and the presentation.
I had
no idea books like this—finely-crafted trade nonfiction—existed, and I couldn’t
wait to read more. This was the kind of writing I’d been craving all along—true
books about topics I find fascinating.
How can we
help today’s children discover the joy of nonfiction sooner than I did?
1.
Sign
the letter literacy professors Mary Ann Cappiello and Xenia Hadjioannou wrote to The
New York Times, asking the paper to add children’s nonfiction bestseller
lists that parallel the existing fiction-focused lists. You can find the
petition here. They’re still collecting signatures.
2.
Purchase
a mix of fiction, narrative nonfiction, and expository nonfiction for the
children in your life, and share all three kinds of books as read alouds.
3.
If children you know
show a preference for nonfiction, respect and encourage their choices. Don’t
try to steer them toward fiction. Once they become confident readers, they will
begin to explore a broad range of books on their own.
4.
Purchase nonfiction and
donate it to schools and public libraries in your community. This can benefit
dozens of children over many years.
5.
Spread the word. If more
people become aware of the importance of giving children access to a diverse
assortment of expository as well as narrative nonfiction, change can happen
more quickly.
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5 Responses
Melissa, thank you for sharing your journey into the world of nonfiction! Certainly, the increasing number of talented, insightful, creative NF authors, like YOU, is already helping to make a difference in the breadth and depth of the genre for readers of today…and tomorrow! Great idea encouraging more advocacy for NF books to be added to classrooms and libraries!
Thank you for being a champion of nonfiction. I like to describe myself as “a teller of true tales.” When someone says, “You can’t make this stuff up,” there’s a nonfiction book waiting to be created. (Full disclosure: Melissa was the editor of one of my favorite books to research, To the Young Scientist, thirty years ago. Could it really be that long ago?)
Oh, what a sad story about your feeling of being "duped" by fiction. Love knowing how you found your way back to reading. We're all better and happy readers because you found your happy place in NF.
There are so many great new NF picture books being published. As an elementary school librarian, I find myself recommending them more often.
Melissa, I’m 58 but love all kinds of reading to include magazines, newspapers, online news, historical fiction, and lots of kids’ non-fiction books from my local library. I read your wonderful Tree Hole Homes to my college-age children tonight. We love learning, animals and creative art-work, so who cares that we’re not kids? Thank you for all that you offer.