Encouraging Beginning Readers with Nonfiction
Alicia Eames, Curriculum Connections -- School Library Journal, 10/06/2009
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One of the pleasures of working with young children is participating in their first reading experiences. Some seem to learn as if through osmosis, absorbing words and meaning easily. Others struggle, needing extra guidance and attention. But whatever the path, each discovers the joy and wonder of deciphering those alphabetic squiggles and symbols. In Minders of Make-Believe: Idealists, Entrepreneurs, and the Shaping of American Children’s Literature (Houghton Mifflin, 2008), Leonard S. Marcus chronicles book makers’ efforts to provide accessible titles for budding readers. He describes the debut of the “I-Can-Read” series at Harper & Sons with the publication of Little Bear by Else Minarik and the launching of “Beginning Books” at Random House with Dr. Seuss’s hugely popular Cat in the Hat.
It’s no surprise that both titles are still found in libraries, classrooms, and homes across the country, and the easy-to-read format continues to satisfy and support young readers with stories about family and friends. More recently, authors and publishers targeting this audience have embraced factual topics, tapping into children’s natural curiosity about the world and the way it works. Here’s a sampling of easy-to-read nonfiction titles that will encourage beginning readers and keep them coming back for more.
Animals
Some Babies Are Wild (Adventure Publications, 2008) by Marion Dane Bauer introduces 16 mammals and birds native to the United States, including the raccoon, coyote, chicken, and bluebird, with crystal-clear color photos of baby animals in their natural habitats and a simple text that builds reading confidence with word repetition and rhyme. For example, “Some live underground. Some live inside a tree. Some live in a house just like you and me.” Additional facts found at the end of the book about each animal’s early development make for more challenging reading and are sure to spur further investigations.
In a smaller format that’s perfect for little hands, Dana Meachen Rau’s Guess Who Stings (Marshall Cavendish, 2009) is a winning entry from the publisher’s playful “Guess Who” series which piques readers’ interest with a guessing-game approach. Each title pairs a few simple sentences per page with an intriguingly detailed, close-up color photo. The text offers a string of descriptive clues (“I can fly. I have four wings.”) leading to a predictable, but satisfying conclusion. (“I sting if you scare me. Who am I? I am a honeybee!”) Other subjects in the series include the penguin, pig, whale, frog, and cat.
Sports
Action-packed color photos of young children, teens, and professionals playing and enjoying each sport make Laine Falk’s Let’s Talk Soccer, Janice Behrens’s Let’s Talk Baseball, and Amanda Miller’s Let’s Talk Basketball (Scholastic, 2009) engaging entries in the “Scholastic News Nonfiction Readers” series. Short paragraphs in large print against white backgrounds explain the basics of each game. Words in bold print are defined in a glossary at the end called “Your New Words” and might be used to prompt students to think about new or unfamiliar terms they encounter in their reading. Each title also includes a basic index and table of contents. Competent beginning readers as well as older struggling students will be drawn to the eye-catching format and easy-to-read texts.
Winter
Martha E. H. Rustad’s Animals in Winter, People in Winter, and Snowflakes (Capstone Press, 2009) are excellent supplemental texts to a classroom study of the season. Large color photographs complement factual statements comprised of one or two sentences. Animals explains how birds, bats, bears, and other animals survive the season while introducing terms such as hibernation and migration; People looks at what individuals wear, what they do in the snow, and winter celebrations, and Snowflakes describes the properties of snow. Each title includes a table of contents, glossary, and index, useful tools for introducing young researchers to a few of the important features of nonfiction books.
Science Reissues
Beth Gleick’s recently reissued, Time is When (Tundra Books, 2008), with cheery fabric and paper collage illustrations by Marthe Jocelyn, tackles an abstract topic. Matter-of-fact declarative sentences tap into everyday childhood experiences to explain the components of time. While the detailed illustrations make this best for one-on-one sharing, consider transferring segments of the text to large chart paper after reading aloud. For example, “An hour has 60 minutes. In one hour, you can paint a picture or build a make-believe city.” Then brainstorm with students, encouraging them to share ideas about what happens in a minute, an, hour, a day, and beyond. A perennially popular creature of the sea continues to compel in Joanna Cole’s Hungry, Hungry Sharks! (Random, 2003) illustrated with drawings in rich shades of green, blue, and brown by Patricia Wynne. Young fact collectors and report writers will quickly seize on interesting tidbits such as, “The dwarf shark is no bigger than your hand” and “The leopard shark has spots.”
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For more great ideas on introducing kids to nonfiction, check out the Connecting with Nonfiction webcast at www.slj.com/connectingwithnonfiction.
