I think it is time we talked about non-fiction books.
“They are boring, they are heavy, they have no pictures”. But that isn’t true, is it? Especially when we are talking about non-fiction for kids, and there is a lot of non-fiction for kids! These books are big and bright and colorful, they have lots of pictures and varying depths of information. In fact as a genre, they are often preferred by kids, especially boys, who are reluctant readers. Who wants to read about going on a car trip with your siblings (especially if they’ve already lived that story), when you can find out how the car works, and which is the fastest one in the world! Kids non-fiction is every bit as accurate and useful as adult non-fiction. It may be less in depth into the subject, depending on the age group it was written for. We have non-fiction for preschoolers all the way up to teens, and the subjects are not just cars and puppies. If you are looking to spark a reluctant reader, or learn a bit about something yourself try our non-fiction areas. We have books on everything from heart disease to racism, ancient history to coding computers, politics to crafting, and some truly excellent poetry.
To get you started, here are some of our newest non-fiction books from our junior and teen collections:
An Illustrated book of Bad Arguments by Ali Almossawi – Learn the lost art of making sense with cute ilustrations.
Who Runs this Country, Anyway? By Joanne Stanbridge – A guide to Canadian government with clear explanations of what political terms mean and how they apply.
The Little book of woodland bird songs by Andrea Pinnington & Caz Buckingham – A short introduction to individual birds with audio examples of their songs.
The Way Things Work Now by David Macaulay – From levers to lazers, windmills to wi-fi, a visual guide to the world of machines. Definitely check out the hang gliding mammoth on page 107.
(Don’t) Call me Crazy edited by Kelly Jensen – 33 voices start the conversation about mental health in this collection of writings by people who have been there.
Car Science by Richard Hammond – It’s by DK books so obviously it will be excellent, and yes it’s that Richard Hammond.
The Arts: a visual encyclopedia – Another DK book it’s like a museum tour with commentary.
Music: the definitive visual history by Smithsonian – Yes the Smithsonian museum and DK books, need I say more?
History year by year by Smithsonian – You may sense a pattern here. It is a beautifully illustrated timeline of world history from all across the globe.
The Who Was? History of the World by Paula K Manzanero – If you haven’t checked out the Who Was show on Netflix I encourage you to try it. It’s here in book form, there’s a lot of American content, but it’s interesting little snippets from events and people in history.
Turtle Island:The story of America’s first people by Eldon Yellowhorn & Kathy Lowinger – Beautifully illustrated, beautifully laid out and fascinating. Definitely worth a read by everyone.
If Classical Literature is something you have always been curious about check out some of our graphic novels. They’re like comic books in that every bit of the story is illustrated, but they’re like novels in that the entire book is one story, not small strips like comics you may be used to. They are definitely a genre worth exploring.
Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey Presented by Marvel – It is fantastic and beautiful.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth (among others) by Manga – Distinctive art style and modernized setting, but the story is the same.
Beowulf by Gareth Hinds – He tackles the epics with talent.
Harper Lee’s To kill a Mockingbird – beautifully expressive illustrations bring the story to heart, and the layout keeps it from being overwhelming.
And a Canadian story from local history:
A girl called Echo by Katherena Vermette – a graphic novel take on local history. There are 3 volumes in this series.
I hope you check out a couple of our junior and teen non-fiction books for yourself so you can see how truly excellent they are. And remember, we are always adding to this collection too, so make suggestions, and keep checking to see what’s new!