A Nonfiction News Round-Up

At the risk of getting a little too meta, Sue Bartle pointed out this resource from The New York Times Learning Network, which Myra recently wrote about. The lesson plan suggests having students analyze the online debate about the balance of fiction and nonfiction in the media, which I wrote about last week. You can find it : http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/language-arts/nonfiction/.

Over at The School Library Journal website, Travis Jonker has made a request to authors and editors of nonfiction books for children and young adults in "A Humble Demand: More Nonfiction Book Trailers."   

A couple of weeks ago, SLJ released its Best Books 2012, which has a separate section for nonfiction. The New York Times announced its Notable Children's Books of 2012, which, in my opinion, does not include enough nonfiction. Back in November, the Times released its Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2012 , which included two nonfiction titles. The Horn Book Magazine also released its Horn Book Fanfare 2012, which, happily, has a subsection for nonfiction. Kirkus Reviews also released its Best Children's Books of 2012, with a section on nonfiction. 

 

Finally, Marfe Ferguson Delano's post on the INK blog today is a wonderful teaching tool. Teachers and students researching and creating their own nonfiction texts, in print or digital format, can use Delano's interview with National Geographic book designer Jim Hiscott as a "mentor text" for discussions of student work.