This is the first of our weekly Wednesday Round-ups, where we’ll take a look at a handful of books from one broad type or category. You can see what topics are coming up in this earlier post. And plan your reading accordingly. Today’s topic is Nonfiction, and Emily and I both decided to weigh in on this one.
STEVEN
Of the 86 books on our list of suggestions through the end of August, only nine were nonfiction. (We’re not including poetry or graphic novel memoirs here…we’ll get to those later.) It’s always challenging to compare nonfiction to fiction, but even within the field of nonfiction it gets tricky. You’ve got books in picture book format aimed at younger readers, as well as 300+ pagers for middle school learners. Let’s start on the younger side. Emily, do you see any top nonfiction contenders for early elementary school ages?
EMILY
I just read FIRE OF STARS and was really trying to love it, but it just didn’t seem to have enough substance to it. THE LAST PLASTIC STRAW is definitely my frontrunner. It has three suggestions on Heavy Medal (and yes, I’m one of them). I love how the book takes readers on a journey through the history of plastic straws and explains today’s impact, without being too condescending. The presentation of information and style are fantastic.
STEVEN
Good point about STRAW not being condescending. It really covers a lot of ground, but trusts its young intended audience to be interested. And just the right amount of information. Maybe just a little bit teacher-ly at the end? I’m not sure…
EMILY
I also suggested WE GO WAY BACK by Idan Ben-Barak which I think provides great information and an engaging narrative, but probably doesn’t have enough “Newbery substance.”
STEVEN
It was your suggestions that led me to both THE LAST PLASTIC STRAW and WE GO WAY BACK…thanks! I think WE GO WAY BACK is just about perfect. What an interesting way to introduce the topic of the beginnings of life. It’s one of those where the words do exactly as much as they should, while letting the illustrations carry a lot of the weight. Which can make it hard for Newbery. An interesting Sibert possibility maybe?
Another intriguing nonfiction picture book is MOVING THE MILLERS’ MINNIE MOORE MANSION. Eggers seems to enjoy telling the story as much as the readers will (ideallly) enjoy listening to it. Example: “…the first thing the workers did was to draw numbers on every one of those stones. Why? Don’t ask why. You will learn soon enough.” And later: “This. Actually. Happened.” Plus there’s a surprise twist at the end (not a good one for the pigs).
EMILY
There are so many good nonfiction picture books this year. I know you’re a fan of nonfiction for older readers (myself not so much). I should probably get around and read IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE, since so many people (YOU) are raving about it. I just finished UNSEEN JUNGLE: THE MICROBES THAT SECRETLY CONTROL OUR WORLD and I absolutely loved it. I’m not sure how much of a case I can make for it being Newbery worthy, but I loved the tone of the book – speaking to the readers, the interviews with scientists and think it was just so overall informative and engaging.
STEVEN
I Haven’t read UNSEEN JUNGLE yet. Sounds excellent. I would love to see a science book break through someday. As you mentioned, one standout for me is IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE by Steve Sheinkin. He’s such a good nonfiction storyteller, and I love the way he weaves related threads together. Rudi’s experiences before, during, and after his Auschwitz imprisonment could stand alone. But Sheinkin weaves in the parallel experiences of his friend Gerda, while also documenting the horrifying progress of the Nazi’s plans, making the story bigger and deeper. The details of torture and death can be hard to read about, but they aren’t sensationalized. Similar in that way to Deborah Hopkinson’s RACE AGAINST DEATH, about the Bataan Death March, which is also excellent.…I still think both are well within the 0-14 age range of the Newbery, though.
EMILY
SUPERPOD was a title with a few suggestions. A very solid animal book for middle grade readers. I think this really has the child appeal for Newbery and strong presentation of content.
STEVEN
Yes, strong child appeal for SUPERPOD, with the author directly addressing kids and pointing out the ways children have played a role in protecting the orcas. HIDDEN SYSTEMS is another interesting one. Using a graphic novel format, the author/illustrator explains how the Internet, electricity, and water kind of keep the world of humans going. It describes the science side, but also takes a societal perspective, looking at why they developed, the ways they can both help and harm, and how not everyone benefits equally from them. It’s on the National Book Award longlist.
I’m still waiting on a few promising nonfiction books, including THE MONA LISA VANISHES and MORE THAN A DREAM (also on the NBA Longlist). Any nonfiction you’re looking out for, Emily?
EMILY
MONA LISA is on my desk! And MORE THAN A DREAM also seems promising. We do have some strong contenders this year, but it is always hard for nonfiction to win a Newbery, especially when not all the criteria applies to nonfiction. What does it take for a nonfiction title to win it all Steven?
STEVEN
Hard to say, especially since it hasn’t happened for a while: LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY is the last informational nonfiction book to win the Medal (1988!), though we’ve had several Honor nonfictions since then. The Newbery Criteria cite “Presentation of information including accuracy, clarity, and organization” as an element to evaluate, and I sometimes think of that as “the nonfiction element.” But it can also be especially helpful to look at “Appropriateness of Style.” How does the author’s writing style help to ensure that the “accuracy, clarity, and organization” connect with readers? That“style” element also encourages us to look at the text at the sentence level. That can help with the older/younger book comparisons. For example, let’s look at a small bit of a book like WE GO WAY BACK, for example:
After a while there were many kinds of things wriggling around in the water. And each was a Little Bit Different.
The asterisk leads to a footnote: “* literally billions of year” – which adds real information to the intentionally oversimplified statement…and also the playful contrast between “a while” and “billions.” The capitalized words in the second sentence call attention to the “Little Bit Different” phrase which has been repeated a few times previously and is a key idea for the whole book.
Then, for comparison, you can look at equally short passages from longer books like IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE. For example, when Rudi is about to learn what the mysterious “Canada Command” is all about in Auschwitz:
“Layers beneath layers. There were so many levels of horror in this place. So much, Rudi realized, that he still did not know.” (p 93)
This builds the suspense for the next phase of his imprisonment and that “levels of horror” phrase reminds us how many different ways the concentration camp made people suffer.
EMILY
Excellent points Steven. It is hard when the majority of books don’t have the development of plot, delineation of characters, or interpretation of theme or concept. Most of the titles above are strong with Presentation of Information and Style…but which does it the best?
We’d love to hear what everyone else thinks about the above titles and of course any other Newbery eligible nonfiction titles.
Our next Wednesday Round-Up will be September 27 – Graphic Novels. And click here for the full schedule.