Mission: Nonfiction for Preschool

Books like Life-Size Zoo get preschoolers energized about reading non-fiction texts.

*Sidenote - I graduated!! Yes, I now officially have my PhD. This announcement, while gratifying to make, is mainly to excuse my lengthy absence from updating my blog. Whew - glad that is all done. It has been a long six years of work.

"Can you read me the big zoo book again? From the beginning." I would be exhausted from reading Isadora's new most favorite book Life-Size Zoo except that I am so thrilled that she is so energized about reading non-fiction. What is so great about it, you might ask? Let's start with the huge pictures that show details like an elephants pores or the whiskers underneath an armadillo's armor. Then you add in the side text that introduces your child to the animals name, sex, and age as well as important facts about the animal. I didn't think the name was that big of a deal until Isadora insisted on me reading out each name and its age, almost as if she were getting a formal introduction. Then there are the bubbles at the side of the animal that point out some of the small details in the picture that your child would most likely miss if not directed to it. Where, for example, would you find the scent gland on an elephant's face?? I didn't know. Thank goodness the book pointed it out.

Food for Thought: Reading Nonfiction

Encouraging your child to read nonfiction now can have a big payoff later in their childhood.

Reading nonfiction is a big deal. Think about what most of us, as adults, read now. I read (and write) almost exclusively nonfiction. And I'm not talking just books - it's magazines, reports, the newspaper, etc., etc. Unfortunately the majority of reading material that our kids get is fiction. Girls, in particular, usually excel at reading in the early elementary years when most children are reading fiction, but then begin to lag behind boys as the learning focus shifts to content areas like science, math, and history. That statistic describes my experience exactly; I did well in reading at the elementary level but then had a horrible time in science and history when I needed to read something that didn't have a story line. Though you might argue that history does have a story line, the way it is presented in history textbooks is not similar to what most of your children will be reading for pleasure in junior high.

The point of this post is to encourage all of you to get nonfiction books and texts for your young children. I subscribe to Your Big Backyard for Isadora and celebrate its arrival when it comes in the mail. I also try to check out nonfiction books when I can. Gail Gibbons is an excellent author for nonfiction that appeals to preschoolers (It is her book on Monarch Butterflies that I have in the upper corner of this post). But I have to admit that the pickings are slim, and about 80% of what Isadora has on her bookshelves in fiction...even knowing what I know.

The spring and summer is a great opportunity to dive into nonfiction as your child becomes fascinated with bugs and bicycles and sandboxes and trips to the beach. I am going to challenge myself to try to actively seek out nonfiction books/magazines/websites for Isadora that I think she might be interested in and I'll share them with all of you. If you are reading this (if anyone reads this at all - besides my husband of course - I force him) please share any non-fiction materials that you find to be successful with your preschooler!