National Non-Fiction November was set up by the Federation of Children's Book Groups in the UK as a way to highlight the importance of information books and to promote reading non-fiction for pleasure.
National Literacy Trust research (2022), said more than half (56%) of children and young people told us that they read non-fiction. We also found that children and young people who read non-fiction are more engaged with environmental issues.
Overall, this report found that more children and young people who read non-fiction were motivated to read for educational purposes, to satisfy curiosities, to foster social connections and to support their mental wellbeing.
Each year, National Non-Fiction November has a different theme. The theme for 2024 is Why Don’t You…? and is designed to stimulate discussion around hobbies and leisure activities and to encourage young people to try something new. (More about this in Part 2)
Non-Fiction books for young children have definitely changed from the traditional non-fiction books used for research which had short tiles, photographs, a contents page, an index, a glossary and other features ideal for researching. Now some of the most exquisitely illustrated books in the library are in the non-fiction section of the library. Another difference is the amount of narrative nonfiction that now exists and it is not only biography.
Author/illustrators such as these excel at non-fiction and while the list is not exhaustive, these will make a great beginning reading-wise and display-wise.
• Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
