National Non-Fiction November Part 2

Why don't you ...?

The theme for 2024 is Why Don’t You…? and this is designed to stimulate discussion around hobbies and leisure activities and to encourage young people to try something new.

It is not the part of nonfiction that is the most visited in the school library anymore. Ten years ago the students loved borrowing cooking books, craft books and sport books. Not any more I really need to promote books that explain how to do something. Parents encourage their children to borrow nonfiction in the hope that they 'will learn' something, not 'do' something, especially if it involves the parent's time or assistance.

Here are some 'how to' books that are in the library that I will use for a display.

• Why don't you cook?

•Why don't you do some craft?

• Why don't you knit or sew?

• Why don't you play chess?

• Why don't you go fishing?

• Why don't you go hiking?

• Why don't you do some origami?

• Why don't you do some  collage?

There are so many other things you could do too...

11th November Origami Day

Origami Day was first observed in Japan. It honours the ancient art of creating objects from square pieces of paper.

The origami crane is one of the most recognized origami models around the world.

©bigstockphoto.com/Remains

Origami, which comes from the Japanese words, ori meaning folding, and kami meaning paper, originated in Japan in the 6 century, though for a long period of time the art was preserved for religious ceremonies. By the 17th century, origami had become mainstream in Japanese society and was being used for decorative and ceremonial purposes.

Amazing objects have been made that are indeed works of art, but at school we will be celebrating by making much simpler animals and having the children who are adept at origami teach their peers. When they have made a recognisable animal there is such a sense of achievement. 

We have a large number of books in the craft section of the library which give students ideas about what is possible, but we also have books where origami is central to the story or poetry in the book. Of course we have Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes  in picture book format but there are other picture books as well. See these:

• Newspaper Boy and Origami Girl  and The Little Bookshop and the Origami Army by Michael Foreman

• Origami Heart by Binny

• The Origami Master  by  Nathaniel Lachenmeyer

• Wild Weather  by Thomas Kingsley Troupe (this is one book in a series called Origami Science Adventures)

• Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George and Lauren Stringer

• The Paper Crane by Molly Bang
• Yoko's Paper Cranes by Rosemary Wells 
• Little Oh by Laura Krauss Melmed
• Tree of Cranes by Allen Say (just perfect for the run-up to Christmas)
• Peace Crane by Sheila Hamanaka
• More-igami by Dori Kieber
• Butterflies for Kiri by Cathryn Falwell
• Float  by Daniel Miyares
• The Fog by Kyo Maclear and Kennard Pak
• Mole and the Newspaper by Laurence Bourguignon

and

• Origami, Poems and Pictures  by The British Museum would make a wonderful present as it comes with the paper and it becomes a family reading, viewing and doing activity.