Reading nonfiction is an important part of any child’s elementary education. But kids don’t just like reading the popular genre of narrative nonfiction, in which true information is presented in the format of a story. Children also enjoy expository nonfiction, which are books that lay out the facts in a clear and easy-to-understand way. In order to highlight the importance of expository nonfiction, as well as present some excellent examples of the genre, guest blogger Melissa Stewart wrote a great post at the School Library Journal (SLJ) on expository nonfiction. One of her featured examples was Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare, by Gene Barretta!
Lincoln and Kennedy is an expository nonfiction book that compares and contrasts the lives of those two great presidents. Stewart praised it as a great example of using an engaging text structure. Each spread puts Lincoln and Kennedy side by side, and, as Stewart writes, “As a result, readers notice fun patterns as well as startling similarities between the two men’s lives.” Expository nonfiction books can be just as fun and exciting as fiction or as narrative nonfiction.
Melissa Stewart’s full blog post is available here. Lincoln and Kennedy is available for purchase here.