Non-fiction is not just for November
Non-Fiction Is Not Just For November
National Non-Fiction November ended on a real high with the exciting live final of the first ever Britannica Magazine Schools Quiz held at St Bride’s Foundation in London, organised and hosted by Chris Lloyd and John Gordon Reid of What On Earth Books. It was a joy to witness the closely fought contest between eight teams of bright young information addicts from all around the country. Many congratulations to the Championship Winners from Cramlington Village Primary School (Northumberland) who ‘brain-wrestled’ Soham Village College (Cambridgeshire) in the final nail-biting round. Quiz master Chris excitedly commented on ‘the incredible intelligence coming out from all angles!’ Head over to the website to find out more about this year’s quiz and how to subscribe to the brilliant magazine in preparation for next year! https://britannicamagazine.co.uk/quiz-winner
Of course, reading non-fiction is not just about soaking up loads of fascinating facts. Judging from the entries for FCBG’s #NNFN2022 competition, children and young people really enjoy reading and researching topics of personal interest in preparation for their own non-fiction writing; and we have been so impressed by how this year’s entries have captured the tone of Andy Seed’s entertaining Interview with books (Welbeck Children’s Books). In our first NNFN blog Andy explains that ‘one of the reasons I started as an author was to create books which would appeal to KS2 children who are just not engaged with reading. I found that a lot of these children preferred facts to fiction and all of them responded well to humour, which is why I began to write the sort of titles like the Interview series.’ However, he also goes on to explain why ‘good factual books should be available (and advocated) to all children much more often’. This is endorsed in the blog by Ben Harris, a Year 6 teacher, who describes the excitement and engagement that can result from reading non-fiction aloud in the classroom.
Nowadays, there is plenty of great non-fiction books to choose from. Throughout the month Nicolette Jones has been sharing her own recommendations on Twitter, commenting that ‘it’s a boom time for children’s non-fiction’. At the beginning of the month, however, Nikki Gamble addressed the question of whether we are in a golden age of children’s non–fiction publishing in https://justimagine.co.uk/2022/10/30/a-golden-age-of-nonfiction/ concluding that ‘there is plenty to celebrate … but there is room for improvement too.’ And this need to be discerning and selective is certainly one of the driving forces of National Non-Fiction November which aims to highlight some of the best information book publishing around. It’s no coincidence that the award ceremony for the School Library Association’s Information Book Award (IBA) takes place in November. FCBG’s blog on the award quoted from applications for the IBA Book Club which suggest a bias towards fiction amongst parents and teachers – ‘information books are often dismissed as either ‘for lessons’ or ‘not proper reading’’. On a more positive note, another applicant explained that ‘over the past few years I have discovered children’s information books through my students, who seem unable to get enough.’
One of the main aims of National Non-Fiction November is to redress the imbalanced representation of non-fiction publishing and reading. During the month we have shared a wide range of blogs by authors, illustrators, publishers, teachers and librarians, alongside a programme of book reviews hosted by a team of enthusiastic children’s book bloggers. Twitter has been full of personal recommendations, plus excitement about opportunities to win some fantastic giveaways. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed to making this year’s event so successful. But (and it’s a big but) ‘Non-Fiction is Not Just for November’! With the steady output of new nonfiction throughout the year, we need to develop and improve its ongoing coverage, by regularly reviewing and writing about factual books and continuing to share ways of promoting and providing access to information books for children and young people to read and enjoy.
Chris Routh, December 2022