It’s important for so many reasons. I think in the, sure, exposing kids to more nonfiction is critical because I think in the adult publishing world, we fully embrace the idea that nonfiction and fiction exist equally. But I think a lot of adults in the past and a little bit still currently feel like kids prefer and gravitate toward fiction. But the research shows that that is absolutely not true — most children enjoy both fiction and nonfiction equally. And many gravitate specifically toward nonfiction. And they are the gateway to literacy for those students. When they’re exposed, when they have access to a rich diversity of nonfiction, they’re more likely to be engaged in reading and to become strong readers themselves. It also helps nonfiction loving kids. Some people call them “info kids” to realize that nonfiction reading is real reading. A lot of times these “info kids” will say, oh, I’m not a reader.
But the truth is they’re reading all this nonfiction, but they don’t see those books. The message that they’re getting from their community is that these books are not as vital or valid as fiction. And so if we want these children to see themselves as readers and to continue reading these books that we love, we need to send the message that these books are, that they’re great, they’re interesting, they’re fun to read, and they should be a really strong part of any book collection, any classroom library. Any school library. And also part of instruction and part of home libraries as well.
