Fun Nonfiction

As a kid, I was never too interested in reading nonfiction, because I thought it was only something you did when you had to do a report for school. However, since I left school, I have discovered that learning can actually be fun. Who knew?

Nonfiction for kids has gotten much better in the past 15 years, too. Take David McLimans's new book, Gone Fishing, for example. The artwork is great, and the book can be interesting for both older kids and younger kids. The younger kids will like the fact that it's a counting book, and the older ones will just like the cool facts about fish.

Another fun book I came across recently is called How to Get Rich in the California Gold Rush, by Tod Olson. Fans of the You Wouldn't Want to... series would really like this one. It's an amusing story about a guy from Massachusetts who goes to California right after gold was discovered there, in 1849. Besides the story, there are lots of great old-style pictures and side notes about the different things you would experience on a trip like that.

The kids in my Teen Book Club mentioned The Worst Case Scenario Survival Handbook as something they'd want to read, so I bought the junior edition for the library. This book made me smile a lot, because it has great cartoon illustrations, interesting subjects, and a breezy style. Here's the first paragraph from the section titled "How to Survive Falling Through the Ice":

"Let's say you're walking on ice. (Which you shouldn't do.) Then let's say you walk onto very thin ice. (Which clearly you shouldn't do. Dude, what the heck is wrong with you?!) It's too late now. You've fallen in--but the good news is, you can get out."

My point is, you don't have to go to the fiction section to find a good read at the library. The nonfiction section has plenty to offer, too. Come in and take a look!