Comparing Nonfiction and Fiction Books
Here's What To Do
With your child, choose a topic you’ve been reading stories about that they’d like to learn more about. Explain that a story book might not have real facts but an informational book will.
Check out an informational book about the topic from the library. For example, if your child reads stories about trains, get an informational book about trains.
Then, help your child to compare the types of books. For example, if the storybook has talking trains, compare that with real information in the informational book.
You can also highlight the type of book and its features as you read any book with your child.
Put PEER Into Action
Pause:
- Encourage your child to share something they’d like to learn more about. They can also show you their favorite storybook instead.
Engage:
- “We read a story about ___. A story doesn’t give us information and it might not be real.”
- “We can read a nonfiction or informational book about ___ so we can learn more about it.”
Encourage:
- Ask guiding questions to help your child notice some of the similarities and differences.
- “Do both books have pictures?” “Do you think what this story is about really happened?”
Reflect:
- “Do you prefer to read informational books or storybooks? Why?”
Not quite ready?
Select a simple informational book with a lot of pictures and limited text. Highlight that this book gives you information and facts, while a storybook isn’t real information, it’s from someone’s imagination.
Ready for more?
Your child can share why they think it’s important to have different types of books.
As your child masters this skill...
They will compare nonfiction and fiction books.