Tag narrative non-fiction

Britannica’s 5 Minute Really True Stories for Family Time

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Britannica’s 5 Minute Really True Stories for Family Time
Britannica Books

Authored by Alli Brydon, Catherine D. Hughes and Jackie McCann and illustrated by four artists – Anneli Bray, Vivian Mineker, Sophia Moore and Syklar White – are thirty true stories about things families do together. More than two thirds relate to humans whereas the final seven feature animal families, both sections starting with a look at homes in different parts of the world including for the former, Australia and Bangladesh.

Breakfast is the topic for the second story and I was fascinated to discover the varieties and ways families eat their porridge, whereas the thought of consuming some of the items such as those in a Japanese breakfast first thing in the morning (or at any time) turned my vegan stomach right over.

Whether the reader’s particular interest is in things scientific, or related to technology, sociology – festivals or weddings perhaps, history or art of some form there’s something to discover herein. I particularly like that ‘Storytime’ includes the fact that stories can be told in different ways including through paintings, drawings, dance or music.

Each topic is allocated three double spreads and some incorporate more than one interest area.
The question(s) embedded in each story and occasional practical possibilities provide an interactive element to the book.

For this reviewer using the term ‘true stories’ for this kind of narrative non-fiction is something of a misnomer. There’s a wealth of fascinating information in this attractively illustrated book,

but it’s one I see being used in a primary classroom as part of a topic (there are many possibilities), rather more than a family read together as suggested by the title.

Fox in the Night / Snow Penguin

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Fox in the Night
Martin Jenkins and Richard Smythe
Walker Books

Billed as ‘A science storybook about light and dark’, this is a narrative non-fiction picture book with a sprinkling of additional facts.
We join Fox as she wakes, sees it’s still daylight outside and so goes back to sleep for a while. Later, at sundown, she leaves the safety of her den and, guided by the moon and street lights, sallies forth across the park towards the town in search of food.

A mouse eludes her so she keeps looking; perhaps something static will be easier prey.
A bumped nose and a near miss from a car later, she’s still searching. Then, turning down an alley, her nose leads her towards something more promising – a barbecue in progress – and it’s here that she’s finally rewarded with a tasty treat to take back to her den.

Beautifully illustrated, this is a good starting point for a topic on light and dark with early years children. I’d suggest reading the story first and then returning to discuss the additional, smaller print, possibly using it as pointers to get youngsters thinking for themselves about why for instance, Fox bumps her nose on the shop window.

Snow Penguin
Tony Mitton and Alison Brown
Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Far away in the icy Antarctic, a curious little penguin is restless: he wants to find out more about the chilly sea and the snow. Off he goes alone to explore, unaware that the ice on which he’s standing as he gazes seawards has become detached from the mainland.
On his trip afloat on his little ice floe he sees blue whales, orcas,

an elephant seal and a sea lion with her cub. Suddenly he feels alone and scared adrift on the darkening waters. How will he find his way back to where he most wants to be, back with his family and friends?

Mitton’s assured rhyming couplets in combination with Alison Brown’s engaging depictions of the frozen Arctic seascapes and landscapes make for a gentle cuddle-up adventure for the very young.