Championing Non-Fiction: Unlocking Every Child’s Reading Journey

6 April 2026

Not a proper book

The year fours were very excited about their library visit. They disappeared between the shelves like foraging meerkats, to choose the book that they would take back to class to read. I noticed one little boy who was especially focussed, unlike many of the other children, he seemed to know what he was looking for. He emerged, beaming, from the stacks with a book almost as big as himself, with a red Ferrari on the cover. It was clearly going to reveal everything that this photo petrol head had ever wanted to know about fast cars. But when he held it out to show his teacher, her face fell

‘No!’ she told him, ‘that’s not a proper book. Put it back and go and find a story.’

I’d be willing to bet that that child’s journey towards being a reader ended right there.

That was a while ago and although attitudes to children’s non-fiction have shifted a little, many parents, teachers and educators still regard it as a kind of poor relation of ‘real books’ and real reading. Not only is this prejudice pretty strange given that many adult readers read non fiction almost exclusively it is ignoring an important gateway into reading for many children.

Motivation for reading

Adults talk a great deal about how children become readers but perhaps we need to look at why a bit more. For most children their first experience of books are the baby board books that label the world around them. Imaginary stories may invite some children into further engagement with books, but for many, finding out about subjects that interest them is a bigger motivator. If non fiction is designated as as less important, the role of curiosity in children’s learning and development, is denied. My friend the author Viv French had a wonderful slogan on her social media feed ‘learn something new every day’; it should be one of the slogans of the National Year of Reading.

Different kinds of reading

I think one of the reasons why non-fiction gets a poor press from adults, is that committed adult readers tend to read long books from start to finish. They are not dippers and divers. But reading a fat book, with ‘no pictures and no conversations’ as Alice would have put it, from cover to cover isn’t the only way to read. Children labelled as ‘reluctant readers’ may simply prefer the dip in and dip out approach that some non-fiction allows. Starting with small, self-motivated reading snacks is more likely to build their appetite for bigger reading meals, than trying to force feed something that isn’t to their taste.

Of course, non-fiction doesn’t only mean ‘information books’, the sort of illustrated texts that you mine for fact nuggets. The genre encompasses narrative non-fiction, and poetry. These kinds of non-fiction books encourage children to interrogate a text and extract information from it. They introduce children to the many creative ways of using language to convey meaning.

Non-fiction supports creativity

In the same way that some children are not inspired to read by imagined stories, neither are they inspired to write them. Starting to write from the basis of some factual information or personal observation removes the pressure of inventing characters or worlds. With the pressure of what to write about removed, young writers can focus on the how of writing. This, almost immediately, invites them to think about who they are writing for. How you write is shaped by who you write for so the role of writing and illustration as communication is much clearer in non-fiction than fiction. This can be really empowering for young people as they can see that what they have created works as a means of communication.

Non-fiction doesn’t have to be objective or dispassionate - in writing about personal experience, the writer’s perspective and authenticity are important. So, not only does non-fiction invite young writers to observe and report, it also invites them to reflect, and express their thoughts and feelings. It can be a more direct route to finding their own voice in the world.

Non fiction at bedtime

The lifetime of the reader begins with the ritual of the bedtime story and I would guess that most readers were read to. But many parents today struggle to find the time or the confidence to read to their kids. Non-fiction can help out. Reading a nonfiction book isn’t a performance, it’s more of a conversation. Adult and child talk about the text and the illustration and take the whole thing at their own pace. This kind of reading and talking is a great way for children to learn how to express what they know and how to ask questions and discovering a subject together is a unique way of bonding.

A world to discover

Children’s non-fiction covers every subject and area of knowledge, using innovative design, age targeted language and great illustration. There are a huge variety of authorial voices and perspectives and some of the most beautiful and creative books on the market. As an adult you will learn so much and have whole fields of knowledge and expression opened up for you; as a parent or educator, you will be helping to create new generations of curious innovators and explorers who can see the world as it is, and change it for the better.