Beth explores what makes a good non-fiction text for primary to intermediate readers with fellow PDSB teacher librarian Toni Duval. Toni outlines her experiences on the selection committees for the OLA Forest of Reading program and the criteria used to choose a book for the list of nominees. The conversation takes on the non-linear fashion of non-fiction texts, memoirs as a narrative sub-genre, the amount of visual literacy built into a non-fiction text and the necessity of a good layout to help young readers make sense of the text. Beth and Toni discuss how students benefit from having positive models of reading in their lives, the shift from only valuing fiction and novels during their parent’s education to opening the door to readers to choose what they like to read and why that is an important aspect of the role of a teacher librarian. Their brief disagreement over a book chosen for the Yellow Cedar nominee list is discussed and they move on as friends! Signage, book displays and ideas for promoting non-fiction in their library learning commons is a common thought for both teacher librarians and they share how they have shifted their practice to learn more about #OwnVoices within the non-fiction publishing world.

Toni Duval @toni_a_duval

Books mentioned:
Meatless?: A Fresh Look At What You Eat
by Sarah Elton, Julie McLaughlin (Illustrations)
Killer Style: How Fashion Has Injured, Maimed, and Murdered Through History
by Alison Matthews David, Serah-Marie McMahon