Non-fiction Books

 The photos in this post are not related to the subject.

I have posted before about the variety of books that are always out for my kids to look at and have us read. Out of the many options, my kids have a strong preference for the non-fiction. They love looking at photos, instead of drawings and seem to remember and relate to the non-fiction books better than the fiction. Here are some of their favorite types of non-fiction books.

A real caboose!

Animal books are always interesting. My kids love the zoo and all animals, so reading about them is popular. We even subscribed to 3 different kids magazines about animals. The favorite, by far, is the one from the National Wildlife Federation. They have different magazines for different ages and while almost everyone has heard of Ranger Rick, my kids are still on the Wild Animal Baby stage. The second favorite magazine is from National Geographic. These also have different options for different ages and we are in the Little Kids stage. The other one we tried was through Zoobooks and while decent, it couldn't compete with the other two. That is the one we didn't renew. I guess I'm supposed to add that these are not paid endorsements, my kids just like the magazines.

Don't bother with him, look at me!

Biographies are an odd choice for this age, but my kids enjoy them. They are just starting to understand that different people have different experiences than their own. For example, as a baby, a child who likes strawberries assumes everyone likes strawberries. When, as a toddler, the child realizes some people don't like strawberries it causes a complete shift in their world. This is around the same time they realize that hitting feels different to the hitter and the victim. They lean they can cause reactions from other children and adults. They experiment with this and it often causes what adults perceive as behavior problems. Wow, I'm off topic. Ok, trying to bring it back. Biographies build off of this interest in the experiences of others. Reading about children in other countries and famous people help connect them to the world around them.

I just love photos of my husband and kids together.

We also use each holiday to read and learn. We are choosing to teach each major holiday in a variety of religions and national holidays from a few select countries. We selected the country we live in and the two other countries my husband has citizenship from to start. We live in a diverse area so there are many religious holidays that are celebrated locally and our kids enjoy understanding what is going on.

Wearing red and taking photos, is it February again?

What types of books do your kid seem to prefer?