History of Narrative Nonfic for Youth

A Newbery Honor Book, ALA Notable Book, Winner of the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, SLJ Best Book of the Year, Horn Book Fanfare Honor Book, & New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year.

A work of children's nonfiction featuring full illustrated imagery in which Lester looks back at his family history of slavery, looking back on the days of enslavement, drawing from real-life source material of the slave narratives of the Federal Writers' Project (housed in the Archive of Folk-song at the Library of Congress (Sanders, 2018, p. 203-04).

It explores what it was like to be a slave. The book includes many personal accounts of former slaves, accompanied by Lester's historical commentary and Feelings' powerful and muted paintings. It follows the narrative stories of multiple individuals, based on recorded accounts. An informative, historical, primary-sourced book.

Compellingly tells the historical account of how the Siberian Husky sled dog Balto led his team of dogs over 53 miles of Alaska wilderness to deliver life-saving medicine during an diphtheria outbreak in 1925. Balto became a celebrity, and remains honored within museums and has a statue commemorated to him in Central Park in New York City.

Through heavy use of illustrations, the story of Balto is told in a realistic way that young readers can understand and comprehend.

2000 NCTE Orbis Pictus Award, Jane Addams Children's Book Awards for Book for Older Children

This narrative nonfiction autobiography by Ruby Bridges tells a poignant part of history through photo visuals and narrative that children and adults alike can experience. At 6 years old in 1960, Bridges was watched by all Americans; she was the first black student to attend a white school in the South during the New Orleans desegregation crisis in 1960. Bridges became an icon of the civil rights movement, and details the chronicles of her life and future historical impact in her own words.

Published in 2005, is a narrative fiction because it tells a story about the endangered loggerhead turtle in a lyrical and informative style. Follows one loggerhead turtle in particular, giving a "day in the life" along with narrative and full-page, colorful art visuals. By the end, the reader knows the whole cycle of life for a loggerhead turtle. Includes an index for more in-depth explanations.

2010 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Award Winner, 2010 Michael L. Printz Honor Book

Based on recorded historical events, Heiligman creatively narrates the biography of Charles Darwin. The biography doesn't contain pictures, geared towards older youth/teens, but it still contains an engaging narrative style that reveals what Darwin was like, how he thought, and how he lived. The nonfiction narrative covers history and questions of science and religion that Darwin and his wife Emma spent extensive work on.

This nonfiction work would be a captivating, exemplary way to connect with other classroom learning regarding The Origin of Species, science, theory, and history.

2012 National Book Awards finalist for Young People's Literature, 2012 Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year title, 2013 Newbery Honor book, 2013 Sibert Award Winner, 2013 YALSA Excellence Winner

Gripping from the start, "Bomb" is a narrative nonfiction that reads like an adventure story about the creation of the atomic bomb through multiple perspectives. The narrative gives the whole picture about the race between 3 different countries, spies, and scientists to make the first atomic bomb. which in retrospect was a race between countries, spies, and scientists to create the first atomic bomb.

This could be easily utilized to not only instruct youth the history of the atomic bomb, but how the potential use of such items in warfare against different countries can change the world as we know it.

National Book Award and Newbery Honor winner.

Woodson gives a personal narrative account of what life was like for an African American to grow up during the 1960s-70s. The book gives details of all societal conflicts and tensions (particularly the aftermath of Jim Crow and the Civil Rights movement) through someone who actually lived through such times.

We value primary, first-person accounts of history, and Woodson provides an evocotive nonfiction work that tells the tale of history that first draws from subjective perspective to connect with the outside, objective state of things from those times. Additionally, this book could be used to show youth how they can write about their own lives and history, and find their own voice. The poetry form of the book is written in a perfect way to still be accessible and engaging to youth. On Amazon, "Brown Girl Dreaming" remains the #1 best seller in children's literary biographies.

A 2016 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Finalist.

An engaging narrative recounting the 1941 Siege of Leningrad, especially through the perspective of the Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony.

An engaging, narrative-based book that is a study of warfare and deeds of Adolf Hitler during war. Anderson selects a perfect historical individual to use as a point to explore both sides of the fighting of this drastic siege in Western history. Through this nonfiction, youth learn about Shostakovich, WWII, and what life was like for real civilians. Beyond this, it is a study of musical compositions; how music has an influence, impact, and another means of passing on and remembering history. Shostakovich would compose a symphony that roused, rallied, eulogized, and commemorated his fellow citizens.

Once again, Deborah Heiligman shines in crafting compelling narrative nonfiction entirely through conversational, text narration with the 2018 YALSA Nonfiction Award winner as well as the 2018 Michael L. Printz Honor.

This narrative nonfiction serves as a biography of both Vincent and his younger brother Theo. Recounts the turbulent real events and experiences Vincent, a painter, and Theo, an art dealer, lived through. Told in small chapters, it is made to be approachable to young and older youth. It tells not only of the famous art, but of the personal lives of the artist. Drawing from 658 letters between Vincent and Theo, Heiligman was able to compile a convincing, based on fact narrative of the brothers and their relationship, as well as a snapshot of what life was like for them.

Sibert Honor Medalist, New York Public Library Best Of 2018, The Horn Book’s Fanfare 2018 list, Kirkus Best Books of 2018, 2019 YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Winner.

Told in a graphic novel narrative, Brown depicts current and relevant subject of the poignant real stories of the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis. This is an engaging way to inform youth of the realities of the situation, as well as to empathize with refugees since Brown draws from real personal accounts. Personal, information, and eye-opening, this book gives all readers knowledge and a call to action.