Checking Out Nonfiction K-8: Good Choices for Best Learning. Bill Harp Professional Teachers Library.

Noting that nonfiction literature for children came of age in the 1990s, this book is a comprehensive tool for K-8 teachers, librarians, and students to use in learning to make good decisions about the quality of nonfiction titles. Each chapter in the book describes a specific aspect of the complexity found in nonfiction literature: the various types, how the writing is organized, issues of accuracy, styles of writing, the array of visual features, and access features. Examples of classroom applications are included throughout the book. Chapters in the book are: (1) Less Is More: The Quest for the Best Nonfiction Children's Literature; (2) Types of Nonfiction Books; (3) The Importance of Checking Nonfiction for Accuracy; (4) Exploring the Content and Organization of Nonfiction; (5) Building Understanding and Clarity through Style and Language; (6) Features of Nonfiction that Support Accessibility of Content; and (7) Understanding Content Through Visual Information. Some "Parting Thoughts" conclude the book. (Contains approximately 400 references. Appendixes contain advice on making discriminating choices in nonfiction; places to look for the best award-winning nonfiction; a 75-item annotated list of Orbis Pictus award-winning nonfiction; and recommendations for dynamic teaching using nonfiction children's literature.) (RS)