Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Young Kids DO Like Nonfiction : National Geographic Hero Series Book Review + GIVEAWAY!

Reading is a huge part of what I spend my time doing with my kids. Our local library has a program to promote early literacy in children under the age of 5. It's called 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten. I'm fairly certain I've read over 20,000 to Benjamin and at least 10,000 to Claire at their young ages of 2 and 4. I've read so much that Benjamin hands me book after book, inhaling each word, curious about everything he is seeing and hearing. He's a sight word champion and well on his way to devouring books all on his own.

At such a young age, kids don't actually need us to force them into reading. They are inherently curious. We're participating in that library program to encourage others and because bubbling in those little bubbles for each book on the chart is great fine motor practice for my littles.

Around Halloween, kids who showed up at our doorstep were dressed as every kind of character. My kids had lots of questions as we dropped candy into baskets of kids dressed up as warriors, superheroes and people of history (though I'd like to see more of the latter). Yesterday at the library, Benjamin stopped at the biographies section and commented about those books being "for big kids" instead. I disagreed. He grabbed up a book about Davy Crockett and off we were exploring the pictures and facts about the folk hero. Nonfiction isn't just for the big kids. Some nonfiction books are a good bridge between the two, featuring stories of historical characters in their nonfiction stories, like one of our favorites, Rosie Revere, Engineer.

If I can get my hands on new and exciting books with cool pictures and awesome facts about important people in world history that are both interesting and will catch my kids' attentions, I'm all about it. We were sent a couple great National Geographic books to check out. The Book of Heroes and The Book of Heroines were quickly ripped from their boxes by my little bookworms. Not only was Rosie the Riveter in there (activating prior knowledge + connecting literature!), but so were a handful of stories about flight crew who made quick moves to save their aircraft... one of those being Benjamin's obsession: the Goodyear blimp. In short snippet paragraphs, kids of all ages are captivated by real, actual history. Even cooler, he's seen one and can immediately relate to the real-life story that happened well before his birth.
As for Claire, she's not as much of a reader, and yet the cool factor of these shiny books with bright pictures totally pulled her in. There's so much to see and learn. And they make killer coffee table books (or potty room books, just saying). For my littles, they enjoy these Nat Geo nonfiction books about Heroes and Heroines for the super cool pictures and short stories to keep their fleeting attention spans. For older kids, they can read the pages on their own, devouring the rich (and seriously exciting) world of doers and game changers. Ages 2 and beyond as long as they can sit and listen and have a little explanation from parents (since some of those words are as big as the characters themselves), these books are good for everyone.

As for independent reading, it's around the 5th grade level of reading and seriously a super item to add to a classroom library as a gift (teachers LOVE this) or as a birthday present for the kid who has too many toys (just our problem? probably not).

It's hard to imagine anyone not finding stories of awe inspiring history makers interesting. We sure did. These will be part of our book library for many years to come. Because I'm also a book hoarder, natch.

Wanna win a set of these great nonfiction stunners for your kids? Shoot me a comment below about your favorite hero or heroine and I'll select a winner on Wednesday 11/16! Open to U.S. only. Sorry my beloved Canadian friends! xo

I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com), May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agree to use this product and post my honest opinion on my blog. The opinions posted are my own.

5 comments:

Kristi said... [Reply to comment]

We love nonfiction here! I guess one of my favorite (non Biblical) heroines is Christa Mcauliffe. I remember being outside and watching the Challenger live when it exploded. It was scary and heartbreaking to me as a preschooler, especially knowing that there was a teacher on board. As an adult, I've come to realize even more what it meant for her to be a teacher in space. She risked her life to learn more so that her students could learn more. I appreciate the real life conversations and learning opportunities that come from reading nonfiction with my kids.

Brooke said... [Reply to comment]

I can't get my mind out of politics at the moment, so a hero who comes to mind for me is Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I happen to agree with her politics, but I also admire her for achieving so much in her law career at a time when women were actively discouraging from pursuing advancement in that professions. She's a trail blazer who also didn't allow disagreements on politics or law to keep her from forming genuine friendships. And I admire her fashion.

Caroline said... [Reply to comment]

Can non US residents with US addresses enter? ;)
Don't actually enter me, but I just love your adorable little capped kiddos and their books. Ironically, we are off to the libaray now.

(Just watched a short documentary on the Doolittle raid which I'm sure E knows a lot about, so in honor of Veterans Day I'll say Jimmy Doolittle though I wouldn't say he's my favorite, just coming to mind now)

Mrs. Grell's Class Blog said... [Reply to comment]

My favorite heroine (I have a lot though!) is Louisa May Alcott. She not only risked her life for others during the Civil War, but also fought alongside many other strong women to fight for women's rights throughout suffrage. I thought I'd also pick one that related to literacy since she also wrote one of the best American novels - Little Women. During a time of political strife right now, it's great to think about strong women to be inspired by no matter what others may say about them and their gender.

DeniseL said... [Reply to comment]

My favorite heroine is Rosa Parks. An ordinary woman who did extraordinary things. I strive to have a inkling of the courage she showed throughout her life.