Nadia Wheatley and Ken Searle, Going Bush, 2007, Allen & Unwin.

Going Bush is a non-fiction account of a Harmony project staged by Nadia Wheatley and Ken Searle in conjunction with eight Sydney infant and primary schools. Sixteen children come together on an excursion to explore the harmony of their own lives and that of their natural environment.

Photographs taken by the children and objects they collect along the way are used to extend the text. Drawings made by the children on the excursion enhance the photos and text with many of the drawings decorating the page boarders. Ken Searle links the real-life photographs and children's illustrations with clever artistic design. A detailed map offers a pictorial account of the children's learning experiences and itself is an excellent source of information. Plant and aboriginal glossaries are included in the book.

The children's recounts and poetry are presented in bite-sized chunks throughout the text. Nadia Wheatley's information loaded narrative compliments the children's contributions and links illustrations, photos and text beautifully.

Children love this book. They pour over the map, making discoveries and learning with the excursionists along the way. They appreciate the children's own illustrations and writings. They empathise with the children's responses and enthusiastically share their own. I think this book is able to evoke these responses because it recounts a real experience with real children, photos and informative, relevant text.

Stamenitis, C (2007). Australia Focus, Primary Industries. Echidna Books, Australia

This information book is suitable for primary and early secondary aged school children. The book is A4 size which makes it suitable for desk work and sharing.

The layout is very practical and easy to follow. The book begins with an overall definition of primary industries and is followed by double page spreads dedicated to a specific primary industry eg. grains, forestry, dairy, fossil fuels, minerals and metals. Within each double page spread a combination of maps, fast facts, graphs(pie, bar & table), photographs, bullet headings and website addresses can be found. The weblinks are to associations, federations, councils, and researchers of industry. Challenging terminology is printed in blue, definitions of which are located in the glossary. The information is current, with quoted monetary values and statistics no older than two years. All the information is specific to Australia.

One outstanding feature of this book is that it is responsible in delivering balanced information. A section is dedicated to the environment and the effects of primary industry upon it. Effects of soil erosion, land clearing, greenhouse gases, salinity etc are all mentioned, with weblinks to Landcare Australia, Australian Marine Conservation Society, and Worldwide Fund for Nature Australia. An historical perspective is also included in the introduction with a weblink to the Australian Museum Online.

Primary Industries is one title of many in the series Australia Focus.
This series is current and appropriate for students who require direct or 'straight to the point' information. It is also nice to see a publisher who incorporates links to technology. By doing this I feel that the publisher is enhancing a more flexible pathway to learning.

Jamal,N & Chandah,T (2005): The Glory Garage - Growing up Lebanese Muslim in Australia.

This biographical information book was short listed in the 2006 Children's Book of the Year Awards.
The authors are young Lebanese Australian girls whose diary style writing creates empathy and connectiveness with any reader. Their exclusion from Australian secular society and struggles to stay true to family is enlightening reading.
Many of the myths and stereotypes are demystified with candour, honesty and humour.
The authors' develop techniques for integrating the Lebanese world and the Anglo Australian world and how to live with personal aspirations at the forefront. Like all teenage girls from any background, Nadia and Taghred yearn to be independent within a constraining situation.
This challenges our misinformed opinions and analyses the significance of community, spirituality, customs and belonging.
Published by Allen & Unwin

Brian. J. (2005) Hoosh! Camels in Australia. ABC Books, Australia

Hoosh! Camels in Australia, by Janeen Brian, 2005, ABC Books, is a quality non-fiction that won the 2006 Eve Pownall Honour Book Award for Information Books, at The Children’s Book Council of Australia. It evaluates the contribution of camels in Australian history since their introduction into the country in1840 and considers their future role. Topics includecarrying early explorers, moving freight across the country, construction projects such as the Rabbit-Proof Fence, the Afghan Cameleers, World War One Camel Soldiers, Outback Camel Police and Aboriginal trackers. Readers are challenged to go beyond the facts presented about camels to question and debate whether camels are a pest or a resource in modern-day Australia. Information is presented in ‘bite size’ chunks, using accessible language and a range of writing genres - interviews with experts, narratives, real life stories, and diary extracts.Delightful colour and historical black-and-white photographs, maps and sketches complement the text, with accompanying descriptions detailing the behaviour and habitat of the camels portrayed. The content is comprehensively researched and the end of the book contains a glossary of word meanings, index and bibliography for further research . Suitable for children aged 9+.
Heather Beveridge

Tonkin, R 2006 Leaf Litter: Exploring the mysteries of a Hidden World, HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia.

BLOG C: Non-Fiction

Reference Book: Tonkin, R 2006, Leaf Litter: Exploring the Mysteries of a Hidden World, HarperCollinsPublishers, Australia.



Topic important-environment.

Large book–ideal for sharing in a group.

Beautifully illustrated–very appealing-it ‘talks’ to you-would make a child to ‘want’ to touch.

Lift up flaps- well concealed.

Informative.

Attention to detail-snake eating mouse-young mouse leaving nest about to brush against redback spider-makes you want to wait and see if mouse gets bitten(p17).

Language genre is child-friendly - ‘On a leaf nearby, a fly sucks up the huntsman’s dung….”(p25).

Includes ‘Things to Find’ section (with page numbers).

Includes ‘user-friendly’ Glossary of Terms.

A real ‘learning’ book but also enjoyment.

Sturdy book, stitch-bound, hard cover.

Disadvantage-no index (although has Glossary of Terms).

Welcome

Welcome to the non-fiction blog. Please share with us your quality example of this genre. A post of about 100 words is appropriate.