Nonfiction literature that highlights inquiry: How real people solve real problems

Zarnowski, Myra, & Turkel, Susan. Nonfiction literature that highlights inquiry: How real people solve real problems. Journal of Children’s Literature, 37(1), 30-37.

Nonfiction books that share the process of inquiry can be more powerful for children than nonfiction books that simply present information. When the process is shared, one sees researchers as real people who experience difficulties, make compromises, and interpret information. They are not godlike beings who pronounce “truth” from on high. Seeing researchers in that way helps us to see information differently, too—it is constructed by human beings, and it is subject to interpretation and revision. High-quality informational books for children can provide the kind of window on the process of Inquiry that will help children think critically about informational text, and may even inspire them to engage in inquiries of their own, now as children and later as adults.

The authors write about three elements of such inquiry: identity, agency, and knowledge. For me, the element of agency was the most prominent; the exemplary informational books presented here strongly illustrated how people engaged in investigations because they saw a problem, engaged with the problem passionately, and believed that if they persisted (sometimes through heavy odds), they could find solutions to the problem. Even when they had found what they believed were solutions, though, they were open to new evidence and to revisiting their conclusions. The authors walk us through three texts that do this, and provide references to several more. The three texts highlighted here focus on investigations in the areas of archaeology (the origins of Stonehenge), science (saving a species of parrot that is near extinction), and history (looking at how the Thanksgiving holiday really came to be). In all three cases, the investigators engaged in “disciplinary literacy” and the discipline-specific modes of inquiry.

This was a quiet read that did not inspire heavy resonances in me, but I always appreciate reading about children’s books that stand out from among the many titles out each year. I especially appreciate the focus on good nonfiction texts, which sometimes have gotten short shrift in children’s literature discussions but which are receiving more emphasis recently. In my experience, children really like nonfiction texts, in many cases preferring them to fiction texts. I’ve had children tell me they like to read about “real” things, and the texts discussed here fit that request. Now what I’d like to see developed is some units of study using books like these. At the conclusion of the article (p. 36), the authors provide some questions that could focus such units: “Who is doing the investigating? What is the problem? What is the process of investigation? What are the results? Are they convincing?” I’d like to see how some learning engagements could be built from these questions.