Best Non-fiction Reading Materials for Children
coming from someone who used to hate non-fiction Most people, including children, develop a love of reading fiction from a very young age thanks to fascinating books like Harry Potter, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, or The Hunger Games, while fiction is a great way to practice your reading skills and learn important universal values, children eventually come to an age when reading non-fiction will be more important than fiction. 不少人很小的时候就喜欢上了阅读，这大概也归功于有如《哈利波特》《爱德华的奇妙之旅》《饥饿游戏》等优秀又有意思的作品。通过这些虚构类作品的阅读，孩子们增进了阅读技能、了解了普世价值；不过，或早或晚地他们终将还要开始非虚构类作品这一很重要的阅读.
However, getting children to read non-fiction is not easy. Without interesting plots or engaging characters, we can often find non-fiction tedious and unrelated to their lives. To guarantee these problems don’t happen, parents should make sure they find the right material for children, but that’s not always easy as well, so this article is here to help you, providing the three best non-fiction reading materials for children. 然而，让孩子们喜欢上这类作品却不是件容易的事儿，没有了小说般的引人入胜的情节和鲜活的人物，不少孩子们会觉得读这类书有些乏味跟他们的生活也没什么关系。作为家长，就要尽可能帮孩子们找到适合的非虚构类的文章，但这说起来容易做起来难，所以我要介绍三类很棒的适合孩子们的的非虚构类作品给你们！
Reading the news is a great way to not just boost your non-fiction reading skills, but to also stay in the loop with current world events. This will be especially helpful for debaters, but knowing what is happening around the world will make anyone seem more fun, knowledgeable, and intelligent. Talking about the news is also a great conversation starter. 阅读新闻，不仅提升你在非虚构类作品中的阅读技能，同时也让你了解当今世界正在发生的事情，如果你是一个辩手那这尤为重要；不仅如此，它也会让你看上去更富有知识、更有智慧也更有趣儿，而且谈一谈当下的事情也是一个很好的话题开始。 Reading articles from a good news source will also teach children to be more objective and rational. News tends to be more formal and should not be opinionated and only report the facts. By reading news daily or weekly, children will naturally learn what kind of vocabulary, tone, the expression they should use when they want to write formally which will be useful when writing essays, emails, etc. 读那些靠谱媒体的新闻，也会教孩子们更为客观理性地看待问题。新闻是正式类的写作文体，以报道客观的事实为主，好的新闻应该是不发表自己的观点而是由读者基于事实做出自己的判断。经常读新闻，我们自然而然地就会学到新闻中常用的词汇、语气，而这些对于我们正式写作像论文或者正式的邮件等等都有帮助。 Making sure your child read the news is not something that will just happen overnight, you should try taking some active steps listed below to help.
从虚构类到非虚构类作品的迈进，不是一夜之间发生的，所以需要家长给以一些引导，你可以从以下几方面做一些尝试：Introduce reliable and reputable news sources such as the New York Times, BBC, CNN.
选取口碑好的媒体，像New York Times, BBC, CNN；
- Introduce interesting articles that you think your child might like.
选取那些有趣的、孩子感兴趣的文章；
- Talk about current news during dinners such as the death of Justice Ruth Badger Ginsburg, the Black Lives Matter movement or the 2020 elections.
饭桌上聊一聊当下正发生的事儿，像几天前金斯伯格大法官的去世，还有Black Lives Matter运动或者当前正在热火朝天的美国总统大选。
2
History/Biographies
历史/人物传记类
Reading about History is about the closest someone can get to fiction when they are reading non-fiction. This is why they are often suggested to people who are just starting to read non-fiction, however that doesn’t mean that only beginners should read history. It’s easy to fall in love with history and soon you might find yourself to be moving onto something more intermediate or advanced.
历史题材的非虚构类作品是很接近虚构类作品的一种，这也是为什么建议从历史类题材读起，但这可不意味着历史题材只适合于初级读者，历史题材作品非常容易让人沉迷于其中，从而一步步读得更多更难更高阶。 For beginners, it is best to start with something fun such as the Horrible Histories which not only has all the “gore and more” but the entire series is filled with quirky little illustrations. The series even have their own You Tube channel with songs and reenactments of historical events.
刚开始非虚构类作品的时候，从“有趣”的开始最好。Horrible Histories不仅仅有“gore and more”，整本书也充满着个性鲜明幽默搞怪的插图。这套图书在You Tube上还有专门的频道，有趣儿的歌曲、真人演出的有些滑稽的系列剧等。 Biographies are also great options. For younger children the “Who Was/Is” series is also highly recommended. The series offers an objective perspective on people from ancient Egypt all the way to 21st-century political figures and celebrities such as Michelle Obama, J.K. Rowling, The Beatles, and Bill Gates.
传记作品也是很不错的选择。对于小学生来说，非常推荐“Who Was/Is”系列。这套丛书以客观的视角记述了从古埃及到21世纪的政治人物、科学家、艺术家、音乐家等名人，比如米歇尔·奥巴马(Michelle Obama)、J.K.罗琳(J.K. Rowling)、披头士乐队（The Beatles）、比尔·盖茨（Bill Gates）等。 Magazines with their glossy pages certainly have always held an appeal to children. There is a broad variety of magazines ranging from entertainment to informative. Although teen magazine covers do look attractive, they often lack the educational content that children need. Instead of buying magazines targeted specifically towards tweens and teens, it is better to buy adult magazines suited towards your child’s interests. National Geographic is a great option with its magazines ranging from geography to history, astronomy to wildlife, social issues to fashion, it’s hard to not find what you want when it comes to National Geographic Magazines.
杂志因其漂亮的封面和精美的版面往往很吸引人，其内容从娱乐性到知识性可谓包罗万象。尽管针对青少年的杂志封面看起来很有读一读的欲望，但却在知识性方面不是那么强，我倒是推荐不如直接读大人的杂志。《国家地理》就是一个很不错的选择，它几乎无所不包——从地理到历史、从天文学到野生动物，从社会问题到时尚话题……推荐！ For younger kids, National Geographic makes a kids edition that is fun and filled with information.
如果是小学低年级的读者，《国家地理 儿童版》是很不错的选择，它们既有趣又充满了知识性。 Given that you find articles that pique your interest, it can be just as fun as reading a novel.
当找到了一些能激发你兴趣的文章时，那它就和读小说一样有趣了。 In conclusion, it’s important to know that the transition from fiction to non-fiction is a natural process for everyone that doesn’t need to be rushed. Still, reading non-fiction should be encouraged by parents. Everyone’s reading journey will happen at a different pace, in a different way, but I wish all of you the best of luck.
从虚构类到非虚构类阅读的转化是一个自然的过程，不需要焦虑或者限定一个日期；不过，家长的鼓励也同样很重要。每个人的阅读之旅将以不同的速度、不同的方式发生，但我祝你们所有人好运！本文作者Apple Ma来自于加拿大一所中学，今年8年级，她热爱阅读与写作。在4年级时，她从北京一所公立小学来到了加拿大，那时候她的英语既不会读更不会写，英语仅限于非常简单的口语交流。现在，她不仅可以读还可以写，而且非常热爱英文写作，如果她能做得到，那么你也能！
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