5 Kinds of Nonfiction – Evaluate Your Collection

Assess Your Collection with the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction

Since so many of you take time over the summer to evaluate and update your collections to make sure they will best serve your students, we wanted to remind you of the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction classification system, created by author Melissa Stewart.

The 5 Kinds of Nonfiction system helps librarians expand and balance their nonfiction collection to provide a broad array of titles that appeal to different types of readers. It also helps students select books they like, predict the type of information they will find in a book, and use the books for specific purposes. All Lerner nonfiction is classified according to this system, including upcoming fall releases!

Traditional nonfiction is made up of survey/”all-about” nonfiction books. They provide a general overview of a topic, are often part of a larger series, and use clean, straightforward language. They are best for an introduction to a topic, and often used early in the research process to build understanding. Keep reading for a list of our best-selling traditional nonfiction titles!

By Patricia Newman, Sibert Honor-winning author of Sea Otter Heroes, Plastic Ahoy!, Eavesdropping on Elephants, Planet Ocean, and many other books

I’d like to extend a huge thank you to Lerner Publishing Group for embracing Melissa Stewart’s 5 Kinds of Nonfiction, a system that has been a boon for educators—and writers—in understanding and appreciating this rich and varied genre.

Candice Ransom writes series nonfiction for Lerner, including the Bumba Books Discover Your Senses series. These fall into the Traditional Nonfiction category in Melissa Stewart’s 5 Kinds of Nonfiction framework. Read on to learn about how Candice does her research and writing, and more about Traditional Nonfiction and the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction.

In preparation for election day, we explore Traditional Nonfiction with Jeff Fleischer, author of Votes of Confidence 2nd Edition: A Young Person’s Guide to American Elections. This updated edition provides the next generation of voters with essential guidance about the past, present, and future of American elections. Continue reading to learn more about Jeff’s research process, Traditional Nonfiction, and the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction.