NON-FICTION READS

There are a huge number of good non-fiction books for adults, and for younger children, but there is a terrible lack of non-fiction aimed at older children and young adults. I don’t know whether it’s because this age group is genuinely not interested, or rather that it just doesn’t come their way very often. I enjoy non-fiction a lot, but didn’t really start reading it until after university, although I was reading fiction widely. I wonder now whether it was because my desire for information was being satisfied by my studies, and once they ended I started to seek out information in other places. So perhaps publishers are right and there isn’t a large market waiting to be discovered. Nevertheless I find young people to be curious and interested about the world, so I’m offering some suggestions, having taken advice from our students about what they like to read. The first three books I’ve picked for children and young adults would be most appropriate for students in Years 6 to 9, though adults could enjoy browsing through them too. There is a small selection of non-fiction books that are not only aimed at teenagers, but best read at that age, ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ and ‘I Am Malala’ being maybe the best known examples. I asked some of our students what they thought the right age was to read these books, and the general feeling was that you understand them most if you are a teenager, as the authors were when writing. Older students who are keen readers may of course enjoy adult nonfiction books, and I’d advise them to cast their eye over my two adult choices. Whatever your age, I hope you find something to tempt you here. Ms Tudway, Learning Resource Centre

I love this book! It tells you the greatest things about the Games and has everything from Sebastian Coe to Olga Korbut. The facts date back to 552 BC with the first ever Games, all the way up to Atlanta 1996. I would recommend it to all readers as it is very informative. The fact I found most interesting is that Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to win all 10 marks in the Olympics! Ayla K, Year 8 Read about Ayla swimming for the county on pages 61-62.

IMOGEN RUSSELL WILLIAMS & SARA MULVANNY

I loved this book when I first opened it and found a page about Malorie Blackman, followed by William Blake and then Boudicca. The 50 people featured have been ordered alphabetically, so you never quite know what’s coming next. We move from Elizabeth I to Olaudah Equiano, from Freddie Mercury to Isaac Newton, with pleasing randomness. There’s an exciting array of figures - pioneers, athletes, scientists, writers, artists and activists, each with a potted history and colour illustrations. The book doesn’t hide the fact that many of our great heroes were also deeply flawed, but encourages us to recognise their achievements and their faults alike with nuanced explanations. Ms Tudway

TRACEY TURNER, ANDREW DONKIN & LIBBY VANDER PLOEG

This beautifully illustrated book introduces 25 cities from around the globe and across the vast sweep of human history, from Jericho around 8500 BCE, to Tokyo today. Along the way it incorporates the sort of places you might feel you know - Venice, Sydney and New York City. It also introduces places we may find less familiar - Xianyang, Benin City and Tenochtitlan. Produced by the British Museum, there is a carefully researched map for each city and vibrant detailed artwork. It is brimming with engrossing historical detail and fascinating facts, bringing these places to life. Warning: reading this book will make you want to travel! Ms Tudway Anne Frank is an inspiring girl who wrote a diary about her daily life in school and at home during WW2. My Granny bought me the book for my birthday when I turned eleven and I decided to write a diary myself. When I look back at what I did, I think about Anne writing her diary. Hannah M, Year 8

This outstanding book is a detailed insight into the mind and life of a young Jewish girl during the Second World War. The diary introduces the reader to the ‘Secret Annexe’, where Anne learns to adapt to the confined space. She explains the intense and constricted life she is reduced to and the suffering of hunger, isolation and the deafening fears of being caught. The reader develops a fond relationship with Anne and reading her diary is like talking with an old friend. The diary suddenly ends and we lose Anne, which is harrowing. This has no happy ending and we are forced to bid farewell to Anne. Annabelle W, Year 10

HANS ROSLING

It’s rare to come across a book that gives you hard facts and logical reasons to feel more optimistic about the state of the world, but it’s certainly welcome! There’s a short multiple choice test at the start of this book, which you will almost certainly score very poorly in, but you’re in the company of Nobel laureates, investment bankers, university lecturers and many more. Most of us are surprisingly uninformed about global trends relating to poverty, healthcare, education and the like. Hans Rosling gives us some much needed clarity about some of these issues, and deconstructs why we’re so prone to making these kinds of mistakes. He breaks it down into ten instincts, and explains how they lead us astray, giving us some guidelines to help us think more clearly in the future. Ms Tudway CATHERINE NIXEY

This book caused me to laugh, cry and think furiously about philosophy and religion. It’s about the destruction of the classical world - art, architecture, science - by rising Christianity. We’re familiar with tales of Christians being persecuted by the Romans, but what happened after they gained legitimacy? We tend to assume we don’t have more beautiful statues and books from the ancient world because it was a very long time ago, but, sadly, they were destroyed by people who despised anything which could possibly challenge their world view. Sobering parallels are drawn between ancient destruction by Christians, and more recent vandalism. Included in the book is a photo of a statue of Athena which was decapitated and mutilated by Christians in the fourth century. After being beautifully and painstakingly restored by archaeologists, it was decapitated and mutilated again by ISIS in 2016. However, this is not a miserable read, but a fascinating story told by an engaging writer, who deftly brings out humour where it can be found. I defy anyone not to smile while reading her account of St Antony’s repeated temptations by Satan, in various guises. This is an absolute gem of a read. Ms Tudway