Characteristics of Good Nonfiction

Considerations for Selecting Young Adult Literature Nonfiction

When evaluating and selecting nonfiction for young adults, ask the following questions:

• Is the content accurate, current, and clear?
• Is there an unbiased presentation and perspective?
• Does the author have a didactic or preachy tone?
• Is there a distinction between fact and conjecture or opinion?
• Is the content well-organized?
• Are the style and tone appropriate for the content and audience?
• What are the qualifications of the author?
• Are there a table of contents, index, glossary, timeline, or other organizers that help make the content accessible?
• Is there a useful index?
• Is the information up-to-date with current research and documentation?
• Is there evidence of research in bibliographies, notes or endnotes, suggestions for further reading, and Internet sites or key words for searching?
• Are the illustrations appropriate, attractive, and accurate with appropriate (and correct) captions?
• Is the book design appealing with:
  • Attractive borders
  • Crisp, uncluttered pages
  • Readable and appropriate typeface
  • Features such as symbols and feature boxes

As we have mentioned before, one special consideration when evaluating nonfiction is the number of series books. As Jones (1995) noted, the editors of some journals and magazines that review young adult books believe that evaluating the large number of nonfiction series is an overwhelming task. Thus, elect not to review them. Other journals will review a series one time, based only on the books that are available at that time. Adding to the difficulty of reviewing, just as some series fare better than others, individual books in the series may vary in quality. Unfortunately, publishers often try to get purchasers to buy the entire series by using a quote about one book to generalize the accolades to all books in the series (Jones, 1995). Lempke (1999) cautions against series books where authors insert annoying comments and exclamation points in an attempt to be chatty or perky. In any work of nonfiction, series, or stand-alone book, the ideal is to provide a well-written, attractive, interesting book that makes even complex subjects simple enough for adolescents without trivializing the information.

Like single works of nonfiction, series books must also be evaluated for accuracy and authenticity, content and perspective, style and organization, and author’s qualifications. Considerations for Selecting Young Adult Literature: Nonfiction Series identifies some special items to look for when evaluating nonfiction series. Although it is tempting to look for well-known authors, it is just as important to determine the qualifications of all of the authors who write books in the series. If the names of well-known authors are listed as editors or consultants for the series, you should determine exactly what their contributions are and whether they have actually written any books in the series. Be sure that the books in the series are more than out-of-print titles that have simply been given new covers and a new series title; in addition, verify that the individual books are not padded with thick sections of incidental information that is repeated from title to title throughout the series (Boardman, 1997).