Bookbird 1 / 2025

Bookbird: A Journal of International Children’s Literature, Vol. 63, No. 1, 2025

(Not) The Last Unicorn: Nonfiction in Children’s Literature

Hurray for Bookbird: (Not) The Last Unicorn: Nonfiction in Children’s Literature! This issue bursts with articles proving that nonfiction writing for children is definitely not about to become extinct, but is on the rise. The editors, Marc Aronson and Chrys Malilang invite readers to enjoy a panoply of articles which demonstrate that the creative process is as active in good nonfiction writing as it is in fiction. Articles as always come from around the globe and from different perspectives, between the peer reviewed articles and the shorter “Letters”. The latter in this issue look at art books as nonfiction in Ukrainian children’s literature, playing cards as a format for books, and the nonfiction work of the Portuguese author, the late Natércia Rocha.

Longer articles argue for the creativity implicit in many works of nonfiction, offering examples of multimodal texts, which use their flexibility to create interpretive spaces for young readers. It is suggested that the literary and artistic work of Gustavo Puerta Leisse and Elena Odriozola create a liminal space where fiction and nonfiction are integrated to great effect. Another article focuses on art activity books, using as examples three publications from Portuguese publisher Planeta Tangerina, where it is argued research shows how they encourage both cognitive and physical engagement through different activities. Engagement is the point of The Great “Activity Book” Activity Article where Bookbird readers are invited to display audacity and creativity in a quest to deepen their understanding of activity books for children.

In case all the excitement is too much quieter reading is provided by an exploration of the beginning of nonfiction writing in the United States. Two further articles focus on the very relevant topics of biocultural conservation and climate change. All the articles are well illustrated, an important feature in writings about nonfiction, showing to readers rather than always telling.

In addition to the delights above, the issue carries the regular “Books on Books’ pages of reviews of secondary literature, news of IBBY activities in “Focus IBBY”, and an interesting range of short reviews of books for young readers, many of them also discussing non-fiction.