Nonfiction: The New Frontier in Children’s Books

Nonfiction comes in a widely varied spectrum. No subject is off-limits, from history toscience, mathematics, nature, man, geography, economics, politics, sports, and art, tophilosophy. Children’s books are no exception. In fact, children’s nonfiction is valued asan educational aid, thanks to its informative nature on a wide range of subjects.Teachers and parents look upon children’s nonfiction as a means of cultivatinga more diverse perspective with more three-dimensional subject matter than theymight encounter in the classroom. Young readers, for their part, are respondingenthusiastically to nonfiction specifically written to have entertainment value, adiversity of subjects, and an ease of understanding. The children’s nonfiction market isbooming thanks to this trend, with publishing houses becoming ever more vigilant overthe material they select and hone to perfection.Children’s nonfiction in Korea today is growing increasingly sophisticated andoriginal in terms of concept, editing, design, and subject matter, elevating the genre’sprimarily informative function to the artistic. While the idea may seem incongruous,children’s literature actually has its roots in nonfiction. The first book specificallywritten and illustrated for children was Comenius’s Orbis Sensualium Pictus (The VisibleWorld in Pictures), an encyclopedic work of nonfiction with an educational aim. Koreanchildren’s literature had a similar beginning. In 1923, the magazine Euorini (Children)published a scientific story titled “Salty and Sweet,” which was followed by nonfictionstories intending to communicate information in an easy, entertaining way.Children’s nonfiction of late has advanced noticeably in terms of specialization andentertainment value. Publishers are hiring specialists to write or revise their nonfictionbooks, aiming for ever greater accuracy and professionalism, while ensuring a funreading experience by strategic use of planning, designing, and editing. These effortshave spawned a diverse range of formats in children’s nonfiction.While the purely informational nonfiction book still exists, most books take ona form that best suits their theme or subject matter. Some choose a narrative formatinspired by novels, adventure tales, travelogues, or fantasy; others allow the theme toshine through in the simple, attention-getting format of the picture book. Then thereis the comic book, still the most popular and accessible format among young readers.Also popular is the editorial style inspired by newsprint design, and mixed media usingcollage, photographs, and letters, among others. Collections of nonfiction published aspart of a series with the same overlying concept are also doing extremely well, armedwith clear, accurate, and entertaining text, and meticulously documented sourcematerial that includes photographs, illustrations, and professional fact-checking.There is no question that children’s nonfiction has come to occupy a significantplace in the publishing market. And so it is with great pleasure that we present theworld of children’s nonfiction as it is now. It is with deep regret that we cannotshowcase all but a select few in the categories of comic books, book series, narratives,and picture books. With amazing illustrations and facts made fun, children’s nonfictionin Korea is brewing up a storm in bookstores. 

by Yoon So-hee