ABSTRACT
Information or non-fiction texts are important resources in every subject and have a key role in enriching and extending learning. The illustrations in non-fiction include diagrams, cross-sections, illustrated charts, photographs, line drawing and paintings and these help us link a text with a particular genre or text type. The recognition that non-fiction can play an important part in learning to read is evident in the UK in its inclusion in statutory expectations and in the presence of non-fiction strands in most commercial reading programmes or schemes. In October 2005, Nicola Davies, well-known for her dedication to communicating biological science to young readers, organized a conference called ‘Adventures in the Real World’ in Swansea which brought together a large number of teachers, publishers and writers and illustrators of non-fiction. While children’s fiction has received critical attention for some time, historically there was less interest in developing a way of evaluating information texts.
