ABSTRACT
The distinction between fiction and non-fiction is blurred and constantly shifting, but people still use it and need it. Traditionally, publishers have categorised information texts within three main groups: children’s information books, text books and course books. Children’s information books and resources can help learning in school or be read at home for interest and pleasure. Dictionaries teach about alphabetic order, word recognition and the development of vocabulary. Topic books are copiously illustrated and usually on one subject such as ships, volcanoes or electricity. They have proved extremely resilient in print form even though they are increasingly available on CD-ROM. Media texts and digital technologies are part of our culture, and becoming able to read and create text using ever-developing electronic technology is part of becoming literate in an informational age. Children’s books about other cultures can tend to give an over-simplified or idealised view of particular societies in a troubled world.
