Nonfiction+from+around+the+globe+Dostal

Traditionally, high school English courses have followed a sequence that exposes students to a survey of genres, a survey of Western literature, a survey of American literature, and a survey of British literature, often with very little exposure to non-fiction writings. While this has served the college-going population well it has not necessarily provided students with a deeper understanding of the world outside the Western traditions. In recent years more attempts have been made to engage students in “real world” English, English that has practical application in the world of work and career. But even with these changes the opportunity to expose students to perspectives and worlds unknown has not been seized. And the basis of most English courses is still literary fiction.With the adoption of Common Core and the continued globalization of the world allowing students to have a knowledge gap in non-Western culture is unacceptable. The impetus to think differently about the literary canon, to consider what students need to be career and college-ready, and to increase adolescent literacy have revealed the need for changes in alignment, expectations and experiences for students. Thus, I have collected nonfiction that represents the worlds of Africa, Iran, Mexico, Russia and China. Note, however, that some of these books are authored by Western writers. Additionally, I have selected five websites that provide current events from multiple perspectives from across the globe.

Cunxin, L (2005). //Mao’s last dancer.// New York: Penguin. A boy lives through the China’s Cultural Revolution and gains the chance to be trained to dance ballet at the Beijing Dance Academy. Raised out of poverty, the author goes on to dance in internationally and eventually defects to the US. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 4.4.
 * Annotated Bibliography – Nonfiction trade books**

Polonsky, R. (2012) //Molotov’s Magic Lantern: A journey in Russian history.// London: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux. British journalist writes of her experiences living in a former high-ranking Communist’s apartment in modern day Russia while visiting the locations of various Russian writers. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 15.9.

Portilla, M.L (2007). //The broken spears: The Aztec account of the conquest of Mexico.// New York: Beacon. Collected historical accounts of the Aztecs perspective on the Spanish conquistadors. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 16.0.

Nafisi, A. (2003) //Reading Lolita in Tehran.// New York: Random House. One woman professor gather seven young women in her home to read novels banned in Iran. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 7.4.

Sartrapi, M. (2007). //The complete persopolis.// New York: Random House. A memoir in comic strip form, Sartrapi tells the story of growing up in Tehran during the Islamic revolution, her life in the West and her return to her native Iran. Grade level: 5.8 Lexile: 380L

Shah, S. (2004). //The storyteller’s daughter: One woman’s return to her lost homeland.// London: Knopf, Doubleday. A woman returns to Afghanistan seeking to confirm the stories her father, an exile from Kabul, shared with her as a child. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 5.5.

Tayler, J. (2005). //Angry wind: Through Muslim black Africa by truck, bus, boat and camel.// New York: Harcourt. A journalist travels to the lower Sahara and records his experiences among the tribes and peoples of Senegal, Chad, Niger and Nigeria. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 9.4

Wall, C. (2014) //Mister Owita’s guide to gardening: How I learned the unexpected joy of a green thumb and an open heart.// New York: Putnam. The author discovers the story of the Kenyan gardener who, having lost everything, has come to the US. And Wall discovers how to cope with the vagaries of life. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 5.5.

Wilk, M. (2004) //The journals of a White Sea wolf.// London: Random House. A polish newspaper columnist records his travels through Russian’s Solovoki Islands and the unique Russian culture he encounters. Flesch-Kincaid grade level: 7.0.


 * Websites**

Schulten, K. (April 3, 2014). The learning network: Teaching and learning with the New York Times. [] Current world events from an American perspective. Resources for teachers and learners, including lesson plans, word of the day, test yourself, etc.

BBC. (April 3, 2014). The BBC homepage. [] Current world events from a British perspective. Resources for teachers and learners, particularly English Language learners.

AllAfrica. (April 3, 2014). AllAfrica – All the time homepage. [] Current news events in Africa written from the African perspective.

Spiegel Online International. (April 3, 2014). Speigel online international homepage. [] German perspective on European and World news.

National Public Radio (April 3, 2014). National Public Radio homepage. [] News, culture, research, arts and music, primarily United States but also with international stories. Great resource for audio files.

Central Intelligence Agency (April 3, 2014). Central intelligence agency homepage. [] Resources on countries and leaders across the world. Resource page for students and teachers, including lesson plans and games.

Great list. I have read most of them and added a few to my "to-read" list. It is great that you are finding more current books from the past 20 years. Here are some books you might want to add to your list:

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katharine Boo. It is about living in Mumbai, India

Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipović, This is a story of a young girl growing up during the siege of Sarajevo.

From, Diane Baima