Nonfiction – Marked for Plot

As I’m continuing to explore the ways that I can use graphic novels in my classroom, I’ve begun taking a look at more and more graphic nonfiction. Insectopolis is kind of odd, as it’s half nonfiction and half post-apocalyptic xenofiction (humans die and it turns out bugs can talk like you or me), with plenty of fun tidbits inside. Lesson learned though, graphic novels are NOT to be read on my cell phone. I’ve got to figure out a better way to e-read comics.

Read If Looking For: a survey of the insect world, notes on how bugs have affected the course of human history, ants that complain a lot

Avoid If Looking For: a rigorous examination of any particular insect or event, anatomical diagrams of bugs, nonfiction without frills or fluff

Comparable Media: Magic School Bus, the educational movie you watched when your science teacher was sick

The prairies of the American Midwest and West have always been special to me. I grew up in a rural farming community in Kansas, a place where thunderstorms and tornadoes were both pedestrian and awe-inspiring. Much of the land I grew up on gets a bad reputation for being flat, but nothing makes you feel smaller than sitting in a vast ocean of corn staring up at the night sky. Living further north (and in a major city), I miss the stars, the silence, and the swaths of empty space from the prairie.

Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie is a deep exploration. It begins by tracing the history of the prairie at a large scale: from its importance to indigenous communities to the current cash crop craze of corn and soybeans. Following that, it devotes time to specific topics: insects, soil, nitrogen, bison, etc. It shifts between testimonials, scientific research, and case studies as it makes its case for the ecological and societal importance of the great American prairies.

Tag: Nonfiction

Insectopolis – Bad for Entomophobes, Good for Fun Facts

Sea of Grass – A Foray into Nonfiction