Common Core is the big news in education and non-fiction books are a major component. Although most non-fiction reading is done through textbook and research assignments, many students select non-fiction for pleasure reading. Books on current topics are easy to find and the books below are great examples of in-the-news topics.

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Patient Zero – Solving the Mystery of Deadly Epidemics by Marilee Peters – This book reads like a mystery novel, presenting the cases of several epidemics, such as the 1976 Ebola outbreak in Zaire, the 1906 Typhoid outbreak in New York City, and the 1900 Yellow Fever outbreak in Cuba. Readers are drawn into the stories as they search with the doctors to find the sources of the outbreaks and stop the spread of the disease. With Ebola in the news, this volume presents science and medicine in a new mysterious light to young readers.

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Freedom Summer – the 1964 Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi by Susan Goldman Rubin – Ceremonies this summer marked the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer and highlighted the murders of the three men killed during that dark time. Rubin presents a timeline of the period, relating how Mississippians like Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer fought alongside the brave individuals that helped end the Jim Crow laws. Focusing on the murders of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner, the Mississippi of 1964 is presented in well-documented detail.

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Mysterious Patterns – Finding Fractals in Nature by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P. Campbell – On a lighter note, the animated movie Frozen has taken over this year and left many of our Deep South children wondering about snow and ice fractals. This slim volume by Mississippi authors captures stunning photographs of fractals in nature and explains them for even the youngest reader. Now, when Elsa creates her swirling ice castle of frozen fractals, readers will know what is happening!

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D-Day: The Invasion of Normandy, 1944 by Rick Atkinson – This young reader’s adaptation of Atkinson’s The Guns at Last Light relates the events leading up to D-Day, the June 6 battle that is credited as turning the tide for the Allied Forces. With extensive photos, timelines, and primary sources, Atkinson tells the suspenseful story of the invasion and gives the reader an idea of the bravery and sacrifices of the men who fought. As the 70th anniversary was celebrated this year, there are fewer and fewer of these brave veterans left that can tell the story.

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Torey Yates is the librarian at Warren Central Junior High. She spent more than 16 years in the classroom before receiving a master’s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi in library and information science and moving to the library in 2004.