nancyg,
So sorry for giving you a bunch of info you probably already knew! Like I said, I wasn’t grasping your question entirely. You said,
“The Maestro book has no storyline. For me, it would not be too enticing without the pictures.”
I think that right there is your first clue. Obviously the story isn’t interesting or able to captivate your attention, so perhaps it is the same with your child. A book with no storyline would, in my opinion, fall under the heading of twaddle, and therefore, should probably be put down and exchanged for another book. The fact that it is fiction or non-fiction isn’t the question if the book isn’t interesting.
We use fiction and non-fiction on a daily basis. In fact, today we have read from the Bible, Exodus: A Commentary for Children, Pollyanna, The Tale of Ferdinand Frog, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Farmer Boy. I require a narration for each, and expect good, thorough narrations, regardless of genre. I think CM did want to use captivating stories whenever possible. For example, I could read my child a text book excerpt about life during pioneer times or I could read the Little House series. Which do you think will stick with them and captivate them the most? Probably not the textbook. That’s what CM meant by the use of living books. If a fictional story can make a time period of history or a scientific concept come alive in the child’s mind, then use it! If you can find a non-fiction, factual story that still makes a specific topic come alive, use that too! The goal either way is to make the subject matter interesting, captivating, and living. Then you require narrations and expect a well-done narration for each.
Hope that was better,
Lindsey