DK - WOW! The Visual Encyclopedia of Everything

• More than 2 billion copies of
  Agatha Christie’s crime novels
  have been sold worldwide.


• The bestselling playright is
  William Shakespeare, with an
  estimated 4 billion copies sold.


• The seven books in J K Rowling’s
  Harry Potter series have sold more
  than 500 million copies.


• The Lord of the Rings by
  J R R Tolkein has sold more
  than 150 million copies.


• The Bible has been translated into
  more than 2,000 languages.

263

◀
NON-FICTION
Writing that is based on fact
is called non-fiction. Authors
need to thoroughly research
and understand their subject
so they can bring to life actual
events – historical, political,
and personal. Non-fiction
titles also include biographies
(accounts of people’s lives)
and autobiographies (authors’
accounts of their own lives).

DRAMA

▶

Stories written for an audience fall into the

category of drama, which may be performed

in a theatre or in the movies, or on the

radio or television. The audience expects

something to happen, so writers use

language to create characters and

situations that will hold their interest.

◀ FOLK TALES

These magical stories

usually feature fantastic

characters facing near

impossible challenges, set

in an unspecific time in the

past. The original tales, found

in every culture, have no known

authors. They were first intended

for a general audience, but now

folk tales are often thought of as

children’s books. They are usually

beautifully illustrated with images

of the people and places.

BESTSELLERS

vast numbers of readers are referred Hugely popular books that sell to

seller of all time is the Bible, with to as bestsellers. The biggest

Zedong’s sold. Former Chinese leader Mao approximately 6 billion copies

Quotations from Chairman

Mao

sold some 1 billion copies. The

holy book of Islam, the Qur’an,

copies. One of the most important is close behind with 800 million

works of Western literature, the

Spanish novel

Don Quixote

by

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra,

has to date sold about

500 million copies.

▲ CHILDREN’S BOOKS

Today, young readers enjoy a

huge range of literature, both

fiction and non-fiction. Writing

for children is a specialized area,

and authors often work alongside

illustrators to get the story across

effectively. In general, children’s

books follow the adventures of a

main character who is a similar

age to the reader. The storyline

may also introduce the reader to

challenges in their own lives, such

as bullying or a bereavement.

◀ POETRY

In contrast to prose, poetry

is often written in lines rather

than paragraphs. Poets choose

words that will best express

an image, an idea, or a feeling.

Some poetry rhymes, but

not all. An ancient form

of poem is the Japanese

haiku, which requires the

poet to use words made

up from 17 syllables (single

units of speech) to convey

an idea or image.

Basho (1644–94)

famous haiku poetwas Japan’s most

When a book is a success,

the author may follow it

up with one or more

sequels to create a series

Anne Frank wrote

about her experiences

as a Jewish girl hiding

from the Nazis in

World War II

English playwright William

Shakespeare is considered the

world’s most successful dramatist

Exquisitely illustrated

Russian folk tale

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