If you’re a regular reader of Celebrate Science, you know that
I have a lot of say about expository nonfiction. But ever since I read this fascinating post by Annette Bay Pimentel, author of Girl
Running: Bobbi Gibb and the Boston Marathon (which I highly recommend), I’ve
been thinking more and more about expository fiction.
and narrative, take a look at this handy-dandy diagram.
texts tell a story or convey an experience. They include such story elements as
characters, settings, and dialog and have a conflict and resolution.
have a wide variety of text structures, such as compare and contrast, cause and
effect, sequence, etc. In some cases they are concept books, but they can also
be all about (survey) books that present a broad overview of a topic or how-to
books (active nonfiction) that explain a process step by step.
at differentiating between narrative and expository nonfiction, we don’t hear much about expository fiction.
about fictional comic book characters or the Pokémon Essential Handbook. These guides follow an expository structure,
but convey fictional information.
Here’s a question. Should books that (1) have an expository writing style and (2) present
true, verifiable information through the lens of an object or nonhuman animal
narrator be considered expository fiction? Examples include Sun: One in a Billion by Stacy McAnulty, One Proud
Penny by Randy Siegel or I, Fly: The
Buzz About Flies and How Awesome They Are by Bridget Heos.
By using first-person point of view to deliver the information
in a more interesting and engaging way, do these books cross the line into fiction?
I really don’t know, but it’s a question worth thinking about.
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One Response
This is such an interesting exploration of the idea. Thanks for digging into it!