Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Behind the Books: Influencing Your Audience with Persuasive Nonfiction

When I first started compiling Common
Core-related book lists in 2012, persuasive writing had me stumped. I couldn’t
think of any good mentor texts.

Then my friend,
writer and school librarian Sam Kane, forwarded me a link to this
an article in Booklist. It discusses
Common Core text types and recommends recently-published science books in each
category.

When I
saw that my
book, A Place for Bats, was included in the persuasive category, I
was stunned.

 

I didn’t think I was trying to persuade anyone of anything. I was
merely laying out the facts and letting the reader decide. Wasn’t I?



But then I thought about it a little more.

Do I want people to
protect bats and their environments? Yes.

By the end of the
book, are kids going to understand that? Well . . . yes.

Are they going to
take action? They just might.

After having that startling moment
of insight, it became much easier to pick out other persuasive books. Here’s
a list of ten that
I recommend:

Almost
Astronauts
by Tanya Lee Stone

Citizen Scientists by Loree Griffin Burns

City Chickens by Christine
Heppermann

Frog Song by Brenda Z.
Guiberson

Gaia Warriors by Nicola Davies and James Lovelock

The Girl from Tar Paper School by Teri Kanefield 

A Place for Bats by Melissa
Stewart

Write On, Mercy: The Secret Life of Mercy
Otis Warren by
Gretchen Woelfle

Wheels of Change: How Women Rode the Bicycle to Freedom by Sue Macy

Who
Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The
Story of Elizabeth Blackwell by Tanya Lee Stone

Students may never have to write persuasive
texts as part of their future jobs, but everyone will encounter them in their
adult lives—from product advertisements to political platforms. That’s why all
students should be able to recognize when someone is trying to convince them to
do something or think a certain way, and then be able to step back and
carefully consider whether or not they agree.

2 Responses

  2. I guess that's because we're like minded, Sue. Sometimes it's hard to remember that some people don't have a problem with cutting down a forest to build new homes.

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