Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Behind the Books: What CCSS Says About Informational Text Types

In last week’s
post, I described four nonfiction categories that can help readers and writers
make sense of the vast array of nonfiction book being published today. They
were survey, specialized, concept, and biography/autobiography.

As I gather
information for the science books I write, I often encounter instances in which
scientists disagree about how to classify a particular plant or animal. Some
say it belongs in genus X, and they have convincing evidence to back up their
claim. Others say it belongs in genus Y, and they too have solid rationale.
Classifying living things is messy. And it turns out that classifying
nonfiction can be messy, too.

Why do I say
that? Because CCSS has a completely different way of classifying informational
texts. Its four “types” (which it uses to classify much more than just books)
are literary, expository, persuasive, and procedural. Here’s how they define
their categories:

literary—some personal essays and
speeches, most biographies/autobiographies, memoirs, narrative nonfiction, some
poetry, some informational picture books

expository—Q & A books, some informational
children’s literature, textbooks, reference books, most primary sources

persuasive—some letters, essays, and
speeches; opinion pieces, some informational children’s literature, some
biographies/autobiographies

procedural—cookbooks, craft books, Mapquest and Google
Maps, assembly instructions

Here’s how some popular children’s books would be
sorted according to this system:

 

Literary Nonfiction

The Day-Glo Brothers by Chris Barton

Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad Tale
by April Pulley
Sayre  

Energy Island by Allan Drummond

An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Hutts Aston  

Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost

Mosquito Bite by Alexandra Siy & Dennis Kunkle

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman

The Snake Scientist by Sy Montgomery  

Step Gently Out by Helen Frost  

Those Rebels John & Tom by Barbara Kerley

Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart  

Vulture View by April Pulley Sayre  

What to Do About Alice? by Barbara Kerley

Wolfsnail: A Backyard Predator by Sarah C. Campbell and Richard P.
Campbell

 

Expository Nonfiction

Actual Size by
Steve Jenkins

Animal Grossapedia by Melissa Stewart

A Black Hole Is NOT a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano

Frogs by Nic
Bishop

John, Paul, George, & Ben by Lane Smith

Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonard da Vinci by Gene Baretta

Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom
Up by Sarah Albee

Redwoods by
Jason Chin

See How They Run: Campaign Dreams, Election Schemes,
and the Race to the White House by
Susan E. Goodman

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11on the
Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

What to Expect When You’re Expecting Larvae: A Guide
for Insect Parents (and Curious Kids) by
Bridget Heos

Where in the Wild? Camouflaged Creatures Concealed . .
. and Revealed by David M. Schwartz
& Yael Schy (photos Dwight Kuhn)

 

Persuasive Nonfiction

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 the Tar Paper School:
Barbara Rose Johns and the Advent of the Civil Rights Movement 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 by Sue Macy

Who
Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? by Tanya Lee Stone

Procedural Nonfiction

Dessert
Designers: Creations You Can Make and Eat by Dana Meachen Rau

Get
Outside by Jane
Drake and Ann Love

The
Klutz Book of Paper Airplanes by Doug Stillinger

Let’s Try It Out series by Seymour
Simon

Roald
Dahl’s Revolting Recipes
by Josie Fison and Felicity Dahl

Science Play series by Vicki Cobb

Transformed:
How Everyday Things Are Made
by Bill Slavin

These categories are useful in some ways, but they seem
contrived to me. For example, the “literary” category seems too broad to be
meaningful. And isn’t a procedural text really just one specific kind of expository
text?

I’ll talk more about these categories next week.

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