Chalk + Ink: A Podcast
Kate Narita, a children’s book author and fourth grade teacher in Massachusetts, has recently started a terrific podcast called Chalk + Ink. It’s intended for Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach. Not long ago, I sat down with Kate for a fascinating conversation that included: –tips and tools for teaching informational writing –the lie I told […]
Has Nonfiction Reached a Tipping Point?
While nonfiction and fiction have always received equal respect and recognition in the adult publishing world, the same hasn’t been true for children’s literature. During the 29 years I’ve worked in children’s publishing, first as an editor and now as a writer, nonfiction has been the underdog of the industry. Book reviewers and award committees […]
What Is Literary Nonfiction?
Updated June 25, 2024. And the answers is . . . it depends who you ask. But first, a little background. Both adult and children’s publishers divide fiction and nonfiction books into two broad categories—commercial and literary. Commercial fiction, written by such authors as Mary Higgins Clark, Gordon Korman, Stephen King, Mary Pope Osborne, James Patterson, […]
Behind the Books: Author Purpose vs. Writing Styles
This year, I’m taking a close look at what I call the Nonfiction Triumvirate—nonfiction categories, writing styles, and text structures. For the last month or so, I’ve been focusing on Nonfiction Categories. If you missed the discussion, you can scroll down or use the search box to see past posts. Today, I was planning to […]
Behind the Books: Thinking About Back Matter
Common Core has made educators much more focused on back matter in nonfiction books, and that’s a good thing. Source notes, bibliographies, and further reading lists are the perfect places for curious young readers and report-writers to begin exploring a topic that interests them. By grades 4 or 5, students should be thinking about examining […]
Teaching Science with Kidlit
For the past few months, Alyson Beecher, the incredibly hard-working, dedicated, and passionate literacy specialist and curriculum coordinator for the Pasadena Unified School District has been working with the amazing school librarian and teachers at Jackson STEM Dual Language Magnet School to immerse grade 1 and 2 students in the lessons included in Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction […]
Teaching Science with Kidlit
NGSS doesn’t include a K-2 standard related to the butterfly lifecycle, but this topic is often included in early elementary curricula. If you’d like to teach this concept, try these book pairs: For more suggestions and a fall lesson, check out Perfect Pairs:
Teaching Science with Kidlit
NGSS doesn’t include a K-2 standard related to how plants change as they grow, but this topic is often included in early elementary curricula. If you’d like to teach this concept, try these book pairs: For more suggestions and a fall lesson, check out Perfect Pairs:
Teaching Science with Kidlit
NGSS 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Try these book pairs: For more suggestions and full lessons, check out Perfect Pairs:
Teaching Science with Kidlit
NGSS 2-LS4-1. Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. Try these book pairs: For more suggestions and full lessons, check out Perfect Pairs: