Expository vs. Narrative: What’s for Dinner?, Part 2
On Monday, I shared an expository passage about the red-spotted purple butterfly’s unusual eating habits from my upcoming book Ick! Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses and talked a little bit about the process of writing the book. Today, we’ll continue discussing the differences between narrative and expository nonfiction by looking at two consecutive […]
Expository vs. Narrative: What’s for Dinner?, Part 1
Last month, I began a blog strand that involves comparing two books on similar topics, but with different writing styles. (Thanks for the idea, Kate Narita!) My hope is that these posts will help educators and other members of the children’s literature community learn to identify the two writing styles and understand the best situations […]
Expository vs. Narrative Nonfiction: Dep-Sea Denizens, Part 2
On Monday, I shared an expository passage about some amazing deep-sea critters called bone-eating snot flower worms from my upcoming book Ick! Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses and talked a little bit about the process of writing that book. Today, we’re going to continue our discussion of the differences between narrative and expository […]
Expository vs. Narrative Nonfiction: Dep-Sea Denizens, Part 1
Before Memorial Day, I began this blog strand by sharing an expository passage from my upcoming book Ick! Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses (on Monday) and a related narrative passage from Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis mellifera, a wonderful new book by Candace Fleming and Eric Rohmann (on Wednesday). You can scroll […]
Expository vs. Narrative Nonfiction: Honeybees, Part 2
On Monday, I shared an expository passage about honeybees from my upcoming book Ick! Delightfully Disgusting Animal Dinners, Dwellings, and Defenses and talked a little bit about my process. You can scroll down to read it. Today, we’re going to continue our discussion of the differences between narrative and expository nonfiction by looking at a […]
Expository vs. Narrative Nonfiction: Honeybees, Part 1
For several years now, I’ve been using this visual to summarize the basic difference between the two nonfiction writing styles—narrative and expository. During conference sessions and professional development workshops, I often read aloud two books about the same topic, but with different writing styles to help solidify the concept in my audience’s mind. Fourth grade teacher […]
Beyond the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Blended Books, Part 3
For the last few weeks, I’ve been taking a close-up look at blended books—titles that feature characteristics of two or more categories in the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction classification system. This week I’m continuing that discussion by focusing on books that blur the line between narrative nonfiction and expository literature. Books with a narrative writing […]
Narrative & Expository: Two Nonfiction Writing Styles
If you’re like most educators, you’ve probably heard the terms narrative nonfiction and expository nonfiction, but you might not be completely clear about the differences between these two writing styles. Let’s start with what narrative nonfiction and expository nonfiction have in common. They’re both meticulously researched, and every single fact and idea the author includes […]
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 […]
AASL Handout: 5 Kinds of Nonfiction
Many school librarians have worked hard to add award-winning narrative nonfiction to their collections, but studies show that 42 percent of elementary students prefer expository nonfiction. This session breaks down the five categories of nonfiction children’s books (four of which have an expository writing style), offers tips for updating book collections, and provides strategies for […]