10 Ways Nurture and Nourish Nonfiction Writers
Now that most schools are in midst of their informational writing unit, it seems like a great time to share a School Library Journal article that came out over the summer. It’s jampacked with great ideas for increasing student awareness of and access to nonfiction. Enjoy!
Narrative & Expository: Two Nonfiction Writing Styles
Over the holiday break, I spent some time thinking about what I’d share on this blog over the next few months and decided to take a look at my most popular post of all time. The answer surprised me, so I’m sharing it again for folks who might have missed it. Should I write about […]
15 Favorite STEM Books of 2023
Today I’m finishing up my posts for 2023 with my annual list of favorite STEM books. I usually try to limit it to 10 titles, but this year’s list includes an astonishing 15 books because I just couldn’t narrow it down. It was a stellar year for nonfiction, and for STEM titles in particular. Six of […]
Sibert Smackdown! There’s Still Time!
The American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards are 6 weeks away. I can’t wait to find who the winners will be, can you? As a nonfiction lover, the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal is my favorite award of all. And that’s why I started the Sibert Smackdown six years ago. It’s a fun activity for students […]
Featuring Nonfiction in One School, One Book Programs
One School, One Book programs are a terrific way to bring a whole school community together. You can find plenty of helpful resources for planning these events online. You can also find lists of suggested books. But as you peruse these lists, you’ll notice something missing—nonfiction. Since research shows that most kids enjoy nonfiction as much […]
How Young Writers Can Avoid Plagiarism, Part 2
On Tuesday, I shared a video in which I discuss how two personal experiences helped me develop the lens of gratitude that makes my new book Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight so much more than just a matter-of-fact book about how moonlight affects animals. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to view it and […]
How Young Writers Can Avoid Plagiarism, Part 1
Yesterday was the Full Beaver Moon, so it seems like the perfect time to share the video that accompanies my new book, Thank You, Moon: Celebrating Nature’s Nightlight. On October 24, I wrote a blog post discussing how two personal experiences helped me make Thank You, Moon a unique book that only I could write. The […]
It’s Time for the Sibert Smackdown!
The Sibert Smackdown is an activity intended to build enthusiasm for the Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, which is given each year as part of the American Library Association’s annual Youth Media Awards. It focuses on picture books because they are more manageable to read in a school setting. Here’s how it works. Students in grades 3-8 read the […]
Thank You, Moon: Making It Personal
Once I had a plan for how to organize the animal examples in Thank You, Moon, I needed a beginning and an ending. In early drafts, I started by contrasting bright nights and dark ones, but I kept looking back at my original brainstorming sheet. I loved the phrase “constant companion in space” and I wanted […]
Thank You, Moon: Choosing a Text Structure
Last week, I described how I decided to look at the role of the Moon in animals’ lives through the lens of gratitude. That was an important first step in creating Thank You, Moon, but I still needed a text structure, and that’s often the biggest challenge for me. Nearly all narrative nonfiction has a sequence […]