A Deep Dive into Text Structures
Back on December 22—just as teachers and librarians across the country were wrapping things up for 2022—School Library Journal published a series of three linked articles about nonfiction text structures. Even though it was the midst of the holiday rush, the articles received a good response because many school delve into their informational writing unit […]
Nonfiction Magazine Cover Project by Angie Manfredi
Recently, uber-dedicated middle school librarian Angie Manfredi posted a series of tweets sharing student work from a terrific nonfiction project she did with a class of 7th graders at her school. I thought other educators would like to replicate it, so I invited Angie to explain how she collaborated with an ELA teacher to design and […]
2022: The Year of Extraordinary Expository
Back in 2014, I wrote this post, lamenting the fact that expository nonfiction—books that explain, describe, or inform in a clear accessible way—were the unsung underdogs of the children’s literature world. These books rarely received starred reviews or won awards because narrative nonfiction—books that tell a story or convey an experience—was generally considered superior. But […]
Adding a “Popular Nonfiction” Section to My Library by Amy Jent
Back in November, I did a week of school visits at the Highland Park ISD elementary schools in Dallas, Texas. As I perused their library collections, I spotted something I’d never seen before—a Popular Nonfiction section. Wow—what a great idea! It turns out this exciting, heavily-used section was the brainchild of Amy Jent, the school librarian […]
#KidsLoveNonfiction: An Update
Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s the perfect day to celebrate the people and things we love. It’s also the 1-year anniversary of the #KidsLoveNonfiction campaign—an effort to raise awareness of all the wonderful nonfiction books available today and to celebrate the children who love reading them. The campaign launched with a letter asking the New York Times […]
Children’s Fiction vs. Nonfiction Sales Figures
In November, I spoke at the For the Love of Reading conference in Midway, UT. I was excited by how enthusiastic attendees were about my keynote session “Creating Passionate Nonfiction Readers.” During the presentation, I saw many nodding heads in the audience. And afterward, educators and librarians shared amazing anecdotes about their own experiences with students […]
Nonfiction Writing Mini-lessons
More and more, teachers are requesting educational resources that go beyond traditional teachers guides and activity sheets. So while I do still have those kinds of materials on my website, I’m also offering resources that delve deeply into the nonfiction reading and writing process from an author’s point of view. Some of these resources focus […]
Hungry for Nonfiction by Nicola Davies
At the end of 2022, Publisher’s Weekly re-printed this article, which first came out in the summer. When celebrated UK nonfiction author Nicola Davies tweeted her support, I asked if she’d like to share her own thoughts on this topic, and I’m so grateful that she agreed. Thank you, Nicola, for this honest and heartfelt essay. […]
15 Favorites: STEM Books of 2022
Each year at this time, I post a list of my favorite STEM books of the year. I try to limit it to ten, but there are usually a few extras. This year, something AMAZING happened. In November, I was invited to share my top picks on Science Friday. The show was recorded on Zoom with […]
Crafting Mega-fun Informational Writing: Voice
Like many expository literature titles, Mega-Predators of the Past has a strong, distinct voice. What exactly is voice in nonfiction writing? According to highly-regarded literacy educator Ruth Culham, voice is the personality of the writing, it’s how the writing makes the reader feel. I like to think of nonfiction voice as spanning a continuum from lively […]