Behind the Books: Woo-hoo!
For two whole months, I had to keep a very big secret. I’m not good at keeping secrets. Ask my husband. Ask my brother. Ask my mom. It’s never too hard to get me to spill my guts. In fact, when I was little and I did something wrong, I told on myself. Really. So […]
Having Fun with Common Core: More Tricky Six
I can’t believe that I ended up here at CCSS ELA standard 6, grade 3 on April Fool’s Day. It’s totally perfect. When I started doing presentations about putting the RIT standards into practice, this was the point where I had to sheepishly grin and say, “I got nothin’.” For months, this standard had me […]
Nonfiction Family Tree 3.0
Update June 24, 2024: My thinking about nonfiction classification has evolved considerably since I wrote this post, but I’ve decided not to delete it because there’s value in looking back at my past ideas. For my current thinking, please see the book 5 Kinds of Nonfiction as well as information on my website. Last summer, I started yearning […]
Behind the Books: Does Story Appeal to Everyone?
In recent years, narrative nonfiction has been getting a whole lotta love in the kidlit community. Editors eagerly acquire it. Awards committees proudly honor it. Teachers and librarians enthusiastically buy it. And yet, studies clearly show that not all kids appreciate it the way we might expect them to. As an adult, I might read […]
An Open Letter to John Schu, Colby Sharp, Donalyn Miller, and Travis Jonker
Dear John Schu, Colby Sharp, Donalyn Miller, and Travis Jonker, and anyone else who wants to chime in, Because I have tremendous respect for your passionate efforts to match the right book with the right child, I have a question for you. Okay, several questions. It seems to me that most teachers and librarians feel […]
Behind the Books: Voice Choice 2
Here’s a little game to get a stronger sense of voice in nonfiction writing. One of the books below has a fun, joyful voice. The other has a conversational, confessional voice. Which is which? When the first fossil bones of Iguanodon were found, one was shaped like a rhino’s horn. Scientists guessed that the strange […]
Behind the Books: Voice Choice
Here’s a little game to get a stronger sense of voice in nonfiction writing. One of the books below has a stately, respectful voice. The other has a lively, playful voice. Which is which? Here is a ship that holds her place. She does not sail from port to port. She does not carry passengers […]
Behind the Books: Lyrical Nonfiction
One author can write using many different voices, depending on what he or she is trying to accomplish. For example, when I was writing When Rain Falls, I hoped the books would be used in classroom science lessons as well as bedtime reading. How would you describe the personality of this passage? How does the […]
Behind the Books: A Look at Voice in Nonfiction
What is voice? It’s the personality of the writing. It’s how the writing makes you feel. As you read the following passage from my book, It’s Spitacular, try to come up with some words that describe the voice. What is it’s personality? How does it make you feel? “Spit a little saliva into the palm […]
Behind the Books: Great Narrative Nonfiction
Here are some of my favorite narrative nonfiction picture books: Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring by Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan (illus. by Brian Floca) Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad Tale by April Pulley Sayre (illus Barbara Bash) The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley (illus Brian Selznick) Family Pack by Sandra […]