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 passage from Candace Fleming’s
fantastic new book Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis mellifera, illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Eric Rohmann. AND, as an added bonus, Candace
is going to share some of the reasons she chose to use a narrative writing
style for this book.
First, a little background. For several years now, I’ve been using this
visual to summarize the basic difference between the two nonfiction writing
styles—narrative and expository.
But it’s important to understand that very few nonfiction books are 100
percent narrative. The key element of narrative nonfiction is scenes, which give readers an intimate look at the world and people (or
insects 😊)
being described. The scenes are linked by expository bridges
that provide necessary background while speeding through parts of the true
story that don’t require close inspection.
Here’s a wonderful spread
from Honeybee that presents some of the same information as the passage
I shared from Ick! on Monday.
Instead of a numbered list, Candace has written a compelling scene that’s
illustrated with Eric’s stunningly gorgeous art:
A forager bee approaches. Dusted with pollen and smelling of sunshine and fresh
air, she is loaded with nectar.
Food for the colony!
Apis creeps toward her.
Furry heads bump.
And the forager brings up the nectar to her open mouth.
Sticking out her straw-like tongue, Apis sips up the nectar.
She folds and unflolds,
folds
and unfolds,
folds and unfolds her mouth.
Until the nectar grows
thicker,
stickier.
She stores the half-dried nectar in an empty cell. Over the
next few days it will ripen into honey.
Candace is truly a master
of rich, luscious language. I love her use of strong, precise verbs; alliteration; repetition; and imagery. Notice how her text breaks force you to pause at just
the right moments. Wow!
what she had to say:
me, the narrative style … comes naturally. I’ve always preferred a story with
scenes and characters and emotional weight. And let’s face it; anything that
comes naturally has its advantages.
I began this project the plight of bees was foremost in my mind. I wanted to
write a book that would engage and enlighten kids, as well as help them
recognize the importance of this extraordinary creature. Above all, though, I
wanted to spur young readers to action. But action requires empathy. I wanted
my readers to care, truly care, about
honeybees. And I didn’t think fascinating facts and startling statistics alone
would be enough to elicit that kind of emotion. So I turned to narrative.
“I
wrote a birth-to-death story—a biography—of one bee, following her every
movement from the day she emerges into her hive until thirty-five days later
when, tattered and exhausted, she falls to the ground. I emphasized her struggles,
heightened tension and suspense, and intentionally created an emotional punch.
narrative style is the best way I know of distilling a story and getting to the
heart of it. I chose narrative with the goal of the writer’s profession: readers
finishing the story and maybe, just maybe, caring.
biggest challenge [of writing a narrative] is staying within the nonfiction
fence. [Facts] have to be woven thoughtfully and artfully into the text, so
they feel like a seamless part of the telling. While I want kids to cheer, gasp
and cry for Apis mellifera, I cannot anthropomorphize to achieve this
goal, and I cannot make up anything. Every detail in the book has to be
documented. It has to come from a reliable source.”
comparing this response from Candace to my comments on Monday (scroll down), it’s
easy to see how a writer’s natural affinity for a particular writing style as
well as her purpose for writing a piece play critical roles in how she decides
to present the material. That’s why it’s so beneficial to
share book pairings or even multi-book text sets with students.
variety of related passages, students can gain a deeper understanding and
appreciation for the topic as well as for all that the wonderful world of nonfiction
has to offer. Children can also gain important insight into the kinds of texts they
enjoy reading and writing the most.
After Memorial Day, I’ll continue this discussion by sharing another set of passages on related topics but with different writing styles.
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3 Responses
I have to say that each time I read this book, I choke up when I reach the magnificent gatefold AND on reading the section where the bee's life is summed up, and we discover that she has made 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey. I am now so very careful not to waste any. Love this book!
It is a lovely book, and I saw somewhere that it's World Bee Day too :)!
A perfect post for Bee Day!