Nonfiction children’s
books can be sorted into five majorcategories—active, browseable, traditional, expository literature, andnarrative. When students understand the characteristics of
these categories, they can predict the kind of information they’re likely to
find in a book and how that information will be presented. As a result, they
can quickly and easily identify the best books for a particular purpose. They
can also recognize the type(s) of nonfiction books they enjoy reading most.
Narrative nonfiction
tells a story or conveys an experience. It has a narrative writing style and
typically features the same chronological
sequence text structure as fiction.
The other four categories have an expository writing style, which explains,
describes, or informs in a straightforward, accessible fashion. Most traditional and
browseable nonfiction books have a description text structure, while active
nonfiction generally features a sequence structure. Expository literature, which
takes a creative approach to a specific topic, can employ a wide variety of
text structures and choosing just the right one is a critical part of the
writing process.
Here’s a list of expository literature children’s books that employ
one of the five text structures
espoused by state ELA standards.
Description
Bonkers About Beetles by Davey Owen
Freaky, Funky Fish: Odd Facts About Fascinating Fish by Debra Kempf
Shumaker and Claire Powell
A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by Seth Fishman and Isabel Greenberg
The Shark Book by Steve Jenkins
Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton
Compare & Contrast
Birds of a Feather: Bowerbirds & Me by Susan
L. Roth
Daylight Starlight Wildlife by Wendell Minor
Neo
Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci by Gene Barretta
Round
by Jennifer Ward and Lisa
Congdon
Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate by Melissa Stewart and Sarah S. Brannen
Cause & Effect
Because
Claudette by
Tracey Baptiste and Tonya Engel
Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer ad Adam R. Schaefer
If Sharks Disappeared by Lily Williams
Never
Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other Important Things to Remember by Steve Jenkins
Wait, Rest, Pause: Dormancy in Nature by Marcie Flinchum Atkins
Sequence
How to Make a Book (About My Dog) by Chris Barton and Sarah Horne
How to Swallow a Pig: Step-by-Step Advice from the Animal Kingdom by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Out of the Blue: How Animals
Evolved from Prehistoric Sea by
Elizabeth Shreeve and Frann Preston-Gannon
Snowman ˗ Cold = Puddle: Spring
Equations by Laura Purdie Salas
and Micha Archer
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga
by Traci Sorell and Frané Lessac
Problem-Solution
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs by Kathleen V. Kudlinksi and S.D. Schindler
Make Way for Animals! A World of Wildlife Crossings
by Meeg Pincus and Bao Luu
A Place for Turtles by
Melissa Stewart and Higgins Bond
She
Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton and Alexandra Boiger
What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You? by Steve Jenkins
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