Celebrate Nonfiction

Exploring the Joy of Nonfiction Reading and Writing

Writing Expository Nonfiction that Sings, Part 4

For the last few Mondays, I’ve been
posting  about the importance of
understanding the key elements of finely-crafted expository nonfiction and
helping students identify those features as they read and include them as they
write.

First, I discussed how starting with a
question can help writers come up with a focused topic, which allows for more
engaging and creative writing. Then I focused on why writing tends to be
stronger when we make a personal connection to the topic we choose and the
approach we take. You can scroll down to read those posts.

Today, I’m going to talk about the importance
of an irresistible hook. Simply
put, if there’s no hook, there’s no book.

Let’s start by looking at three book covers:

Each of these books has a strong hook—a unique,
engaging way of looking at a concept—that’s obvious even in their titles. Before
opening the books, kids get curious and start asking questions. Those questions
propel them through the book until, ultimately, their curiosity is satisfied.

Shana Frazin (@sfrazintcrwp), a staff developer at
Columbia University’s Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, liked the
way the cover and beginning of No
Monkeys, No Chocolate hooked readers so much, that she created this
wonderful anchor chart.

It highlights the book’s use of direct address, a question, and words
and pictures that focus the reader’s thinking. And of course, the ellipse at
the end of the text invites kids to turn the page and keep on reading.

Similarly, the title of An
Egg Is Quiet provokes curiosity, and as readers explore all the different
ways the author, Dianna Hutts Aston, personifies an egg’s characteristics, they
gain a new appreciation for something that might otherwise seem so common and
familiar.

The first thing a child (or an adult) does upon reading the title
of Never Smile at a Monkey is ask,
“Why Not?” Then they open the book to find out.

According to author Steve Jenkins, “Never Smile at a Monkey: And 17 Other
Important Things to Remember was inspired by that phrase popping into my
head when I read that macaques sometimes react violently to a human smile (a
display of teeth). From the beginning, I knew that I’d base the book on a
series of similar admonitions (never clutch a cane toad, never cuddle a cub,
never touch a tang).”

The concept for No Monkeys, No Chocolate
suddenly popped into my
mind, too, but only after I’d been
working on the manuscript for years. And that’s one of the struggles of writing expository
nonfiction—coming up with just the right way to frame the information can take
time.

Writers need to thoroughly digest their research and make their
own meaning. It’s so, so important for professional writers as well as student writers
to be patient during this process because an irresistible hook depends on
writers finding their own unique and intriguing lens for viewing the
information.

2 Responses

  2. I've had a lot of success reading over all my notes and thinking about it just before I go to bed and then waking up with the answer in the morning. I guess my brain works on it while I'm sleeping. You could give it a try.

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