We are so excited to have Amanda Elend join us today to share information about Connecting to Older Readers Through Nonfiction Picture Books!
Amanda Elend (they/she) received their MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. By day, they are the Content Writer for the Florida Center for Nursing and a freelance writer. By night, they are a kid lit writer and writing teacher for The Writing Barn, OLLI, and more.
Picture books, they’re not just for the littles!
While that’s true for fiction picture books, it’s even MORE true for nonfiction picture books. These are an accessible (non-textbook) way for kids of all ages to learn about themselves and the world around them.
General wisdom is that a nonfiction picture book for older kids tends to be from 1,000-3,000 words. As with all craft rules, that one is made to be broken. If your material needs a word count below or above that, make sure it actually needs it, then go for it.
(But it’s helpful to know the rules before you break them.)
Most other standards for picture books apply for nonfiction:
Simple and clear language
Strong page and line breaks
If it makes sense for your subject… PLAY! It’s not as expected in nonfiction, which makes it all the more fun.
There are many different types of nonfiction picture books, and people have categorized them in various ways. We’ll use Melissa Stewart’s Five Kinds of Nonfiction for this post: active, browseable, traditional, expository literature, and narrative.
The first three are similar to encyclopedias (or how-to guides, in the case of active nonfiction). Active, browseable, and traditional are a common type of nonfiction picture books for older kids who are looking for a broad overview of a topic, similar to what they see in school. Those are pretty straightforward. So, in this post, we’ll focus on the two that live a bit closer to fiction: expository literature and narrative.
Expository Literature
Expository literature (also called expository nonfiction) consists of facts and information about a specific, narrow topic presented in a creative way. This type of nonfiction picture book makes use of craft tools like personification, lyrical language, and voice. A great example of this is Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox, illustrated by Nancy Davis.
This is a cumulative picture book, so each page builds on the next. It begins much like a fairy tale:
“You are older than the dinosaurs.
Older than the earth.
Older than the sun and all the planets.
You are older than the stars.
You are as old as the universe itself.”
Talk about a hook! And note the direct address, connecting to the reader right away by addressing them (“you”). You also see here the way the story gets straight to the point. Much like an essay, nonfiction begins by telling people what they’re going to see, then shows them, then tells them what they saw. But here, in these fiction-y nonfiction picture books (that’s a technical term), the way it is told, shown, and told again, is often lyrical and unique.
While Older Than the Stars works for younger kids, the second spread reinforces for older readers that this isn’t just kids’ stuff. Most spreads consist of sidebars full of information that will keep older kids interested, such as:
“Billions of years ago, the universe popped into existence. It was smaller than a speck of dust, but so heavy no one could have picked it up.
Suddenly, BANG!—the tiny universe swelled up like the fastest growing bubble ever.”
The use of this engaging voice (more on that later), in addition to the cumulative format, direct address, and lyrical language, PLUS excellent information—it all works together to keep older readers connected.
Narrative Nonfiction
Narrative nonfiction is a focused story (or narrative) with real people/things/animals in real places doing what they actually did. With this type of nonfiction, the people/things/animals become characters, the places become settings, and the things they did? That’s plot.
Yep -- narrative nonfiction has all the trimmings of fiction: scenes, rising tension, climax, and (most often) some form of three-act structure. At minimum, most include:
Introduction
Build/escalation
Conclusion
Narrative nonfiction allows authors to take nonfiction even further into the realm of fiction than expository literature does, telling a full story that can engage a reader exactly the way fiction does. Picture book biographies fall naturally into this category, including the example I’ll use here: Mac Barnett and Sarah Jacoby’s The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown.
There are so many picture book biographies out there these days, but I chose this one because of its additional craft elements. Barnett makes heavy use of metafiction and direct address in this book, speaking to the reader with a respect that assumes they are in on the joke with him. (A great way to reach older readers that we saw in Older Than the Stars, as well.)
Barnett is extremely playful and meta in this story, referencing Margaret Wise Brown’s own meta-y The Important Book, as well as Barnett’s book itself and publishing in general:
“Now here is something I believe.
(I know there are only 23 pages left in this book, but it’s important.)”
And here is where I elaborate on voice, aka the sharpest tool in the toolbox for authors of expository or narrative nonfiction picture books for older readers.
Voice is such an intriguing hook for all readers, but for older readers who might think picture books aren’t for them, your voice can prove them wrong. You can make them feel like a friend is telling them this, a funny teacher, a nerdy professional, the possibilities are endless. If you feel overwhelmed, direct address is a great place to start.
(If you want additional voice-y examples, Dave Eggers’ Her Right Foot and This Bridge Will Not Be Gray are exactly what I’m talking about.)
Active, browseable, and traditional nonfiction picture books are great for kids who are interested in a broad subject (space) and want to know as much as possible about that subject. But if you want to take a deep dive into something weird or interesting or strange-but-true, older readers of all different stripes are ready and waiting for your creative takes on nonfiction.
