A Little Fiction Can Still Teach Big Facts

By Susan Holt

When people hear "Nonfiction Ninjas," they naturally assume we only write nonfiction. While many of us do, our love of facts often sneaks into our fiction as well.

As a former school librarian, I was always drawn to books that told a delightful story while quietly teaching readers something new. Those books invited children to laugh, imagine, and then say, "Really? I didn't know that!"

That's exactly what I hoped to do in my newest picture book, There Once Was a Cowgirl. Although it's a playful, fictional romp inspired by the Texas State Fair, I couldn't resist adding a little extra learning. The endpapers are filled with fun Texas State Fair facts, including:

• The number of people attending the Texas State Fair - more than 2 million!
• Corny Dog facts - Every year, Fletchers sell more than 500,000 corny dogs, along with about 1,500 gallons of mustard!
• In 1969, Wanda "Fernie" Winter brought the first funnel cakes to the Texas State Fair.

Those little nuggets of information transform a fictional story into informational fiction—a story children can enjoy again and again while discovering fascinating facts or planting seeds for a research project.

Many of my fellow Ninjas do this beautifully.

Lisa Amstutz's Our Christmas Tree Farm is a heartwarming family story with backmatter facts about everything from grafting a new tree from a twig to eco-friendly way to recycle a Christmas tree.

Nancy Churnin's We Thank Our Trees! (coming January 5) celebrates the many ways trees enrich our lives with backmatter about Tu B’Shevat and how you can connect with trees.

The back matter in Peggy Thomas's The Soil in Jackie's Garden includes information on the soil cycle and how to make a compost pile.

And Christine Liu Perkins's The Quest for a Tangram Dragon includes tangram shapes for readers to cut out, so they can play with their very own tangram puzzle!

Whether we're writing nonfiction, informational fiction, or fiction sprinkled with facts, our goal remains the same: to spark curiosity. Sometimes all it takes is one surprising fact tucked inside a story to inspire a child to keep asking questions—and that's where learning truly begins.