CAPTURING NATURE'S MAGIC ON THE PAGE

by Lisa Varchol Perron

 

Like many authors of nonfiction STEM, I love spending time outdoors and hope my writing reflects my appreciation of our natural world. But how can the written word transport readers and elicit emotion about a place they may not have encountered? Below are a handful of strategies I find helpful when trying to capture nature’s magic on the page.

1)  Be Specific

 

I’m a big believer in the adage that specificity leads to universality. When I’m writing a poem or story and want to tap into a big emotion, I’ll often pause and go out for a hike. Then I’ll journal about the details—from the soapy-sweet scent in the air to the velvet underbelly of a leaf. I rarely use actual passages from my journaling, but the process connects me to specific moments when I felt awestruck by nature. Pouring that into a story can pave the way for readers to remember a time or place when they felt a similar emotion. Lately I’ve been thinking of these as “Whale Fall moments.” I’ve never ventured to the darkest depths of the ocean, but when I first read Melissa Stewart’s vivid descriptions of a whale sustaining millions of other species for decades after its death, I experienced something strangely familiar. I was reminded of how I felt when I visited Sequoia National Park and the Scottish Highlands. The specificity of writing provoked a universal emotion: reverence.

 

Caption: Author’s personal photo, Glen Coe

 

2)  Try layered text

 

When writing nonfiction, it can be challenging to adequately explain a concept without potentially sacrificing the sense of wonder and joy. Using text boxes or sidebars to provide more detailed information allows the main text to remain spare and poetic. A book structured in this way is referred to as having layered text, which also makes the book appealing to a variety of ages and reading levels, since the additional text layers are often written at a more advanced level. In my books Patterns Everywhere (photo-illustrated), Tell Me About Space, and Tell Me About Oceans (both illustrated by Jennifer Falkner), the main text rhymes and the side bars offer more information in prose.

 

Tell Me About Oceans, Little Simon/S&S 2024

 

  

  3)  Invite the reader into the story

If I’m feeling stuck on a manuscript, I’ll try it from a different perspective to see if it feels more engaging. In the forthcoming Wonder Why (illustrated by Nik Henderson), I use first person as a child asks questions, then the natural elements answer. The kid’s POV can encourage readers to consider what sparks wonder for them, and the personification of the sky, wind, clouds, etc. highlights the magic of nature and our ongoing relationship with it. 

Patterns Everywhere is written in third person, but it’s bookended by second person: the first spread invites the reader outdoors, and then the last spread encourages further exploration and discovery.

 

Patterns Everywhere, Lerner/Millbrook 2023

 

  4)  Trust the Art       

     Picture books are a collaborative medium. The text does some of the work in eliciting emotion, but the illustrations literally paint a picture. Sometimes we might be tempted to over-describe a scene with flowery language because we’re enamored with a setting or fascinated by a concept. One way to limit this is by checking for an abundance of adjectives and adverbs. I don’t believe in strict rules suggesting that entire parts of speech should be avoided, but if a section of text is feeling overly wordy, I’ll go through and pare down descriptors, trusting that the artwork will do much of the heavy lifting.

I’m excited for readers to see how Nik Henderson’s use of texture and color create a wonder-filled, immersive experience in our book Wonder Why (coming April 2025). Here’s a sneak peek:

 

Wonder Why, Harper Kids 2025

 

  5)  Ask Yourself: How do I want a reader to FEEL?

When composing music, we can use minor or major chords, volume or key changes, bridges, syncopation, and more to convey emotion. While poems and picture books don’t have a melody, they do have a deliberate cadence, which is emphasized when read aloud. This is most obvious with metered rhyme, but it applies to non-rhyming books and poetry, too.

The sound of words can also influence how we feel when we read them. In the following spread from All the Rocks We Love (co-authored with my husband Taylor Perron and illustrated by David Scheirer), we use several long vowel sounds (scared, squeeze, cool, smooth, me, feel, prepared) to encourage the reader to feel the same sense of comfort as the child speaker.

 All the Rocks We Love, Rise x Penguin Workshop 2024

I hope some of these ideas are helpful as you’re writing and revising. But ultimately, we turn a book over to readers, who bring their own interpretations and experiences—and that’s the most magical part of all.

 

 

About the Author:

Lisa Varchol Perron is the author of several nonfiction and fiction books for kids. Her books have appeared on state lists and been selected as a JLG Gold Standard, NSTA Outstanding Science Trade book, Golden Kite Award finalist, and Best Science Book for Kids (NPR's Science Friday). She lives outside of Boston with her husband and two children. To learn more about Lisa's books and poetry, please visit her website: https://lisaperronbooks.com/

 

 

THE PUBLISHING WORLD’S BEST KEPT SECRET: THE EDUCATIONAL MARKET

by Annette Whipple

 

For writers who want to break into the publishing world or supplement their writing income or write regularly, the educational market may be great to consider. Never heard of it? That’s okay. I call it the publishing world’s best kept secret.

Educational publishers create materials used in educational settings like schools and libraries. (These books and materials are not typically available at your local bookstore or Barnes and Noble though other work-for-hire projects may be.) The educational market is one type of work-for-hire writing where publishers come up with ideas and hire writers like you to write the project to their specifications for a predetermined audience. And they pay.

Educational publishers publish books, school curriculum, online resources, assessment materials, and more. Many publishers focus on the students. Some create teacher materials as well. Some educational publishers are exclusively online. 

 

Educational publishers typically:

·       Welcome first-time writers

·       Don’t require a platform or agent

·       Keep all rights while crediting the author

·       Publish book series

 

Educational market projects are for children (grades K-12). Books and articles are designed to go with school curriculum, so projects have a specific grade or age range. Nonfiction and informational projects tend to be the most common, so research skills are important.

 

Benefits of Educational Writing

Since no platform or marketing is typically required, educational market writers can focus on writing. Though some educational authors and writers make a career from this writing, others use it to supplement their income. For writers wanting to write trade books, the educational market can build publishing credits and can be used to build a platform. It can also lead to school visits (potentially an important part of a kidlit writer’s platform and income). And your words will inspire and educate children! (See below to learn more about trade vs educational publishing.)

 

Finding Educational Market Work

If you’re interested in educational projects, you’ll want to find publishers. You might study a market guide, look in SCBWI’s The Book, or (my favorite) visit your local library. Projects vary. You might write books, religious curriculum, decodable readers, assessment materials, and more.

Once you have an idea of some publishers, you’ll want to contact them. First you need to create an introductory work-for-hire packet. This typically includes a cover letter, resume, and two writing samples. You would treat this like any submission. It should be thoroughly revised and hopefully critiqued before sending it to a publisher.

 

The Writing Samples

My big tip for creating your writing samples is to use a mentor text to guide you. If you want to write for Capstone or Lerner or Mitchell Lane, borrow some of their recently published books—or a whole series—from the library. Then study the text closely and create a manuscript that would fit into the series.

If you want to write for new readers, don’t just say it in your cover letter. Writing for young readers is challenging, so be sure to show your skills in a writing sample.

 

Want More Info?

NF Fest has more information for you.

• Writing for the Educational Market: A Research Junkie’s Dream by Carol Kim
• Which Category of Nonfiction Is Best by Lionel Bender 

I’ve written some blog posts, too.

• Writing for the Educational Market
• What Are Educational and Trade Publishers?
• Writing for Grade Levels

If you still want more information, keep an eye on my schedule because I’m teaching a workshop soon. I also highly recommend Laura Purdie Salas’s book called Writing for the Educational Market.

 

Ready to dive into the publishing world’s best kept secret? Choose an age-appropriate topic. After researching, use a published mentor text to create a writing sample. Do that again for a different topic for your second writing sample. Finish your introductory packet with a cover letter and resume and get it all critiqued.

About the Author: 

Annette Whipple celebrates curiosity and inspires others through her words. She is the author of more than 20 children’s books including The Laura Ingalls Wilder Companion: A Chapter-by-Chapter Guide (Chicago Review Press), Whooo Knew? The Truth about Owls (Reycraft Books), and Quirky Critter Devotions (Tyndale). Annette is a former teacher, nature lover, and chocolate chip cookie baker who lives in Pennsylvania. Learn more about Annette and her free writing resources at AnnetteWhipple.com.

 

WRITING NONFICTION THAT'S UNIQUE TO YOUR AUTHORIAL VOICE

by Kate Allen Fox

Nonfiction topics may seem straightforward to write: you pick a topic, research it, and relay what you’ve learned. But those of us writing nonfiction for kids know the truth; every topic provides infinite stories within it. As soon as we start drafting our manuscripts, we’re faced with endless decisions. Where should the narrative begin? Where should it end? What should be included in the main text, and what should be left for backmatter?

All of these decisions shape our stories, making them unique, even if the topic has been well-covered before. This is good news; it means that there is room for our own story of a familiar topic. This is also challenging news; it means that writing our manuscript is anything but straightforward.

How can we decide what information to include in our (often short) manuscripts and what information goes? Here are a few strategies I’ve used while draft and revising.

Find your “why”

When I begin drafting a nonfiction manuscript—after I’ve researched the topic and have gotten thoroughly lost in the details—I think about what themes I want to draw out in the manuscript. I often ask myself why I care about the topic—why I wanted to write about it in the first place. For me, these are often emotional themes, such as feelings of wonder, hope, or community. With this in mind, I start thinking about how the structure of the story can support those themes.

In my picture book A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (illustrated by Khoa Le, published by Little, Brown Young Readers), I knew I wanted to draw out themes of togetherness. So, in early drafts, I included information about the number of people who have viewed eclipses, how long human beings have been watching eclipses, and different cultural practices around eclipses. If my story was going to focus more on the scientific aspects of eclipses, then I probably would’ve omitted that information.

If you ever feel lost in a topic, asking yourself why you care about it can be a clarifying way to regain your focus and find your way into your version of the story.

Think of backmatter as a “parking lot”

The final version of A Few Beautiful Minutes did not include a lot of the information that was in my early drafts. Often, my early drafts contain more facts than I could possibly include in a final draft, but getting them into the story helps me shape the narrative as I revise. One trick I love is using my draft backmatter as a sort of “parking lot.”

If there is information in the main text that I’m unsure is needed, I will move it to the backmatter. Then, I’ll put the manuscript away and reread with fresh eyes a few weeks later. If I don’t miss the information in the main text, I’ll often leave it in the backmatter. If, alternatively, the text feels incomplete upon rereading, I’ll move the information back into the main text.

Experiment!

Early in my revision process, I often rewrite my manuscript from a blank page 3-5 times. I’ll experiment with different nonfiction structures and narratives until I hit upon one that feels right. This is my favorite part of the writing process because when I find the best way to tell my story, I feel unbridled joy. It’s the feeling of finally figuring out a difficult crossword puzzle or of discovering gold (I imagine, having never actually done that). Sometimes, this moment reveals itself easily and sometimes it takes years of failed starts, but, no matter what, it reminds me how much I love writing nonfiction.

Crafting nonfiction that can captivate kids is an iterative process. One that requires patience, perseverance, and the willingness to fail. As we try—and try again—to find our way into a topic, we eventually find the version of the story that’s truest to our authorial voice and intent. The one that no one else could write. 

 

About the Author: 

Kate Allen Fox is an award-winning children’s author from southern California. After working in public health, she combined her passions for science and the written word and began writing picture books that inspire wonder and curiosity about the natural world. Her works include: Pando, A Living Wonder of Trees (Capstone, 2021), A Few Beautiful Minutes: Experiencing a Solar Eclipse (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2023), Winter Solstice Wish (Beaming Books, 2024), and Scratching the Surface: Exploring Earth's Layers (Capstone, 2025). Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and McSweeney’s. Find her online at kateallenfox.com or on Instagram @kateallenfox.

 

CRAFTING COMPELLING HOOKS

by Lydia Lukidis

 

Back when I was a newbie, I simply wrote from the heart but had no knowledge of the industry nor was I well versed in writing techniques. Now that I’ve been in the kidlit industry for over a decade, I’ve learned a thing or two (and I continue to learn.) 

One essential lesson I’ve come to understand is the importance of a compelling hook. These are not just reserved for fiction; they’re also required when crafting nonfiction. Nonfiction becomes more of an “information dump” without a hook. Here’s a crucial point to keep in mind:

JUST PRESENTING INTERESTING FACTS
IS NOT ENOUGH TO SUSTAIN A BOOK!

The cool facts are part of the equation, of course, but they require a hook, among other things. So what exactly is a hook? Simply put, it’s presenting your content through a unique lens. The hook engages readers and makes them want to continue reading. It may also surprise them by turning a conventional idea upside down. Bonus points if you can show the hook in the title like many of the books below. That way, young readers will grasp your concept right away. 

Let’s take a look at a few examples of nonfiction mentor texts with strong hooks:

1. Butt or Face? written by Kari Lavelle

I can’t praise this book enough. The hook is a question that at first glance, seems simple enough, but turns out to be a little more complex. The initial question readers are presented with is: Can YOU tell a butt from a face? It’s structured in an interactive question and answer format and readers end up learning interesting animal facts along the way. The content is presented in such a unique, funny way. Yes, it’s possible for expository nonfiction to be both funny and informative!

        

2. Pipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Stephanie Laberis

Leave it to Stewart to think outside the nonfiction box. She knows that nonfiction books often feature superlatives, as in the fastest or smartest animals. But she wanted to challenge this notion. Her book chronicles the underdogs of the animal kingdom such as the smallest pygmy shrew and the stinkiest bird. The genius is that everyone loves an underdog! This hook is stellar.

3. Pink is for Blobfish by Jess Keating and illustrated by David Degrand   

 
This book is high concept- it was pitched as “Pinkalicious meets National Geographic.” That’s a solid pitch in itself. Keating takes the color pink, a color often associated with sparkly, princessy fun, and turns it on its head. She shows us that pink is also the color of monster slugs and bloated blobfish. Again, the hook is demonstrated in the title.

4. Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine and illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth

Instead of just enumerating the different bones in various animals like an encyclopedia, Levine creates a distinctive hook. She makes the reader wonder by posing a series of riddles, such as, “What would you be if your finger bones grew so long that they reached your feet? You'd be a bat!” By removing or adding bones to animals and humans, she shows readers our commonalities as well as differences when it comes to our skeleton.

 

5. UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth's Atmosphere written by me and illustrated by Katie Rewse

I wanted to mention my newest STEM book. It’s a companion book to DEEP, DEEP DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench. For the first book, the hook came about by accident. My initial drafts featured the “scary” and ‘monster-like’ creatures that live in the Mariana Trench. After all, Google said anglerfish and goblin sharks live there. But when I interviewed a slew of experts, I found out that’s not true. And just like that, my hook was gone. A few months later, it dawned on me; the hook should follow that and ask children the following: what creatures inhabit the deepest seas, are they scary and monster like? Most children assume this is true but then I demystify this preconception through the narrative.

I use a similar hook in UP, UP HIGH. The book begins with the question; look up, up high, what do you see? Other than air and clouds, is there anything there? Most children would answer no. But I turn that on its head by demonstrating that our atmosphere is full of mysterious and fascinating phenomena, some of which we’re still learning about.

There are a lot more examples out there and I encourage you to read as many nonfiction books with strong hooks as you can. This will help you as you carve out your own compelling hooks. Strong hooks are one of the ways to make sure your book stands out in today’s competitive market.

About the Author:

Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth's Atmosphere (Capstone, 2025), DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024) and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was a Crystal Kite winner, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. A science enthusiast from a young age, Lydia now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. Lydia is represented by literary agent Miranda Paul.

 

 

Social Media Links:

Website & order UP, UP HIGH: http://www.lydialukidis.com/

Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lydialukidis.bsky.social

WHY BACKMATTER MATTERS

by Laurie Wallmark

One of the best parts about writing nonfiction is having an excuse to do research. Invariably, though, most of that research can’t fit into the main text of the book, either because of space or content. Luckily, a solution exists. You can still include some of the information you gathered doing research for your book. Where? In backmatter! 

There are so many different types of backmatter—sources used to timelines, glossaries to more information about a person or topic, child-directed information to author or illustrator notes, and so much more.

Showing your readers the sources you used can help them delve even more deeply into your book’s subject. A bibliography will give them resources they can use for further research (Bad News for Outlaws by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illus. by R. Gregory Christie). In addition, citations (The Stuff Between Stars by Sandra Nickel, illus. by Aimée Sicuro) and photo credits (A Black Hole Is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, illus. by Michael Carroll) will help them find more information about a specific quotation or picture.

Sources can range from websites (Grace Banker and Her Hello Girls Answer the Call by
Claudia Friddell, illus. by Elizabeth Baddeley) to videos (Pigskins to Paintbrushes by Don Tate),filmography (Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark, illus. by Katy Wu), and discography (Joni by Selina Alko). You can even include real world places (Manhattan by Jennifer Thermes) readers can visit that are related to your book.

Timelines in backmatter are common, especially in biographies. To put an individual’s life events in context, it’s useful to intersperse world events in the timeline (Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark, illus. by Katy Wu). For books that occur during a specific time period, a historical timeline (Gloria Takes a Stand by Jessica M. Rinker, illus. by Daria Peoples-Riley) can help readers orient themselves to the proper setting.

Glossaries can be extremely helpful for your readers. These might include unfamiliar specialty words such as scientific or historical terms (The Nest That Wren Built by Randi Sonenshine, illus. by Anne Hunter). If your text contains non-English words, you might want to include a pronunciation guide (Magic Ramen by Andrea Wang, illus. by Kana Urbanowicz) and translations (The Floating Field by Scott Riley, illus. by Nguyen Quang and Kim Lien) for these.

If you’re writing a biography, backmatter is a great place to include more information about a person’s life. This might be a narrative overview that covers life events not portrayed in the main text (Digging For Words by Angela Burke Kunkel, illus. by Paola Escobar). Since listing a person’s honors and achievements within the text can be boring, you can expand on these in the backmatter (Beyoncé by Nansubuga Nagadya Isdahl, illus. by Tammy Taylor).

You can also include more information (from all that great research you did) about your book’s topic. The possibilities are almost endless here. You can write more about cultures (Classified by Traci Sorrell, illus. by Natasha Donovan) described or holidays (A Queen to the Rescue by Nancy Churnin, illus. by Yevgenia Nayberg) related to those cultures. Depending upon the book’s topic, it may be appropriate to include backmatter about games (The Queen of Chess by Laurie Wallmark, illus. by Stevie Lewis), song lyrics (For Spacious Skies by Nancy Churnin, illus. by Olga Baumert), or even recipes (Gingerbread for Liberty by Mara Rockliff, illus. by Vincent X. Kirsch). Diagrams (How to Build an Insect by Roberta Gibson, illus. by Anne Lambelet) may be useful in helping your readers understand the text better.

Often pieces of backmatter are aimed directly at the child reader. Related activities (Code Breaker, Spy Hunter by Laurie Wallmark, illus. by Brooke Smart) or tips on writing craft (No Voice Too Small by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Keila V. Dawson, and Jeanette Bradley) provide an interactive component to the book. Backmatter may consist of ideas for creating change (Run Sea Turtle, Run by Stephen R. Swinburne, photographs by Guillaume Feuillet). A list of books for additional reading (Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark, illus. by Katy Wu) is great for children who want to learn more about a person or topic.

Finally, author and/or illustrator notes commonly appear in the back matter. These might include personal narratives about a person’s reason for writing (Journey to The Stars by Laurie Wallmark and Raakhee Mirchandani, illus. by Maitreyi Ghosh) or illustrating (Unspeakable by Carole Boston Weatherford, illus. by Floyd Cooper) the book. These notes are also a great way to explain the research methods you used (An Inconvenient Alphabet by Beth Anderson, illus. by Elizabeth Baddeley).

Backmatter will provide added value to your nonfiction book.

About the Author:

Award-winning author Laurie Wallmark writes picture book biographies of women in STEM as well as fiction. Her books have earned six starred trade reviews, been chosen as Junior Library Guild Selections, and received awards such as Outstanding Science Trade Book, Crystal Kite, Best STEM, and Parents’ Choice Gold Medal. Laurie’s books have been translated into seven foreign languages. Her titles include GRACE HOPPER: QUEEN OF COMPUTER CODE; RIVKA’S PRESENTS; and THE QUEEN OF CHESS. Laurie has an MFA in Writing from VCFA and is a former software engineer and computer science professor. Find Laurie online at www.lauriewallmark.com and @lauriewallmark.

KNOWING WHEN TO STOP RESEARCH

By Rebecca E. F. Barone

Nonfiction writers love to learn new things. But there’s so much information out there. The first time I wrote a book, I panicked. I couldn’t possibly read everything published on the subject or talk with every expert.

How do you know when to stop doing research?

These are four questions I use to help me.

 

1.) Does enough information exist on this topic?

An initial set of research is my first step in trying to find out if an idea is a viable topic or not. This is a quick survey of what’s easily accessible. Are there books at my local library or ones easily available through inter-library loans? Are there many experts working in the field, and can I find their contact info? 

The emphasis here is on quick. I’m not researching to learn anything, really, just to find out if I could learn something. 

I stop when I can answer this question with a definite yes or no. 

 

2.) Am I finding out new information?

This is a question for when I’m fully immersed in a project. I’m reading like crazy. I’m talking with people. I’m visiting museums and going places, taking notes, and adding sources to my reference manager like it’s going out of style. 

The first time I read a fact and realize I already knew it from previous research is an amazing feeling. I’m finally starting to feel comfortable with the subject!

The second time? I get bored. 

The third? …okay, time to be done.

I have to remember that a new source does not necessarily mean new material. If you aren’t finding out new information, then it’s time to wind down research. 

 

3.) Is my research age-appropriate?

There was a night while I was writing Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis’ Secret Code when my husband and I were pouring over equations in a codebreaker’s memoir. My husband (who has a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering and minor in math) and I (who have two MS’s in mechanical engineering) sat at our kitchen table, trying and struggling to follow the codebreaker’s work.

If the two of us were having a difficult time with the material, was this level of detail going to be relevant to my MG readers at all? 

No.

It was research, to be sure. But it wasn’t useful.

It’s time to stop researching if you’re far beyond the scope of my audience.

 

4.) Is my research driven by the story?

White is the scariest color. There aren’t many things more terrifying to me than a blank page.

Research can become an excuse to delay writing. “Oh, I just need to read one more book, then I’ll start writing,” I tell myself. 

But no, I have to start writing. 

And when I’ve written the story, I’ll undoubtedly have some holes to fill in. There’s always some final research to do.

At this point, it’s tempting to shoe-horn in more and more cool facts. After all, the topic is so cool, right? I (and you!) wouldn’t be writing about it otherwise! This is the part, though, where letting the story guide the research is key.

It’s helpful here to lean on critique partners and beta readers. Do they understand the story? Is the information presented clearly? Let additional research be guided by the areas that need more explanation.

And then…be done. 

It really is okay to stop researching. 

So don’t panic. There’s a world’s worth of information out there, but it doesn’t have to be overwhelming! Use these questions to guide you, and don’t be afraid to drop me a line if you need an extra bit of reassurance. You, too, can stop researching, start writing, and finish a project!

 

About the author

Rebecca E. F. Barone is an engineer who has worked on injury analysis for the National Football League, knee mechanics during car crashes, development of gait biometrics, and engine calibration of hybrid cars. Realizing her love for books in addition to numbers, she now describes the world with words rather than equations. Her books include Race to the Bottom of the Earth: Surviving Antarctica, Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis’ Secret Code, and Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens. Her next, Double Crossed: The WWII Spies Who Saved D-Day will be published winter, 2026.

WRITING THAT SINGS: USING LYRICAL TOOLS IN NONFICTION

by Donna B. McKinney

When I began writing for children, I naturally gravitated toward nonfiction topics. I had been a science writer for adult audiences in my earlier writing life. So the STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) subjects were a natural fit as I began to think about writing for children. I also enjoy reading poetry and dabbling in poetry writing. I soon realized that bringing my love for poetry into my nonfiction kids picture books strengthened my writing. 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “lyrical” as “having an artistically beautiful or expressive quality suggestive of song.” Lyrical tools help a writer do more than just tell the story. While rhyming is one very obvious poetic tool picture book writers can employ, there are other lyrical devices writers can use to bring poetry into their prose and help their writing “sing.”

 

Alliteration

With alliteration, writers use the same letter or sound at the beginning of neighboring words. Alliteration helps writing flow more smoothly and gives it a certain rhythm. It draws attention to certain names and phrases writers want to highlight. 

In Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, the poem “Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out” is a great example of alliteration. Here are some of the memorable phrases in the poem: “Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,” or “Crusts of black burned buttered toast” or “Moldy melons, dried-up mustard.” 

In the picture book Walter Was Worried, author Laura Vaccaro Seeger uses alliteration to help the character names stick in the reader’s mind: “Walter was worried when the sky grew dark,” “Frederick was frightened when thunder shook the trees,” and “Ursula was upset when the rain came down.”

 

Personification

With personification, writers give human characteristics to nonhuman things. Louise Greig’s The Night Box has beautiful examples of personification:

“In the kitchen the spoons stop clinking. Goodnight. They wink to the kettle.”

“Darkness tumbles into the air. It dances and whirls around the room. It goes under the bed, under the chair—everywhere!”

Personification helps to bring life and familiarity into the prose.

Onomatopoeia

With onomatopoeia writers use or create a word that suggests the sounds it describes. It allows writers to bring sound into the story. So a bee “buzzes” or a cow “moos.” With onomatopoeia, writers can move beyond simply telling to the story, by helping readers to engage other senses.

In Animals Go VROOM!, author Abi Cushman brings the text to life with these noisy words:

    “Hiss! goes the car that gets a flat tire.”

    “Screeech! goes the busy bus that skids to a stop.”

    “Awooo! goes the police motorcycle that redirects traffic.”

In my picture book Tiny Tern Takes Flight, I used the word “KREE-ERRR!” to describe the sound the Arctic tern makes. I watched Arctic tern videos on the internet and created the word “KREE-ERRR!” to try and capture the sounds I heard on the videos.

 

Similes and Metaphors

Writers use figures of speech like similes and metaphors to compare two things.

With similes, the words “like” or “as” are used in the comparison. In metaphors, the comparison is direct, without using “like” or “as” in the sentence. These figures of speech help create writing that is more visual and vivid. They help writers deepen the meaning of the words.

In Fry Bread, A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, the author uses both similes and metaphors. Notice the colors your mind’s eye “sees” in reading this passage:

    “Fry bread is color

    Golden brown, tan, or yellow

    Deep like coffee, sienna, or earth

    Light like snow and cream

    Warm like rays of sun”

In My Hair is a Book by Maisha Oso, the author uses these metaphors to deepen the meaning:

    “My hair is an atlas. It contains maps to freedom.”

    “My hair is a book about dance. It twists and swoops.”

 

Refrains

With the repetition of phrases or sentences, writers can use refrains to add read-aloud fun to their writing. In Silly Sally author Audrey Wood repeats this funny refrain: “Silly Sally went to town, walking backwards, upside down.”

In The Pout-Pout Fish by Deborah Diesen, the author repeats this refrain to heighten the story’s read-aloud-ability (is that a word?):

    “I’m a pout-pout fish

    With a pout-pout face,

    So I spread the dreary-wearies

    All over the place.”

A Word of Advice: Read Poetry!

Writing Picture Books by Ann Whitford Paul is an excellent resource for picture book authors. In the chapter titled, “Making Music with Your Prose,” Paul suggests that picture book authors read a lot of poetry. “The more poets you read, no matter what genre or age they write for, the more poetic your writing will become,” she says.

 

About the Author

Donna B. McKinney is the author of two pictures books, Lights On! and Tiny Tern Takes Flight. She has also written 35 nonfiction children’s books for the educational market. Before she was writing books for kids, Donna worked at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC, writing about science topics like space satellites, robots, and drones. She now lives in North Carolina with her two full-of-mischief dogs. When she’s not writing she enjoys fishing, hiking, and playing pickleball. You can find her at http://www.donnamckinneybooks.com/ .