Non fiction can sound like nonfun to a kid. (Loosely quoting Andrea Davis Pinkney at Picture Book Summit). In this episode we discuss the many wonderful things that should go into good nonfiction for children: great ideas, careful research, excitement, humor, and an understanding of your audience. But most of the elements of good nonfiction can be boiled down to three key elements: focus, vitality, and appeal.
In the show notes you'll get a link to 10 mistakes writers don't use, how to write tips, and a link to a great article that you'll want to bookmark for when you're choosing character names.
Our listener question of the week is from Robyn Campbell, who asks, "Can you explain the importance of stressed and unstressed syllables in prose picture books to help guide the rhythm. Can you explain it? (Better than I just did!)
Our ICL faculty answers!