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Dancing on the Edge of Nonfiction
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From: APSayre at aol.com <APSayre>
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 08:05:35 EST
Regarding that question about the Magic School Books being fiction or nonfiction
The question of whether many picture books should be considered fiction or nonfiction is an intriguing one. I hope we?ll have time to discuss it in a future CCBC month. It comes up not only in historical fiction pieces but also in science. I covered this issue in my graduate thesis for my MFA in Writing For Children at Vermont College: ?A Survey of Selective Techniques in Creative Nonfiction Picture Books.?
The differences between fiction and nonfiction picture books are often subtle. An author?s choice of adjectives, whether or not to name an animal in her story, and the closeness of the narrative to typical animal lives all contribute to the readers? perception of the work as fiction or nonfiction. For instance, there are books that depict the behavior of animals quite factually, yet use cutesy names and adjectives that make it feel like fiction. (Note that I am not talking about animal fantasy books here.)
This question, of fiction versus nonfiction, is at the root of my work as a writer because my natural style is creative nonfiction. It usually has a narrative and drama but is based on the facts of a certain species? life. This dancing on the edge of nonfiction has its dangers. Scientists, and society, differ on what they believe animals feel. Also, even if you depict the animal in a scientifically acceptable way, you have to realize that people will believe your narrative is the typical life of ALL animals of that species. That?s why endmatter and layered text are so important in these books. They give the author a chance to put the story of an animal in perspective, using additional scientific facts. For instance, the main text may tell the story of a tadpole that survives, when, in fact, most die.
All this makes the writing of nonfiction books not a chore but a joyous challenge. Here are a few books that dance on the edge of nonfiction, giving spirit to their facts:
Frasier, Debra. On the Day You Were Born. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Company, 1991.
Payne, Katharine. Elephants Calling. New York: Crown Publishers, 1992. I love this book!
Ryder, Joanne. The Snail?s Spell. New York: Frederick Warne, 1982.
Wallace, Karen. Gentle Giant Octopus Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1998.
Add to this list Byrd Baylor?s books and Snowflake Bentley, of course.
With a warm wave to nonfiction book lovers,
April Pulley Sayre www.april.sayre.com If You Should Hear a Honey Guide (Houghton Mifflin) Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! (Orchard Books) Home At Last: A Song of Migration (Holt) Put On Some Antlers and Walk Like a Moose (Twenty-First Century Books) Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad?s Tale. (Greenwillow, Spring 2001).
Received on Wed 29 Nov 2000 07:05:35 AM CST
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 08:05:35 EST
Regarding that question about the Magic School Books being fiction or nonfiction
The question of whether many picture books should be considered fiction or nonfiction is an intriguing one. I hope we?ll have time to discuss it in a future CCBC month. It comes up not only in historical fiction pieces but also in science. I covered this issue in my graduate thesis for my MFA in Writing For Children at Vermont College: ?A Survey of Selective Techniques in Creative Nonfiction Picture Books.?
The differences between fiction and nonfiction picture books are often subtle. An author?s choice of adjectives, whether or not to name an animal in her story, and the closeness of the narrative to typical animal lives all contribute to the readers? perception of the work as fiction or nonfiction. For instance, there are books that depict the behavior of animals quite factually, yet use cutesy names and adjectives that make it feel like fiction. (Note that I am not talking about animal fantasy books here.)
This question, of fiction versus nonfiction, is at the root of my work as a writer because my natural style is creative nonfiction. It usually has a narrative and drama but is based on the facts of a certain species? life. This dancing on the edge of nonfiction has its dangers. Scientists, and society, differ on what they believe animals feel. Also, even if you depict the animal in a scientifically acceptable way, you have to realize that people will believe your narrative is the typical life of ALL animals of that species. That?s why endmatter and layered text are so important in these books. They give the author a chance to put the story of an animal in perspective, using additional scientific facts. For instance, the main text may tell the story of a tadpole that survives, when, in fact, most die.
All this makes the writing of nonfiction books not a chore but a joyous challenge. Here are a few books that dance on the edge of nonfiction, giving spirit to their facts:
Frasier, Debra. On the Day You Were Born. New York: Harcourt, Brace, & Company, 1991.
Payne, Katharine. Elephants Calling. New York: Crown Publishers, 1992. I love this book!
Ryder, Joanne. The Snail?s Spell. New York: Frederick Warne, 1982.
Wallace, Karen. Gentle Giant Octopus Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 1998.
Add to this list Byrd Baylor?s books and Snowflake Bentley, of course.
With a warm wave to nonfiction book lovers,
April Pulley Sayre www.april.sayre.com If You Should Hear a Honey Guide (Houghton Mifflin) Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! (Orchard Books) Home At Last: A Song of Migration (Holt) Put On Some Antlers and Walk Like a Moose (Twenty-First Century Books) Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad?s Tale. (Greenwillow, Spring 2001).
Received on Wed 29 Nov 2000 07:05:35 AM CST
