1. ELE 616 Research in Children’s Literature 1
Fall 2011
Informational and
Biographical Literature:
Bears . . . and Teddies!

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What is informational literature?
• Opinions differ about what is meant by
informational literature
– [Some use] the term expository-informational text to refer to
titles that are report-like and use expository text structures.
– More frequently, the term informational text is used
synonymously with nonfiction.
– Nonfiction is also the term recognized in the Dewey Decimal
and Library of Congress systems.

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nonfiction
– Prose literary works describing events that
actually occurred and characters or
phenomena that actually exist or existed in
the past. In a more general sense, any piece
of prose writing in which the content is not
imagined by the author. In libraries that
use Library of Congress Classification
(LCC) or Dewey Decimal Classification
(DDC), nonfiction is shelved by call
number. Compare with fiction. See also:
documentary and faction. .

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What about faction?
• Confusing!
1. A group of people, especially within a
political organization, who express a shared
belief or opinion different from people who
are not part of the group.
2. A form of literature, film etc., that treats real
people or events as if they were fiction;
a mix of fact and fiction
• Faction in Wiktionary

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Informational Books
• Definition:
– Informational books deal exclusively with factual material
presented to instruct the reader. They are generally consider to
be functional or utilitarian books and not part of literature.
Children, however, do not always separate fiction and nonfiction
and there is an interest/need to have informative books which
also appeal to the aesthetic.
– We have become accustomed to informational books being dry
and dull; however, there is no reason why nonfiction books
cannot adhere to finer literary standards and hold our interests
as would a good novel.
• LSC 300 L Literature for Children Mary E. Brown, Ph.D. Informational and reference
books

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Writing Nonfiction for Children
• Non-fiction has long been seen as the poor relation in
children’s books, inferior to fiction in both quality and
sales. But in recent years, leading figures working in
children’s books have realized that children should
have access to the same high-quality information
writing that adult readers take for granted.
– The Real World is a Great Story Too: Author Nicola Davies and editor
Caroline Royds talk to Madelyn Travis about developments in non-fiction
for children.

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Eleven Tips for Writing Successful Nonfiction for Kids
1. Tap into your Ew!, Phew!, and Cool! - Think
like a kid.
2. Play with words
3. Be Conversational
4. Try Unusual Formats.
5. Link new information to
something
kids already know.
6. Include activities.

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Eleven Tips for Writing Successful Nonfiction for Kids
7. Use storytelling techniques.
8. Narrow your topic.
9. Use reliable sources.
10. Know your market.
11. Do photo research.
– Fiona Bayrock is the author of
BUBBLE HOME AND FISH FARTS
(Charlesbridge) and several other
quirky science books for kids.

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American Library Association’s definition
• Information books are
defined as those written and
illustrated to present, organize and
interpret documentable factual material
for children. There are no limitations as to
the character of the book, although poetry
and traditional literature are not eligible.
Honor books may be named; they shall be
books that are truly distinguished.
– (Robert F.) Sibert Informational Book Award
Terms and criteria

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In Quest of Excellence: The Sibert Medal
• Beyond Authority, Passion • Supportive Ancillary
• An Abiding Respect for Children Material
• Fitting and Eloquent Literary Style • Format Following
• Strategic and Artful Graphics Function
• Commitment to Accuracy and • Apt and Appealing Book
Clarity Design
• Thorough and Thoroughly • Stimulating Overall
Explained Documentation Presentation
• Inviting Extensions
• Organized to Ease Access and
Enhance Meaning
• Clear Delineation of Fact
• Multilayered Content

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2011 Winner of Sibert Medal
•
– Follow intrepid animal lovers Sy Montgomery and Nic Bishop on a ten-day
excursion to witness the exciting events in the life of the kakapo. By turns
emotional, fascinating, dangerous, and hilarious, Montgomery’s and
Bishop’s sensitive and scientific chronicle explores all there is to know
about these “winged weirdos.”
–

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One of the 2009 Sibert Honor books

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Another nonfiction award
• NCTE Orbis Pictus Nonfiction Award
– NCTE, through the Committee on the
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding
Nonfiction for Children, has established an annual award
for promoting and recognizing excellence in the writing of
nonfiction for children. The name Orbis Pictus,
commemorates the work of Johannes Amos Comenius,
Orbis Pictus—The World in Pictures (1657), considered to
be the first book actually planned for children.
Read more about how Orbis Pictus Award-winning books
are created and chosen in the NCTE book The Best in
Children’s Nonfiction Reading, Writing, and Teaching Orbis
Pictus Award Books (2001).

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Criteria for the Orbis Pictus Award
• Each nomination should meet the following literary
criteria:
– Accuracy—facts current and complete, balance of fact and theory,
varying point of view, stereotypes avoided, author’s qualifications
adequate, appropriate scope, authenticity of detail
– Organization—logical development, clear sequence,
interrelationships indicated, patterns provided (general-to-specific,
simple-to-complex, etc.)
– Design—attractive, readable, illustrations complement text,
placement of illustrative material appropriate and complementary,
appropriate media, format, type
– Style—writing is interesting, stimulating, reveals author's
enthusiasm for subject; curiosity and wonder encouraged,
appropriate terminology, rich language

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2011 winner of Orbis Pictis
• Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring
– It took more than a year and the
imaginations of many talented people for
“Appalachian Spring,” the dance created by Martha
Graham, to be performed on stage for the first time. The
result was an American classic. This is the story of how it
happened.
•
• Also a Sibert Honor Book for 2011.

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A 2011 Honor Book for Orbis Pictus
• Mammoths and Mastodons: Titans of the
Ice Age by Cheryl Bardoe
(Abrams Books for Young Readers).
– Drawing on the recent discovery of a
fully-frozen, 40,000-year-old baby mammoth, this book
explores the latest theories about how these colossal
creatures fit into their Ice Age landscape—
and how learning about them could help
us keep modern elephants from suffering
their fate of extinction.

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Nonfiction about Bears?
Mark Newman; photographs by Mark
Newman
Henry Holt and Co., October 2010
Grade Range: p to 3, Age Range: 4 to 8
ISBN: 978-0-8050-8999-8, ISBN10: 0-8050-
8999-3,
Picture Book Nonfiction, 8.5 x 11 inches, 32
pages, full-color photographs,
Awards: Orbis Pictus Recommended Title

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Biographical literature
• biography
– A carefully researched, relatively full narrative
account of the life of a specific person or closely
related group of people, written by another. The
biographer selects the most interesting and important
events with the intention of elucidating the character
and personality of the biographee and placing the
subject's life in social, cultural, and historical context.
An authorized biography, written with the consent
and sometimes the cooperation of its subject, may be
less critical than an unauthorized biography.

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• Biographies and Memoirs
– The mere mention of the biography genre is
sometimes enough to cause the eyes to glaze over,
especially if you were assigned it once too often in
school. Then too, it used to be that biographies
written for kids seemed to make the life of even the
most exciting person dull. Yet biographies are the
favorite genre of many lifetime readers. Biographies
can and should provide a way to personalize history,
to discover the motivation behind some interesting
people and perhaps awaken a new interest or passion.

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• Approaches to biography (degree of authenticity):
– Authentic biography -- attempts to convey the factual
information of a person’s life; does not include any
unsupported facts, facts supported by reliable research;
rarely includes dialogue--unless taken from letters or diaries
or reliable personal recollections.
– Fictionalized biography -- dramatizes events; creates dialogue
and scenes to make the story more interesting; good
fictionalized biography will not create scenes that did not
happen.
– Biographical fiction -- pure fanciful invention with only
passing regard to the historical facts.
• LSC 300 L Literature for Children Mary E. Brown, Ph.D. Biography

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Biography vs. biographical fiction
• Sarah Miller
(Author of Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller):
– A biography is strictly facts - no invention. Unfortunately,
many children’s biographies are a muddy mix of facts and
invented conversations. Some authors believe that kids won’t
read a book that doesn’t have the feel of a story, so they
make up scenes and dialogue to get the facts across in a more
“entertaining” way. That really bugs me.
– Historical fiction on the other hand is a story based on facts.
I believe good historical fiction requires just as much
research as non-fiction.
• Interview with Sarah Miller, October 1, 2007

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A 2011 Orbis Pictus
biographical honor book
• The Extraordinary Mark Twain
(According to Susy)
By Barbara Kerley. Illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham
Kerley and Fotheringham (What to Do About Alice?) pair up
again to offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of another famous
family… Author notes about Susy and her father, a time line of
Twain's life, and tips for writing an “extraordinary biography”
complete this accessible and inventive vision of an American
legend.
– Publishers Weekly, starred review
– From Barbara Kerley’s homepage

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An author of biographies for children

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Teddy Roosevelt and the Teddy Bear
•
–
– The original cartoon A later version
From Teddy Roosevelt Association From The History of the Teddy Bear

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Biography raising consciousness
• African American Biography

26. Are Nonfiction and Biography “Just 26
the Facts, Ma’am”?
From
Mickenberg,
Julia.
(2002). “Civil
Rights, History
and the Left:
Inventing the
Juvenile Black
Biography.”
Melus 27, 65-93