Category: Author Educators

ReFoReMo Day 2: Marcie Flinchum Atkins Reveals Back Matter as a Matter of Fact

3/2/2016

I wrote a poetic nonfiction book that needed back matter, but I wasn’t sure which direction to take. How could I make the back matter stand out and add an extra hook to my book? I turned to mentor texts.
Back matter is the information in the back, offered beyond the main text.
I originally started with as many recent nonfiction mentor texts that I could find. I found lots of biographies with fascinating back matter, but since my book wasn’t a biography, I wanted to closely study books that had similar characteristics to mine.

I had several criteria for the main text of the book:

1) Low word count
2) Lyrical language
3) Science related
4) Stellar quality nonfiction

Many of these texts are poems, and the back matter explains each part of the poem and the science behind it. In Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt, a narrative text with poetic language, the back matter explains each animal mentioned in the book and how it is beneficial to the garden. In all of the books, the added layers of information in the back matter help the text work at many age levels.

Some books included a list of books or websites for further reading. A Rock Can Be and In the Canyon both contain a glossary. A few of the authors included an “author’s note” explaining their personal connection to the story. Flowers are Calling and Tree of Wonder include ways that students can take action.

As a teacher-librarian, I appreciated the fact that these books’ back matter tied into curricular needs. It helps “sell” the book to teachers who need to use books for double duty.

In some older nonfiction books, lengthy back matter offered interesting facts aimed at the teacher. The books on this list had back matter ranging from 1 to 7 pages. Every single one of them was designed to be kid-friendly, appealing, and interesting to read.

.While this list was a careful self-selection of a particular kind of book that I’m writing, I also found it interesting that Chronicle and Beach Lane books came up more than once. Some of my favorite back matter was in Water is Water, which was published by Roaring Brook. As a writer, this is something that I note when researching publishers.

Back matter can be as fascinating as the main text, and it should offer another layer to your book. Analyzing back matter and taking notes helped me begin brainstorming layers I could add to my own book.

How have you tackled back matter?

Marcie is giving away a free download of her e-book, Mentor Texts for Writers. This book is perfect for ReFoReMo participants! Thank you, Marcie! To be eligible, you must be a fully registered participant, comment on this post, read daily, and keep records of your progress.

Marcie Flinchum Atkins is an elementary librarian by day and writes for children in the wee hours of the morning. Her books include Ancient China (ABDO, 2015), Mentor Text Tips, and Mentor Texts for Writers. She also holds an MA and MFA in children's literature from Hollins University. She blogs about mentor texts at www.marcieatkins.com.

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ReFoReMo Day 1: Emma Walton Hamilton Examines Economy in Action

3/1/2016

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by Emma Walton Hamilton

Writing picture books is something akin to writing poetry. With industry standards for word count getting ever shorter, authors must assess the value of every word they write. Each it, and, the or suddenly must be essential, and earn its right to be there. As Francine Prose says, “Put every word on trial for its life!”

We ferret out modifiers, generic or passive language, repetition and redundancy. We focus on action rather than exposition, and avoid writing what the art will show. And because picture books are intended to be read aloud, they should also delight the ear – so we play with language: lyricism, rhythm, refrain, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification.

Economy in writing is an art, and there’s no better way to learn that art than to study the work of those who have mastered it. The following selections are an excellent start:

1. Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Talk about not writing what the art will show! At 275 words, Barnett’s text is lean as can be – few adjectives or adverbs, except for that all-important refrain “something spectacular.” Plus a delicious mystery ending, inviting all kinds of follow-up conversation.

2. Mr. Tiger Goes Wild and 3. My Teacher is a Monster! by Peter Brown. Deftly balances narrative with dialogue, and minimizes word count with speech bubbles instead of dialogue tags. Both books invite us to discover as we read, rather than relying on set up or exposition.

4. Waiting, by Kevin Henkes. At 270 words (less than half the length of a typical Henkes book,) this sweet and quirky tale packs an existential wallop. The basic elements of a child’s life – nature, friendship, comings and goings, sleep, the art of patience – are explored with simple, lyrical narrative incorporating repetition and refrain.

5. The Dark, by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Snicket ratchets up the tension by utilizing the senses– sights, sounds, textures. Narrative turns to dialogue as the amount of text per page shrinks to mirror the pacing (with the exception of one anomalous, intrusive monologue. I still can’t figure out what Snicket was up to there.)

6. The Adventures of Beekle, by Dan Santat. So much emotion conveyed with a single sentence, accompanied by rich, imaginative artwork. “But his turn never came.” “He did the unimaginable.” “He had a good feeling about this place.” No need to say more when the artwork does all the heavy lifting.

7. The Way Back Home, by Oliver Jeffers. How little needs explaining! We don’t need to know why a boy has a plane in his closet, or how he can fly it to the moon. We don’t need to know where the alien is from, or how the new friends communicate. We don’t even need to know names. We follow the simple narrative action, and believe that aliens exist, little boys can climb alpine peaks and ropes to the moon, and - from the final, wordless image - that the two will be friends forever.

8. Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Is anyone better at word play? “But he just wasn’t like anyone else. Period.” “It was like he broke free from a life-sentence.” “He went off to make his mark.” And a kid-friendly character journey to boot.

9. Shh! We Have a Plan! By Chris Haughton. A fun, circular story told in 102 words, comprised entirely of dialogue and refrain.

10. If You Want to See a Whale by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead. Alliteration, repetition and refrain delight the ear as the quest unfolds through whimsical illustrations.

Emma is giving away one Editor in a Box revision kit at the conclusion of ReFoReMo! This kit will put your manuscript through a soup-to-nuts revision process that will make it sparkle! Thank you, Emma! To be eligible for this prize, you must be fully registered, comment on every post, read daily, and keep a record of your progress.

EMMA WALTON HAMILTON is a best-selling children’s book author, editor and arts educator. With her mother, actress/author Julie Andrews, Emma has co-authored over thirty children’s books, seven of which have been on the NY Times Bestseller list, including The Very Fairy Princess series (#1 Bestseller), Julie Andrews Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies, the Dumpy the Dump Truck series,Simeon’s Gift, The Great American Mousical, and Thanks to You – Wisdom from Mother and Child.

Emma’s own book, RAISING BOOKWORMS: Getting Kids Reading for Pleasure and Empowerment, premiered as a #1 best-seller on Amazon.com in the literacy category and won a Parent’s Choice Gold Medal.

Emma is a faculty member of Stony Brook Southampton’s MFA in Creative Writing and Literature, where she teaches all forms of children’s book writing and serves as Director of the Children’s Literature Fellows program and the Executive Director of the Young Artists and Writers Project (YAWP), an interdisciplinary writing program for middle and high school students.

Emma is also an award-winning freelance children’s book editor, and hosts the Just Write Children’s Books self-paced, home-study courses in writing picture books, chapter books and middle grade and young adult novels. Visit Emma at http://emmawaltonhamilton.com.

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ReFoReMo Day 2: Marcie Flinchum Atkins Reveals Back Matter as a Matter of Fact

ReFoReMo Day 1: Emma Walton Hamilton Examines Economy in Action

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