Nonfiction writing is far more creative today than it was when I was a child. For example, Jessica Lanan, another Colorado author, wrote and illustrated the picture book JUMPER: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A BACKYARD JUMPING SPIDER. It came out in 2023 from Roaring Book Press and has received several awards already. Instead of using expository writing (which is still useful. I use it for my educational writing all the time), Jessica used a narrative nonfiction style to engage children on a whole new level. Jessica also writes from second-person perspective to pull children in even closer. For example, it begins with “What if you were very small? Smaller than a cat or a dog, a bar of soap, or a bottle cap. As small as a bean,” with each phrase typed smaller than the last.
Jessica’s art is also engaging, with close-ups of Jumper’s world, including extended spreads of how Jumper sees his world. We have a lot of jumping spiders in Colorado and they’re easy to take for granted, or to be annoyed by, such as when I found one on my car’s dashboard while driving recently. I had to pull over to avoid driving spider-distracted. But after reading this, jumping spiders look and sound so amazing, part of me wanted to see if I could jump as far as a jumping spider. I wouldn’t be surprised to see my grandchildren jumping from couch to couch yelling, “Look! I’m a jumping spider.” Even better, hopefully they’ll go outside and try to find one. That’s my preferred place to observe them. There’s something about being in nature with kids that creates calm and curiousity. It’s one of my favorite summertime pastimes.
I too enjoy writing narrative nonfiction. It’s so fun! So, if it’s been a while since you picked up a nonfiction picture book, maybe go check a one of the many new narrative nonfiction ones. You don’t even have to have a child to enjoy them! Jessica Lanan’s JUMPER would be a good one to start with.
Jenny Crooks-Johnson 