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So Much More than a Fun Story—Creative Nonfiction

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If you’re looking for read-alouds that are rich on many different levels, try out our creative nonfiction picture books. Every single one has hidden depths.

Our new fall title He’s Your Daddy! is a perfect example of how deceptively simple a good creative nonfiction book can be. Children will delight in the ducklings, pups, and calves, while dads appreciate the rare bit of attention. This bouncy, rhyming text tells us, “If you were a joey, a piggyback rider,/Your daddy might be a sweet sugar glider.”

Meanwhile, the illustrations tip us off to the type of habitat these pretty fantastic creatures reside in, the differences and similarities between parents and offspring, and the behaviors that help them survive.

The playful text give us literacy features such as vocabulary words that can be explored more in the back of the book and a rhyme sequence with a surprise disruption: “If you were a hatchling peeping in a nest,/Your daddy might be a robin redbreast./Or…/a DINOSAUR!” What child doesn’t love an unexpected dinosaur?

At the recent International Literacy Association conference, we learned that teachers adore our books even more when they find out about the different levels at which our books can be used in the classroom.  Not just fun stories, our creative nonfiction picture books engage children with science and literature, while the backmatter gives teachers and parents STEM activities for the home or classroom.

Check out the STEM matching game that accompanies He’s Your Daddy! here.

Artist of the Month – Laurie Ellen Angus

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Laurie Ellen Angus grew up near the beach and could often be found knee deep in the water searching with delight for sea creatures to play with, such as horseshoe crabs, and also routinely chasing her younger brother around with them. Laurie doesn’t chase her brother anymore, but does continue her fascination with the ocean, often taking long walks and […]

Artist of the Month – Christopher Canyon

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Christopher Canyon is a unique presence in the world of children’s literature. Not only is he a critically acclaimed illustrator of numerous children’s books, but he’s also an accomplished guitarist, singer, and performer. Three of Christopher’s books, The Tree in the Ancient Forest, Sunshine On My Shoulders, and Stickeen, have won the American Bookseller Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award for best […]

Artist of the Month – Lynne Cherry

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Lynne Cherry’s first book with Dawn Publications How We Know What We Know about Our Changing Climate has won 15 awards including the AAAS/Subaru Award, AAAS’s Best Middle School Science Book of the Year and the American Meteorological Society’s children’s book award. Lynne is also the author of the classic children’s book about the rainforest, The Great Kapok Tree. Lynne lectures widely – and passionately – about how children can make a difference in a democratic society. If they feel strongly about something, they can change the world. She explains to educators how using nature to integrate curriculum makes a child’s learning relevant.
Along with Gary, Lynne founded the Young Voices for the Planet film series. The mission of the series is to limit the magnitude of climate change and its impacts through empowering children and youth, through positive success stories, to take an essential role in informing their communities — and society at large, challenging decision-makers, and catalyzing change since they will bear the brunt of climate disruption. Find out more at http://www.youngvoicesonclimatechange.com/about-young-voices/

Gary Braasch: Author, Photographer, Friend

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Gary BraaschGary Braasch, photographer and co-author with Lynne Cherry of the award-winning How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate (2008) died unexpectedly while snorkeling in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. It is a profound loss—and a reminder of how a single person can recognize the enormity of the challenge of climate change and do something of global significance about it, all the while maintaining a calm and joyful spirit.

As Lynne recalls, twenty years ago Gary took it upon himself to do all in his power to alert the world to the global climate crisis. His extraordinary photographs reached people’s hearts and minds. He thought that if people could see with their own eyes how climate change was transforming ecosystems they would be motivated to take action to reduce CO2.

How We KnowHe and Lynne had young people in mind as they worked together on How We Know because they knew that adults tend to follow the lead of young people on this issue. A League of Conservation Voters study showed that children are a primary source of information about environmental issues for adults, and the largest force upon adults to lead a more sustainable life-style. A study by corporate giant Unilever found, “when kids lead, adults follow.”

Gary and Lynne’s book published by Dawn Publications garnered 16 awards and many laudatory reviews. The Dawn staff recalls with fondness our time working with him on the book.

You can catch his spirit as well as the extent and quality of his life work in this video of Gary in his own words.

Greenland Glacier by Gary BraaschEven though Gary and Lynne knew all too well how dire climate change is, they strove to write a book that would not scare children but help them to see possibilities for change. The reviewer for “Embracing the Child,” for example, recognized this:

A groundbreaking new book for children explains the science behind the headlines, shows how young people are participating in gathering the scientific data, and tells what can be done to avert a crisis. The authors of How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate report on such a groundswell of activity by scientists and concerned people-including many children-that what could be a fearful or depressing book is, instead, an empowering book.