MOWMT: Writing Engaging Expository Nonfiction with Lydia Lukidis
March 18, 2025
[Note: Click on the Titles to buy the books.]
The world of nonfiction kidlit is massive. Thanks to Melissa Stewart, we can now discern various categories:
Traditional Nonfiction
Browse-able Nonfiction
Narrative Nonfiction
Expository Literature
Active Nonfiction
My favorite is expository literature. I’m a curious person and I like to understand how our beautiful world works. I think children are curious, too. As opposed to a narrative style, expository books don’t seek to tell a story with a narrative arc. Instead, they explain, describe, or inform readers on a certain concept or idea.
That said, expository nonfiction is far from boring! I selected some great mentor texts in this
article to illustrate how creative and engaging these books can be. Check out these top 5 rules for writing engaging expository nonfiction:
1. Choose a child friendly topic
Us nonfictions authors tend to nerd out on many subjects, but can all these subjects successfully become books? No! Of course, you’ll need to feel passion for your topic. But you need to put your idea through a rigorous test before committing to it. Ask yourself questions like:
-Is the idea child friendly?
-Can children easily relate to this topic?
-Does the topic have universal appeal? Does it
appeal to the trade market?
Also, try to examine your topics from a focused lens. For example, instead of talking about all endangered animals, the book If Polar Bears Disappeared written and illustrated by Lily Williams focuses on one animal, the polar bear.
Rather than spewing out facts, Lily takes it a step further and demonstrates how all living organisms are connected. She shows, through very engaging text, how the disappearance of polar bears would affect environments around the globe.
2. Create a strong hook
A strong hook is critical. Without a hook, nonfiction becomes more of an “information dump.” A hook is presenting your content through a unique lens. It engages readers and makes them want to continue reading. It may also surprise them by turning a conventional idea upside down. It’s even better if you can show the hook in the title like the book below. That way, young readers will grasp the concept right away.
13 Ways to Eat a Fly written by Sue Heavenrich and illustrated by David Clark is awesome. First off, it’s a reverse counting book that teaches subtraction in a clever way as a swarm of flies loses a member at every page turn. The hook is how different animals capture and consume flies. There’s plenty of “ew factor” for the kids as some flies get zapped or zombified. This is a very clever way to feature various animals that eat flies.
3. Present the text in creative ways
As you edit, you’ll need to play around with various structures in which to present the
information. The format needs to be innovative, and most of all, needs to fit with your content and style. I’ll mention my new book UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of
Earth's Atmosphere illustrated by Katie Rewse because it took me a while to find the right structure. It’s a companion book to DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench. Both books contain lyrical, poetic language and frame the content like an adventure. They’re written in the second person and invite the reader to go on an imagined adventure.
The reader is an active participant rather than a passive reader.
In UP, UP HIGH, the central question is; look up, up high, what do you see? Strap yourself into this spacecraft and hang on while it blasts off. Peek out the window, what do you see?
Although it’s expository nonfiction, it’s written as a loose narrative as readers learn facts about Earth’s atmosphere.
4. Develop a strong voice
The voice and tone of your words are equally important. Is your voice soft and lyrical or is it lively and funny? There’s room for every kind of voice but it always needs to be memorable. You may need to experiment with this. It should also tie into your topic and flow well.
A Brief History of Underpants by Christine Van Zandt illustrated by Harry Briggs demonstrates this. Right off the bat, the book starts out with a slew of bum and underpants jokes and puns. It takes the concept of how underpants have evolved over the centuries but instead of being dry and fact-filled, the text is fun and hilarious. This rich language helps engage young readers right from the start.
5. Make a personal connection to the topic
Authors who are emotionally invested write the strongest nonfiction books. That passion seeps out of every word. Ask yourself, why did you pick this topic? Why are you writing this book? There needs to be some kind of emotional connection. For example, Can an Aardvark Bark? written by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Steve Jenkins was inspired from Stewart’s personal life. As she recounts in her blog, on a trip to Disney World, her family and her were surprised to learn that little monkeys called cotton-top tamarins can bark. This sparked the question posed by her nephew: “Do you think there are a lot of different animals that bark?” This was the spark behind that book.
There are many other examples of engaging expository nonfiction books out there. I encourage you to read as many as you can. Mentor texts are helpful is both understanding the market and inspiring your own work. Good luck!
PRIZE: Lydia is happy to give away a free AMA call.
BIO: Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade & educational books for children. Her titles include DANCING
Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023) which was a Crystal Kite winner, Forest of Reading
Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. A science enthusiast from a young age, Lydia now incorporates
her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she
regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. Lydia is represented by
literary agent Miranda Paul from the Erin Murphy Literary Agency.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.lydialukidis.com/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis
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Thanks for sharing these great non-fiction titles with us and how they approach NF in different ways.
Thank you for sharing the types of non-fiction! The mentor texts you highlighted are super interesting, and I own Deep, Deep Down, a beautiful book. I've shared on Bluesky. I believe we are friends on FB and I just followed you on Bluesky. :)