Behold the Back matter! Where Lyrical Nonfiction Does its Heavy Lifting

The following scenario should sound familiar to nonfiction picture book writers:

You become engrossed in a topic. You research. You research some more. This deep dive provides a mountain of interesting information. WAY MORE information than you can fit within the confines of a picture book. For those writing lyrical nonfiction, this problem of “so much information, so few words” is magnified. Lyrical picture books, by their nature, are supposed to glide from page to page with spare and smooth language.

​So how can you convey all those cool facts you researched and still create a distilled, poetic masterpiece?
​ 
Let the back matter (or side bars) do the heavy lifting!
 
Let’s look at some recent lyrical picture books that do this well.

​One Day This Tree Will Fall, written by Leslie Barnard Booth and illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman, covers the topic of one tree’s life cycle and role in the forest community within the span of 383 well-chosen words. In the main text, Leslie uses specific, image-evoking adjective and nouns to convey a lot in a few words.

Notice, in the following spread, how Leslie reveals the complexity of life within the limbs of the tree  by simply comparing the tree to meadows, rivers, seas. Her use of alliteration with the repeated “b” sounds in bright, begging and  consonance with the repeated “s” sound in silken, traps, venomous, and fangs create a vibrant musicality. Readers get a clear sense that this tree's world is thriving.

​In the back matter, readers learn that the “bright, begging mouths” include many creatures: “Insects inhabit every region of its varied landscape- from its sunlit canopy to its rain-filled holes. Amphibians slip into its fissures and birds and rodents find well-concealed nesting sites among its tangled branches.” The backmatter continues to expand on the main text with two pages of specific facts in sections titled LIFE, DEATH, and LIFE AFTER DEATH.

To Change a Planet, written by Christina Soontornvat and illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell, tackles a complex topic, climate change, in a mere 162 words. The message of this book is loud and clear: small actions accelerated climate change, but small actions can help combat it. How does Christina convey this message in such a spare but powerful way? She relies on the repetition of a few key words like one, small, quiet, insignificant, and change. She also uses similes, "like a too-warm blanket", to make complex topics, like the greenhouse effect, understandable:

​While the main text of To Change a Planet conveys a clear, mesmerizing message, the back matter digs into the specifics of climate change. Two pages of back matter are divided into sections on WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE, WHAT IS CAUSING CLIMATE CHANGE, HOW WILL RISING TEMPERATURES AFFECT LIFE ON EARTH, HOW DO WE KNOW ALL THIS? and WHAT CAN WE DO TO TAKE ACTION.

​And now, for the sparest of them all: Behold the Octopus, written by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Thomas Gonzales. This book presents the amazing life of an octopus in only 66 words! How does Suzanne do it?  By whittling her descriptions down to strong, specific adjectives and verbs and letting the sidebars unpack the single-word main text with fascinating facts. 

​Notice how Suzanne also weaves in assonance, swirl and curl, and alliteration, salty seas, to create a melodic tone:

Award-winning author and editor Deborah Halverson said this of back matter in her State of the Children’s Publishing Market in 2024 address: "Back matter is a fabulous way to add substance to a book and expand its engagement, but we must make sure that we don't get carried away with it. Be careful not to force back matter into the book. Include it only if it is organic." So choose your back matter wisely, making sure to include information that expands your topic in a kid-friendly way.

**Note: The choice to use side bars or back matter is often made after a book is sold and depends on many factors, including page turns and layout space.
 
Whether you ultimately end up with back matter or side bars, take advantage of these text features to do your fact heavy lifting. It will lighten your nonfiction load and let your lyrical voice flow.

-Rhyme Doctor Michelle Schaub