Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

That sneaky octopus has been hiding for a day or two, but fear not…author Randi Sonenshine is here with a post on how she lured that fascinating and elusive creature out with lyrical nonfiction! 

Randi’s offering a GIVEAWAY! Just leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT!

Congrats to Jolene Gutiérrez, winner of a signed copy of ÁNH’S NEW WORD from Hanh Bui! 

Lyrical Nonfiction: The Heartbeat of My Writing Life

by Randi Sonenshine

When I was growing up, we owned a set of 1972 Funk & Wagnall’s encyclopedias. I vividly remember the cool, pebbled surface of the faux leather burgundy cover, the brightness of the gold-embossed letters, and the significant heft of the volume in my hands. Many afternoons, I sat in our dark-paneled den reading random entries in those treasured volumes. I also devoured books of poetry.

Not once, though, do I remember picking up a nonfiction trade book outside of school. In those days, it was dry, unappealing…sterile, almost, and it was like that for years.

In recent years, however, the genre has seen dramatic changes, rising to star-status in the landscape of children’s literature. Offerings have increased in quality, reader-appeal, and the variety of formats. One of these formats is lyrical nonfiction, a hybrid genre  which combines elements of nonfiction, informational text, and poetry. It’s no wonder that is where my writer’s heart found a home.

Like other forms of nonfiction, lyrical nonfiction is characterized by meticulous research, accuracy, an emphasis on facts, strong organization, and informational text features. It also features lyrical qualities such as an authorial voice, poetic language, artful structure, and layers of meaning, which, overall, evoke feelings in the reader.

When I was writing THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT, I conducted extensive research, exploring websites like National Geographic, NOAA, The Cephalod Page, blogs, research papers, database entries, and news articles. I also read (and adored) Sy Montgomery’s SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS, watched YouTube videos, and followed experts on social media. Two of my favorite Instagram accounts were (and still are!) @theoctogirl, the account for marine ecologist Chelsea Bennice, and @octonation, a nonprofit organization.

I also interviewed and consulted with experts, like Dr. Danny Gleason, Professor of Biology at Georgia Southern University and Director of the Institute for Coastal Plain Science. Without a doubt, though, the most memorable research was a behind-the-scenes close encounter with Rita, the Georgia Aquarium’s resident Giant Pacific Octopus, and her aquarist Zelie Wooten. I even got to feed and shake “hands” with Rita.

Working out how to weave my research into both the poetic main text and the prose back matter is a challenging and ever-evolving puzzle, with some pieces coming together easily, and others taking months to find the right fit. It’s this stage of writing that keeps me up nights and hijacks my thoughts throughout the day. It’s also the part of my writing process that I love the most! Here’s a small glimpse into that process from THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT.

Research note:

“…octopuses do sometimes fastidiously maintain and extend their dens by expelling algae, silt, and shells that may be collected from deep in the den and propelled some distance away with the aid of a jet from the animal’s siphon, or carried some distance from the den before being discharged.” (Source: David Scheel, P. Godfrey-Smith, S. Linquist, S. Chancellor, M. Hing & M. Lawrence (2018) Octopus engineering, intentional and inadvertent, Communicative & Integrative Biology. 11:1, e1395994, DOI: 10.1080/19420889.2017.1395994)

Here is how I expressed those facts in the poetic main text:

…and how it looks in the prose back matter:

My notes about the mother octopus guarding her eggs came from several sources:

The female meticulously cares for her eggs until they hatch, forgoing food the entire time. She blows currents across the eggs to keep them clean and protects them from predators. (Source: How Stuff Works – Octopuses).

I also watched videos from documentary filmmakers, such as My Octopus Teacher (amazing!) and the incredible short film, Love & Death: an OCTOPUS story (Octopus vulgaris) from SaiCos Sealife Discovery.

Here is how that research is reflected in the main text:

…and in the back matter:

What are your favorite lyrical nonfiction books, and where has your writer’s heart found a home?

THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT releases on May 21st from Candlewick Press. For a special pre-order offer and to learn more about Randi and her books, visit.randisonenshine.com.

Don’t forget to leave a comment to enter the GIVEAWAY for your very own copy of THE DEN THAT OCTOPUS BUILT.  [U.S. addresses only, please. Winner announced 5/10/24]

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