Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

Today’s nonfiction picture books invite young readers in with a huge range of creative ways to share information. Here’s how author Lydia Lukidis went after finding an effective format, point of view, and structure for her newest release, UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere.

Writing Nonfiction with Kid Appeal by Lydia Lukidis

Thanks for having me, Beth!

I’m excited to be here chatting about my new STEM picture book, UP, UP HIGH: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere illustrated by Katie Rewse and published by Capstone Editions, a Capstone imprint.

Here’s a short synopsis:

Look up–into the blue and beyond. What do you see? The sky–our atmosphere–may seem empty or invisible. But is it? Using spare, lyrical language, author Lydia Lukidis (Deep, Deep Down: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench) takes readers on an imagined journey up, up high to discover the surprising and wondrous things flying, floating, and happening between the treetops and the stars in this STEM-based picture book.

Why this topic? It began in 2019, when I started writing the book DEEP, DEEP DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench. That book was a true milestone because I realized I could write about STEM topics using lyrical, poetic language. I’ve been writing poetry since I was six years old but up until then, I never used that language for STEM topics.

Having created the structure for DEEP, DEEP DOWN helped with UP, UP HIGH, which is a companion book. It’s not enough to simply present interesting facts in nonfiction, you also need a hook and creative ways of presenting the content. My hook was; what do you see when you look up, up high? Many children assume there’s not much up there other than air and clouds- but that’s not true. The strategy is to open with a critical question you ask children, get them thinking, and challenge their pre-conceived beliefs.

Another important facet in writing trade nonfiction is thinking in terms of child appeal. A writer can’t simply mention facts they find interesting, these facts have to be things children themselves will find interesting. For my book, I went through each fact with a fine-tooth comb to see which ones would make the cut. Not all did. I’ve been giving workshops to young audiences for over a decade and in that time, I’ve been learning what captivates them (and I’m still learning).

Other than the hook, you need to present the information in unique ways in order to stand out in this market. Instead of simply recounting facts in a traditional way, I structured the book like an adventure. It goes something like this:

“Hey kids, look up, up high. What do you see? What do you think is there? Strap yourself in a spacecraft and journey up, up high. Look out the window, what do you see?”

This way, the readers are directly brought into the story and go on this journey themselves. I speak directly to the reader in second person and that was a deliberate choice. That’s not always the right structure, but for these books, it worked well.

For nonfiction, the right structure is essential. Sometimes it flows well and other times, you may get stuck. It happens. Keep experimenting and thinking outside the box. These days, kids have so many choices when they go to the library so you always need to remain mindful, what appeals to them? How can you catch their attention? Answering these fundamental questions will lead you in the right direction.

If you enjoy a book, please support authors and illustrators by leaving reviews online. 😃

BIO for Lydia Lukidis

Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024) and DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The 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 & preorder UP, UP HIGH: http://www.lydialukidis.com/

Blog: https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LydiaLukidis

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LydiaLukidis/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/lydialukidis.bsky.social