Scott Foresman Reading Street

DISCUSS AUTHORS

The following information will add to students' understanding of the writing done by the authors whose biographical information appears on pages 416–417.

Expository Nonfiction

Writers of expository nonfiction may write to explain, to give directions, to persuade, or to share information.
Because expository nonfiction is not a story, there is no plot. As a result, writers must find other ways to organize information. A writer might use chronological order or a cause-and-effect or compare-and-contrast structure. A writer might also use sequential order, as in the numbered steps for directions.
For some authors, writing expository nonfiction is their job. This applies to newspaper reporters, magazine writers, and encyclopedia writers, as well as authors of nonfiction books. They research a topic that interests them and write about it. However, some authors are scientists or historians who simply write about the topics they know best.

Photo Essay

The writer of a photo essay needs to understand how words and images work together, and how much to write to make the information supplied by the photographs more complete.
The same research skills and eye for detail that are needed for writing expository nonfiction are needed for the creation of a photo essay.

More About Katacha Díaz

Katacha Díaz was one of seven daughters. Her parents moved to the U.S. so that the girls could get a good education. "Education is important in my family," she points out. Ms. Díaz has a Masters degree from the University of Washington. She lives in Honolulu, Hawaii, with her Yorkshire terrier, Mr. Keeper.

More About David Harrison

David Harrison says his life changed in an important way after he wrote his first book for children. It was titled The Boy with a Drum, and it sold two millions copies. He has now published more than fifty children's books.

More About Betty Tatham

Betty Tatham says that penguins are her favorite animals. Ms. Tatham has never seen real emperor penguins, but she would love to go to Antarctica to see them. She has been able to see blue penguins in Australia and king penguins in New Zealand. She takes an active interest in the protection of threatened and endangered animals.

Students can search electronic reference works to find out more about these authors and the topics covered in their expository writing. Keywords might include authors' names, an interesting detail, or the general topic of their work.

Katacha Díaz

The author of Talking Walls, p. 336 of
Vol. 2

Katacha Díaz grew up in Peru and immigrated to the United States when she was 15. Moving to a

new country as a teenager was hard. “My sister Ana María and I were the only Spanish-speaking students in our new school. There was a lot of peer pressure to get rid of the accent,” she says. Murals have always fascinated Ms. Díaz. She especially loves the murals by Paul and David Botello because they speak of education, immigration, and hope. These themes are a big part of her own life. Other books about murals: The School Mural and Murals: Walls That Sing

Steve Jenkins

The author/illustrator of Hottest,
Coldest, Highest, Deepest, p. 40
of Vol. 2

Steve Jenkins has always liked science

and art. As a child he kept spiders and lizards, and he liked to
draw and paint. His father was a scientist. “We did a lot of
projects together,” he said. In his books, Mr. Jenkins tries to

make science fun. “Kids have a natural interest in animals and things like volcanoes,” he said. He wrote Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest partly because his son was always asking him those kinds of questions. The pictures in Mr. Jenkins’s books are not drawings or paintings. They are called collages. Collages are made by cutting different kinds of paper and pasting them in layers. Other books: The Top of the World and What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?

David Harrison

The author of Volcanoes, p. 384 of Vol. 1

David Harrison has always been interested in nature. "I began collecting bits of nature as a third grader." It started with insects. But then it grew

into "just about anything I could carry home and convince my mother to let me keep in my room." Most of his writing has been for or about kids. Volcanoes is one of several books in Mr. Harrison's Earthworks series. Other books: Oceans and Caves

Betty Tatham

The author of Penguin Chick, p. 154
of Vol. 1

Betty Tatham says, “I write mostly about things I like, and I love animals.” When she

researched penguins, she read about all seventeen species of penguins. She then chose to write about emperor penguins because they were the most interesting. “I liked the fact that the
dad takes care of the egg and that the mother penguin finds her mate by listening to his voice. I liked the loving relationship both parents have with their chick.” Other books: How Animals Shed Their Skin and How Animals Communicate