Wonderful Nonfiction Writer!

Cover of the book: Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart.Have you ever wondered what happens under the snow (Under The Snow)? Have you ever wondered how monkeys enable us to have chocolate (No Monkeys No Chocolate)? Have you ever wondered if all spit is the same (Spit-acular!)?  Then you will love Melissa Stewart’s books! Ms. StewarBook cover of No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart.t came to visit the 4th grade classes on December 15th, 16th and 18th. She met with the whole grade and each class two times in the library.

Melissa Stewart, a Massachusetts author, shared some information about herself and some of her nonfiction books. She writes for all audiences. One Book cover for Spit-acular by Melissa Stewart.of the books she wrote is Spit-tacular, which is a book about humans’ and animal’s spit. She uses great adjectives to describe saliva … “drool, drivel, dribble, slaver, slobber, spittle, sputum, spew, loogie, lungie [and] gob”.

We wondered what influenced her to be an author. She explained, when she was our age, she loved science. When in college, working on a degree in biology, a professor suggested she should be an author.

She has written more than 150 nonfiction books and we were curious as to why she only wrote nonfiction books. “For me, I think there are some authors who love to create stories, make up stories and invent worlds. But for me, I think the real world is just so interesting and so amazing that I try to learn as much as I can and share it with other people. So that is why I write nonfiction books.”

Since she likes writing non-fiction, we wondered if she had a favorite topic to research. She shared the following topics:

  • “all science,
  • animals,
  • plants,
  • outer space, and
  • rocks and minerals.”

“Everything about the writing process,” is what she likes about writing. Her process is to begin with the ideas and the inspiration. Then she thinks about all the possibilities for the book. Next, she works hard to write her vision. Through this stage, she shares her writing with her writing group for comments and suggestions.

We were curious about what she wrote when she was our age. Picture of Melissa Stewart walking in the woods.She shared that she doesn’t remember a lot but in third or fourth grade, she wrote a report about pollution. In sixth grade, she wrote about the human heart. That is all she remembers when she was our age.

We wondered if she had a favorite book, one she didn’t write. She answered, she doesn’t have a favorite book, but she does have a favorite author, Steve Jenkins. She loves his art and his words, as well as the structure of his books.

We really like Melissa Stewart’s books. She doesn’t bore you because she keeps it interesting. She uses different strategies such as, metaphors, creative vocabulary, and entertaining expressions to keep the reader engaged. We learned a lot about the process of writing nonfiction. When you read her books, you can really tell she likes expository writing.  So if you are interested in reading remarkable, sensational, outstanding and spectacular books, you should check one out.

Reported by Luke R., Daniel, Luke B., Felix and Peter

Image of Melissa Stewart
Stewart. Melissa. Melissa Stewart’s Science Clubhouse. “Meet Melissa”. 12 March 2015 < http://www.melissa-stewart.com/about/about2.html >.

6 thoughts on “Wonderful Nonfiction Writer!

  1. Great job, guys … very interesting article, and your writing is excellent! I hope I get to read one of Melissa’s books soon.

  2. Nice job!

    I am amazed at how many books she has written! Thanks to your description, I HAVE to read Spit-acular!

    Dr. Reinemann

  3. Your article left me ‘drooling’ for more Melissa Stewart 🙂
    What is your favorite non-fiction topic to read about? Mine is history. Especially accounts by people who lived through that history.

    Great work Journalists!

  4. What a great article, guys! I love how curious Melissa Stewart is … such great topics. You guys did an amazing job explaining her to us … I feel like I was there! I can’t wait to check out what is Under the Snow at our house pretty soon!

  5. I think you did a really good job of organizing it. First you talked about the books she wrote and what they are about. Then you slowly changed topic to how she became an author. The pieces she wrote about when she was younger is another example. But you could always try to add in more about what she thought about being an author, if it was of any interest to her, and if she had wanted to do anything else when she was little. So there are a few things that you can add in, and the things that you did really well. Lastly, I really like how you added in things from the book, which got me, at least, quite a bit more interested.

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