Laurence Pringle
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NEWS!FROM THE WRITER'S BLOG I.N.K (June 20, 2008) Pioneers of Children's Nonfiction: Laurence Pringle Posted by Sneed Collard III When I'm out doing school visits or speaking at a conference, I often have people say something like "We're glad to find you because it's so hard to find good nonfiction for children." At this point I try, as gently as possible, to point out that there actually is a lot of great nonfiction for children, and has been for a long time. The problem, I share, is that bookstore chains hardly carry any of it. Instead, they prefer to stock crap with appealing covers or mass-market series that do not require any kind of effort or knowledge to order. Then, (if the person or persons are still listening) I reel off names of a few of my favorite nonfiction authors and what they write about. Especially for those new to nonfiction, I thought it would be fun here to explore some of the great pioneers of nonfiction, especially science books. First on my list is Laurence Pringle. I first met Larry when I participated in the Hightlights Writers Workshop at Chautauqua back in 1988. Before the workshop, I admit I had never heard of Larry. But doing some research before flying to New York, I got very excited. Here, I discovered, was a writer working on just the kinds of books I was interested in--and thought needed to be written. Like me, Larry studied nature as a child and in college. Later, while working as an editor of a science magazine, he decided to try writing a book about one of the Favorite Nonfiction Topics of All-Time: dinosaurs. 107 books later, he is still writing engaging, high-interest books that exicte and educate children about their world. His work covers remarkable breadth, from animals and plants to probing looks at environmental and health issues. He has even written several fictional picture books. At Chautauqua, Larry gave me guidance in his low-key, honest fashion. But his work has also inspired me from the beginning of my career. One thing I am known for is writing about scientists and their work. My book Monteverde: Science and Scientists in a Costa Rican Cloud Forest, followed scientists around in Costa Rica and shared not only their knowledge, but their adventure and personal experiences. While many considered the book a breakthrough in its approach, that was only partly true. Several years before, Larry had written one of my favorite children's books: Batman: Exploring the World of Bats. That book did something few, if any, other children's books had done. It shared science through the eyes and personal history of an actual scientist. Monteverde, and Houghton Mifflin's successful Scientists in the Field series are built upon Larry's earlier, groundbreaking efforts. [Note: Batman (1991) was preceded by Wolfman (1983) and Bearman (1989), and followed by Scorpion Man, Jackal Woman, Dolphin Man, and Elephant Woman.] Throughout his career, Larry has led similar breakthroughs in children's writing. His award-winning book An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly traced the complete life-history of a monarch butterfly, told from the insect's point of view. The book is not only a wonderful factual reference, it's a model for how voice can be used to write compelling nonfiction literature. In his younger picture books, Larry writes in a simple, lucid style that never talks down to children, but always interests them. His "Strange and Wonderful" series offers a great example. One reason Larry is at the top of my list, however, is that he also tackles tough topics: books we all know are not going to make us a fortune, but which need to be available for young readers. Long before Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, Larry wrote Global Warming: The Threat of Earth's Changing Climate, a book that clearly and undogmatically gave young people the information they needed to know about this threatening issue. [Note: this title came out in 2001; Larry wrote an even earlier book on global warming, in 1990.] He's written other books about drinking, smoking, chemical warfare--you name it. Not long ago, Larry sent me his newest book, Imagine a Dragon. I sat down with my five-year-old son and eagerly cracked the spine. Reading it aloud, I marveled at how little I'd known about these mythological creatures, and once again appreciated Larry's simple style and comfortable voice. Even more, I appreciated the quiet, steady contribution Larry still makes not only to children's literatuare, but to the health and future of our planet. GUGGENHEIM AWARD! Each April the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation announces the names of those who have been awarded fellowships. The grants are awarded to scholars and artists to assist them "to engage in research in any field of knowledge and creation in any of the arts." In 2006, the Guggenheim Foundation awarded grants to 187 people (out of nearly 3000 applicants). One recipient: Laurence Pringle! This is a great and rare honor: since 1925 the Guggenheim Foundation has given fellowships to over 16,000 individuals, and very few have been authors of children's books. WINNER! On February 19, 2005, Laurence Pringle was honored as a winner of the AAAS/ Watch for several new books, already written and being illustrated! Just published: IMAGINE A DRAGON, illustrated by artist Eugin Kim Neilan. In early 2007, Penguins! Strange and Wonderful was published (and earned glowing reviews). Artist Meryl Henderson is at work on the next title in that series, alligators and crocodiles. Also written and "in the works:" Water: Vital Resource for a Thirsty Planet, and Frogs! Strange and Wonderful TRY TO TEACH OTHERS Many people are not well-informed about the issue of climate change. Some have been midled. They may have read, or heard on talk-radio, that Earth's climate is not changing, or that human use of fossil fuels is not the main cause. Misinformation like this is still being spread. (If you wonder why, think of the huge industries that might suffer when people all over Earth use less oil, gasoline, and coal. Certain businesses have put great effort into confusing the public, trying to delay change.) Armed with good information about climate change, you can try to clear up some confusion about this vital issue. For example, someone might say, "Brrr! It's cold! The temperature has been below normal for a week now. There's no global warming." That person is talking about weather, not climate. A spell of cold weather here or there tells us nothing about Earth's overall climate. It is warming. Glaciers and Arctic ice are melting, sea levels rising, winters becoming shorter. Another person might say, "Earth's climate has changed in the past. This is just part of a natural cycle." This is half-true. (Lots of misinformation contain half-truths.) The world has indeed gone through great climate changes. About 18,000 years ago, vast ice sheets covered much of North America and northern Europe. However, research by scientists all over the world shows that today's rapid climate change is mostly the result of human activities, especially burning oil and other fossil fuels. You might hear someone say, "Carbon dioxide isn't a pollutant. It's in our breath! Besides, there isn't enough of it in the atmosphere to make a difference." Again, this is half-true. Yes, we exhale this gas, and all carbon dioxide is just a tiny fraction of the gases that make up Earth's atmosphere. It makes up only a few hundred of each million parts of air. However, carbon dioxide has a remarkable ability to trap heat in the atmosphere. When people cut and burn tropical forests, and especially when they burn coal and other fossil fuels, they add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Two centuries ago carbon dioxide was about 270 parts per million. Now it is 380 parts per million, and increasing rapidly. Getting accurate information about climate change is vital. Someone might say, "I heard about a meteorologist at a Colorado university who says that the other scientists are wrong. He says that the climate will soon cool." The opinion of a university meteorologist may sound impressive. But remember, meteorology is the study of weather, not climate. Beware of "experts" who may not understand the research findings in another area of science. A few scientists deny that the atmosphere is warming, or that humans are responsible. However, their ideas have been proven wrong by the results of actual research conducted by climate scientists. Thousands of climate scientists all over the world work on the complex subject of changing climate. They often debate about details, but agree that humans are causing the atmosphere's temperature to rise. Humans face a huge challenge: to halt the climate change they are causing, and prevent the great harm it could bring to all life on Earth. You can help by teaching others--young and old--about the science of climate change. Essay from the March 2004 issue of The Reading Teacher: Long ago, I gave a copy of my sixth book, Cockroaches: Here, There, and Everywhere (1971, T.Y.Crowell), to a young mother. She read it to her 4-year-old son. The next day she reported her son's first words after reading the last page: "Mommy, can we get a cockroach?" For me this was early evidence of the power of nonfiction to excite a child with "mere" facts. His life was enriched by knowing more than most adults about these highly successful insects. And his curiosity was primed for the ant, katydid, or any other insect he next met. He became one of those students who usually choose nonfiction to read. Some kids just can't get enough information about sports, or science, or history, or animals. And they devour nonfiction without seeming to care about the quality of the prose. Some of it is pretty bad. Trade books (and textbooks) with a lame, "just the facts, Ma'am" style are still published, helping to sustain a notion that nonfiction is second-class literature. This image is changing, however, partly as a result of the trend toward testing in accordance with educational standards. Although the value of these tests is questioned by many educators, the testing trend has had one positive effect: leading schools to focus more attention on nonfiction. This is long overdue because, according to the National Geographic Society, as much as 80% of what students read throughout their lives in nonfiction, yet nearly 80% of what they read in school is fiction. All over the country the genre of nonfiction is emphasized in well-balanced elementary reading programs. Teachers are discovering some of the strengths of nonfiction. For example, books need not be read cover to cover; a chapter or other excerpt can be an effective teaching tool. Nonfiction picture books can work beautifully as read-alouds. Teachers find gripping, powerful stories in nonfiction--in books about the Lewis and Clark expedition, in biographies such as Pam Munoz Ryan's When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson: The Voice of a Century (2002, Scholastic), and in accounts of scientists and their research--for example, in Sy Montgomery's The Snake Scientist (2001, Houghton Mifflin). Nonfiction can be as richly detailed as Margery Facklam's Spiders and Their Web Sites (2001, Little, Brown), or as simple but emotionally involving as Brenda Guiberson's Into the Sea (1996, Holt). My 77th title, An Extraordinary Life: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly (1997, Orchard), is an accurate account of the life of one butterfly--but it is also more than that. I am no longer surprised when readers tell me that they felt sad, or even cried, at its end. Nonfiction can do much more than answer basic research questions about animal lives. After toiling for more than three decades in the vineyard of children's nonfiction, it gives me great pleasure to see the genre flourish and so many children discover its diverse wonders. More articles by or about Laurence Pringle "The Call of the Wild--Author Laurence Pringle presents the true nature of the natural world in over 100 books," by Becky Rodia. Teaching K-8, April 2003, pages 42-44. "That Great American Adventure, the Lewis and Clark Expedition," by Laurence Pringle. Book Links, September 2003, pages 44-49. "Such Stuff as Dreams Are Made on; Nature for Kids and Happy Accidents," by Charles Creekmore. UMASS, Summer 2003, pages 20-21. |
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