Science writing for children and young adults
Science writing for young readers spans simple picture-book text, stories built around fascinating facts, young-adult books and classroom resources.
Age groups
The youth market can generally be divided into four age categories.
| Age | Writing and interests |
|---|---|
| 3 and younger | Magazines and picture books use simple, one-line texts; every word must count, which makes them difficult to write. Practical topics such as brushing teeth and naming body parts, and books about animals, appeal to this group. |
| 4–7 | Preschool and primary-school children enjoy stories about children, food, exercise and diseases, which teachers use during story time. Preschool children begin deciding what to eat and which physical activities to undertake; some obesity experts consider this the most important age for forming lifestyle habits. The need for books for this market is critical. |
| 8–11 | Fascinating facts appeal to this group. Examples include Grossology by Sylvia Branzai and the chemistry-of-smell article “Beam Me Up, Smellie” in Odyssey. Another approach is to write about science topics being taught at school. |
| 12–18 | Young adults are beginning to think abstractly, as adults do, so good writing for them has much in common with writing for adults. John Fleischman’s Phineas Gage illustrates a story that fascinates this group. |
Children’s interest can suggest a story: Fleischman’s idea for Phineas Gage came at a conference in Cavendish, Vermont, where children crowded around Gage’s displayed skull. Scientific problem-solving can also drive stories, as in bedtime tales about Harry Golden facing predicaments such as a planet covered in ice, with children using scientific methods to solve them.
Classroom resources
In 2009, the Texas Heart Institute’s Project Heart taught cardiovascular anatomy, nutrition, exercise and healthy lifestyle choices through age-appropriate lessons for kindergarten to grade 6, with each grade building on the previous one. It was designed to meet elementary-school teachers’ curriculum needs, with lesson plans based on Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, while remaining suitable for any learning environment. Intended users also included school nurses, health educators, home schoolers, parents and children.
The curriculum combined lesson plans, classroom activity masters and multimedia resources in Look, Listen and Learn sections. Additional resources included:
- Illustrated anatomical concepts, multimedia graphics and heartbeat sounds.
- Links to Heart Information Center anatomy topics.
- Links to other sites offering heart-healthy lifestyle advice, games and related material.
- Audiovisual presentations for educators, including “Recognizing Hypertension in Children” and “A Coordinated Approach to Childhood Obesity.”
- An “In the News” feed linking to relevant current articles.
The programme’s rationale was early education to improve children’s health amid childhood obesity, particularly in the Hispanic population; its Spanish version, Proyecto Corazón, launched in 2008.
Adult objections
A Harris Interactive poll of Americans discussed in 2011 asked about limiting children’s access to library books on topics including the Bible, evolution, vampires, drinking, smoking, sex, violence and coarse language; explicit language drew the greatest objection, from 62% of respondents. One objection to obscenity rested on intellectual honesty and integrity and the belief that children should not be exposed to ugliness; it distinguished this stance from prudery or opposition to jokes.
Publishing outlets
In 2007, youth science writing had four publishing outlet categories:
- Magazines. About 100 children’s publications wanted science articles, including Highlights for Children and Cricket. Online sample stories and library collections can show the stories each publishes.
- Books. Many focus on diseases, especially those common in childhood, such as chickenpox.
- Reference and education books. School assignments requiring a topic to be written about within a set time created demand for reference books combining fun with information. Publishers might request a résumé to assess an author’s background and interests. Oxford University Press required scholarly credentials for its middle-grade books; Greenwood Press sought extensive subject knowledge and used many science writers, with stem-cell research and gene therapy among its medical-science series topics.
- Specialty markets. These included museums, textbooks, e-books, CDs and videos.
Entry and rewards
Advice for entering the youth-writing market has four steps:
- Read books in bookstores and children’s library sections, study the market and read about writing for children.
- Write from ideas with primary sources, finding a storytelling voice rather than sounding like an encyclopedia. In 2007, the science editor of Highlights for Children wanted 800-word articles using interviews and primary sources, with expert quotations worked into the story.
- Study the market using resources on children’s publishing.
- Enter contests as a non-threatening way to prepare a manuscript, including contests suited to science writing.
Resources recommended in 2007 included Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market, H. D. Underdown’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books, Write4Kids, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Children’s Writer, the Institute of Children’s Literature and Science News for Kids.
Writing for youth can satisfy generativity, the desire to give something to the next generation. In 2007, its pay was described as abysmal, with the reward coming from sharing a talent in a different way and encouraging scientific thinking in another generation.