​by Christine Liu-Perkins
 
 
Sidebars can add to a main text in many different ways from expanding  comprehension to injecting fun to inviting participation. Here's some things I've learned from writing sidebars for various nonfiction projects: 
 

• Plan ahead. While you research, keep track of ideas and information for possible sidebars. Include these ideas in your proposal outline along with the synopsis and photos for each chapter.
• Make the sidebars stand on their own. If readers view the sidebar without reading the main text, would they understand it? Would they learn something new that's not in the main text?
• Think about what can be moved from the main text into a sidebar. If something seems necessary but detracts from the flow of the main text, could it be formatted as a sidebar?
• Answer questions that readers may be asking about something introduced in the main text.
• Consider providing context information in sidebars such as parallel historical events, customs, related ideas, or definitions.
• Let photo captions function like sidebars. Beyond describing the photo as a whole, point out significant details, add context information, or make an insightful connection.
• Consider fun facts, unusual information, or quotes that you think readers will enjoy or find memorable.
• Experiment with different formats: short paragraphs, quotes, lists, Q&A, activities, charts, diagrams, anecdotes, timelines, quizzes, puzzles, humor, etc. What format best accomplishes your purpose for the sidebar?
• Although they are often brief, sidebars can be challenging to research. Allow enough time to dig and sift for essential information and intriguing details.

 
For more tips, here's a good article on creating sidebars for magazine articles (useful for books, too): "Preparing a Sidebar Feast: Planning, Writing, and Submitting Sidebars" by Carolyn Short.
 

By Nancy Churnin
​
We honor groups in specific months because they've been historically underrepresented. As you seek nonfiction subjects that haven’t been written about, those groups provide ideas worth exploring.
 
A quick online search will show celebrations for every month. April, for instance, is packed with everything from Arab American Heritage Month to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month and Autism Awareness Month. But before we skip to April, let’s consider March, which includes Women’s History Month. It’s a great time to think about where you’re NOT seeing women – in literature, fashion, science, art, adventure, history – and put them back in the picture where they belong.

In 2018, Wendy Hinote Lanier was asked to write two titles for an Abdo Publishing series on women in the arts. She wrote her riveting Women in Literature, featuring J.K. Rowling, Maya Angelou, and Kate DiCamillo, and Women in Fashion, featuring Vera Wang, Tracy Reese, and Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. “I hope kids understand that women have always made great contributions to the arts, even if they didn't always get the credit,” Wendy says.

​​My own books about women came about because of not seeing books about women in certain fields. After wondering where all the women painters are, I came across an exquisite painting by Laura Wheeler. That led me to write the first picture book about her: Beautiful Shades of Brown, illustrated by Felicia Marshall (Creston Books). 

​The fact that most people know that one of our great patriotic songs, “America the Beautiful,” was written by a woman, Katharine Lee Bates, compelled me to research the book that became For Spacious Skies, illustrated by Olga Baumert (Albert Whitman).

​Women aren't highlighted as much as they should be in the worlds of science and adventure. Linda Skeers found wonderful stories to tell in those areas with Dinosaur Lady: The Daring Discoveries of Mary Anning, the First Paleontologist, illustrated by Marta Álvarez Miguéns and Women Who Dared, 52 Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers & Rebels, illustrated by Livi Gosling (both from Sourcebooks).

​​And how many stories do you read about women from different countries and historical times? Christine Liu Perkins dug deep for her remarkable At Home in Her Tomb, illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen (Charlesbridge), a middle-grade chapter book that explores the archaeological finds in the tomb of
​ Lady Dai, who lived in China 2200 years ago.
​

There are a lot more stories to tell about women and other underrepresented groups, too. Check your calendar and make a date with the one that speaks to you.