The whole time I was working
on the book I classified it as a cumulative story, a la The House that Jack
Built, in my mind. I worked hard to make each step in the process as clear and
engaging as possible.
Basically, I thought
of the whole book in terms of conceptual scaffolding—carefully assembling a
series of building blocks, one spread at a time, with the overall goal of
convincing readers that the title was, indeed, true—if there were no monkeys in
the world, our favorite dessert would disappear, too. Poof!
I worked so hard to
carry readers along on a voyage of discovery from the provocative title to
(what I hoped was) a satisfying pay off at the end that I never realized the
book starts and ends in the same place—with cocoa beans.
There are lots of
other great nonfiction books that make good use of a cumulative structure. Here
are some of my favorites.
Here Is Antarctica by Madeleine Dunphy (illus
Tom Leonard)
Here Is the African Savanna by
Madeleine Dunphy (illus Tom Leonard)
Here Is the Coral Reef by Madeleine Dunphy
(illus Tom Leonard)
Here Is the Tropical Rain Forest by
Madeleine Dunphy (illus Michael Rothman)
Here Is the Wetland by Madeleine Dunphy (illus
Wayne McLoughlin)
Here Is the Southwestern Desert by
Madeleine Dunphy (illus Ann Coe)
Here Is the Arctic Winter by Madeleine Dunphy
(illus Alan James Robinson)
Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox (illus
Nancy Davis)