Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
Air speaks directly to the reader in Our Air by G. Brian Karas. With this second-person perspective, Our Air introduces the ways we know air is around us, and explains the reasons why air is so important, including its role as a “perfect combination of nitrogen and oxygen”, which provides for us as well as
Secrets of Air by Mi-ae Lee, illustrated by Hae-ryun Jeong, tells basics about air. It discusses how air wraps the earth, how air is thinner the higher we go, how air moves as wind, and even basics about air currents. Each page has a few easy to read sentences to make it feel like a
As indicated by the subtitle, Up, Up High: The Secret Poetry of Earth’s Atmosphere by Lydia Lukidis, illustrated by Katie Rewse is a poetic collection with details about the various layers of the atmosphere, told with the perspective of a journey to space in a rocket ship, showing what might be seen and experienced outside
As the title suggests, Up in the Blue Sky: Journey from the Earth’s Surface to Outer Space by Gianumberto Accinelli, illustrated by Guilian Zaffaroni, shows a progression meter by meter of the things that travel to various levels in the atmosphere, beginning with ants close to the ground, moving up toward Olympic pole jumpers, and
Corn Is Maize: A Gift of the Indians by Aliki (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Level 2 book, 1976) is a surprisingly detailed exploration of corn. The text is accessible to a young reader, and many pages have an abundance of details, such as how corn is fertilized, how it must be helped to grow, and how it was
The nonfiction picture book Zero! The Number that Almost Wasn’t by Sarah Albee (illustrated by Chris Hsu; Charlesbridge, 2025) captures the interesting history of the concept of nothing in mathematics. Although it’s a nonfiction book about a real concept (or non-concept as the case was for a long time), it reads smoothly and clearly like
One familiar name in children’s literature, from my childhood until now, is Jane Yolen. From middle grade novels to picture books and poems, her works have now influenced generations of children. In the deceptively simple picture book Janie Writes a Play: Jane Yolen’s First Great Story (illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight; Charlesbridge, 2025), Jane’s daughter Heidi
If you love Beverly Cleary’s books, then you’ll love reading about the author herself in the picture book Just Like Beverly: A Biography of Beverly Cleary by Vicki Conrad (illustrated by David Hohn; Little Bigfoot, 2019). My daughter, who is one that is knows Cleary’s books backwards and forwards, was delighted to learn about the
What’s Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott; published 1995) is an easily approachable “Let’s Read and Find Out!” book that finds commonalities between a child and other living things. It is written with a conversational voice that would attract very young children and has a second-person narration that directly speaks to
Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall by Lynn Brunelle (illustrated by Jason Chin; Neal Porter Books, 2024) is a nonfiction picture book about the complete ecosystem that forms around a whale carcass on the bottom of the ocean. It begins with an elderly whale and in the first pages, the whale
I was unfortunately a little disappointed with oversized nonfiction picture book I Am Wind: An Autobiography by Rachel Poliquin (illustrated by Rachel Wada; Tundra, 2024). As the title indicates, this book teaches about wind with a first-person narration. Interspersed with the narration are side paragraphs (in a different font) that identify and name specific winds
Life in a Coral Reef by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Steve Jenkins (a Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out, Stage 2, book) has colorful, textured collage illustrations that wonderfully match the child-friendly text. The text is written in present tense, which helps the reader feel present in the setting, among the tentacles of the sea anemone with the clown fish
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