Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
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
With a subtle conversational tone, Electricity: Bulbs, Batteries, and Sparks by Darlene Stille (illustrated by Sheree Boyd; Picture Book Window, 2004; Amazing Science series) throughout suggests trying experiments . For example, it suggests things such as flicking switches, or rubbing socks on the floor. It also asks questions such ash as “have you ever…?” Facts
Plants that Never Ever Bloom by Ruth Heller (Puffin, 1984) is an older picture book that provides examples off various fungi that grow around the world as well as evergreens, illustrating how these living organisms do not bloom as we might assume all plants do. Since it is older, the illustrations and cover have that
The lovingly illustrated One Tiny Turtle by Nicola Davies (illustrated by Jane Chapman; Candlewick, 2005) combines just the right amount of rhythmic text, full page illustrations, and factual subtexts to immerse the reader into world of sea turtles. The picture book begins with a scientific note about turtles. Then, a story starts with a young
The nonfiction picture book Volcanoes by Franklyn M. Branley (illustrated by Megan Lloyd; Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out book, Level 2; published 1985/reissued 2008) starts by telling the story of a few famous volcanoes, including Mount Tambora, Mount Vesuvius, and Mount Saint Helens. These very real stories immediately draw in the reader to the subject. Subsequent pages cover the
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