Kids love reading about animals, and in these wonderful picture books, imaginations will take flight just like Seven, the magnificent pigeon in the first book. They will learn about the perfidy of fish in the brilliantly hysterical book about not trusting fish, “Don’t Trust Fish.” Snakes and dogs and small creatures round out the animals we meet in these charming picture books. And a nonfiction series, “Meet the Wild Things,” brings unusual animals to our attention.
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This is a wonderful and disparate collection of nonfiction picture books, and they all deserve attention for many reasons. Librarians and teachers should consider these because of the important subject matter, the quality of the writing, and the engaging nature of the illustrations. From information about animal homes to facts about the elusive narwhal, there’s a lot of learning that will go on when kids peruse these books. They would also make great additions to a classroom library, a school (or public) library, or a child’s bookshelf at home. These are about animals, and therefore sure to be a kid magnet.
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While I normally group picture books together by theme, “Whose Tail?” by Agathe Hennig is such a visually stunning book that it merits being featured on its own. The watercolor images of the animals are pieces of art on their own, but combined with the clever riddles, the careful folding of the pages to reveal only the tail at first glance, and the heavy rich feel to each page, all make this a must-have book for children.
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While both these children’s picture books are historical fiction, they are both based on real occurrences. One is based on the actual court case when a Chinese American family wanted to send their daughter to school in California and fought in the courts for that right. The other is based on the experiences of Black women who, after centuries of not having rights, and decades of not being able to vote, finally went to the voting booth.
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Picture books, as I’ve said before (apologies for beating this to death), are inspiring ways of entertaining children while also opening the door for discussion of important topics. These picture books will certainly open the door for talks about topics as diverse as brother-sister rivalry, parental admonitions, cloud formation, stereotyping, and even facts vs. lies. All of these would be perfect additions for a classroom or school library.
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Young children learn about the world around them from their parents and their friends, but also through the books that they read. Included here are books which explain that the world around us is filled with different people who might have different kinds of skin color, different body types, or different family structures. But at heart, we are all the same, and most of us want the same thing: to be loved for who we are. These books will reinforce those concepts, and each one has its own unique appeal.
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Biographic picture books serve multiple purposes; they not only teach children about special people, they can serve to inspire children by demonstrating the actions of others who may have overcome challenges, followed their passions, or shown a desire to change the world. In these picture books, children will learn about people who challenged traditions, people who fought to discover our history, and a woman who didn’t listen to what others thought women should do. We also learn about the people who saved an elephant in Vietnam and a man who wants to save the world.
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Sometimes coincidences can be astounding. Last night I read the children’s picture book “Growing Up Under a Red Flag: A Memoir of Surviving the Chinese Cultural Revolution” written by Ying Chang Compestine and illustrated by Xinmei Liu. It’s a powerful book about how civil liberties flew out the door when Mao Zedong took over China and unleashed his Red Guard to terrify civilians into submission. The text is informative, very accessible, and appropriately shocking.
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Each of these nonfiction picture books has something special to offer children. Most children love reading nonfiction picture books as a way to learn about the world around them, and even adults like me can learn new information from these books! Each book would make a fabulous addition to any classroom or home library.
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The best way to educate young readers is to provide picture books that are so irresistible that kids feel a compulsion to pick them up and read them. Here are some educational picture books that appear to accomplish just that feat.
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Three children’s books that would be fabulous additions to any school or home library are “I Am Temple Grandin” by Brad Meltzer and Christopher Eliopoulos, “The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World” by Temple Grandin, and “Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor” by Temple Grandin. The first book is engaging and explains how being different is not a bad thing, and actually can be very special. The other two books are for exploration and activities that kids might want to do. Not a bad choice with summer vacations coming up because they are filled with information and ideas for great projects!
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Nonfiction picture books for children are a great way to introduce information to kids about the world around them in a very digestible manner with vocabulary that’s just right for them to understand. This group of nonfiction picture books about animals and plants is for a range of ages. Two books are a part of the “Meet Your World” series. One is “You Are a Honey Bee!” and the other is “You Are a Raccoon!” for young readers who will enjoy the book’s physical suggestions to move like those animals. “Stinkbird Has a Superpower” is about a hoatzin, an Amazon bird that lives in the rain forest. This picture book is filled with information but also with lots of humor that will engage young readers and cause them to want to read and reread this adorably illustrated book. “A Home for Every Plant: Wonders of the Botanical World” is a large, information-filled book about plants from all over the world. “Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem,” begins with a sad event, the death of a seventy-year-old whale, but then we learn about how that death goes on to nourish other creatures for half a century. “Cicada Symphony” is all about the cicadas we see every summer, and this colorful book is chock-full of information. “We Are Starlings: Inside the Mesmerizing Magic of a Murmuration” is filled with stunning watercolor illustrations of the birds and the fantastic and beautiful shapes they make as they fly together, as the story is told in first person plural, the band of starlings to fly together so amazingly. And three books in the “Save the…” series are about blue whales, frogs, and giraffes, and would be great informational texts for a classroom.
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