MORE 'NONFICTION-PICTURE-BOOKS' POSTS
In some ways, these are the books I'm the most excited about. Welcome to the end of 2020! And welcome to a list of truly wonderful books.
Drawing On Walls is the kind of book that you wish other writers of children’s nonfiction would read. A story that justifies its very existence by justifying the very existence of its subject.
The true story of the man responsible for keeping key American documents out of the hands of the invading British in 1812. A book about the rescue of ideas put to paper.
If we are talking about events that change us all and that we must collectively heal from (whether literally or figuratively) then this book might be precisely what we need. Because this isn’t just a book about something that happened a quarter of a century ago. It’s a book that is meant to help you learn how to heal and recover and hope in the face of the horrendous. Give it a go.
I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all to suggest that this book pretty much has it all. For the animal lovers, a cute and smart colt. For the mystery lovers, a true tale that lays out the clues, the detectives, and the surprising solution. And for lovers of science, this is a superb recounting of how people learn more about the natural world around them.
Great writing for kids, when you encounter it, reminds you that there is always a new way to look at this old, familiar world of ours. If you buy only one bee book for the rest of your life, make it this one.
31 Days, 31 Lists: 2019 Nonfiction Picture Books
| 31 Days 31 Lists, Best Books, Best Books of 2019, Booklists
Here it is! My standouts! My stalwarts! The books that I just can't get out of my mind, that have been swimming around in my cranium all year. The great works of picture book nonfiction of 2019!
If there is an art to rendering expository facts with a narrative feel, then Meghan McCarthy is this type of book’s Vincent Van Gogh. Never sacrificing beauty, never skimping on reality, she provides the perfect balance while also managing to come up with books that kids will really really enjoy reading. A treat to eye and ear and a blessing to parents of the firefighting obsessed nationwide. The best at what it aims to be.
When a book is as funny, smart, beautiful, and interesting as Monument Maker, you have a chance to remember that old adage about judging a book by its cover.
Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando looks like a simple tale about the man who invented instant ramen, but look closer and you’ll see that what the book truly is is a paean to the necessity of failure, the beauty of persistence, and the pleasure that comes after messing up 99 times only to get it right on the 100th.