The Best Nonfiction Children’s Books, 2024

What are the best nonfiction children’s books of 2024? I’ve curated my favorites from the year, ranging from biographies to STEM topics, craft books, and more.

I’m a former teacher and former literacy trainer, a parent of two, a book blogger for 16+ years, an education writer, and a soon-to-be children’s book author.

Make high-quality nonfiction books a part of your children or students’ reading lives — it’s more important than you think.

Nonfiction improves vocabulary and builds background knowledge, benefiting a child’s reading comprehension in all areas. 

As children progress in the grades, they’ll be expected to have experience and proficiency in reading nonfiction…reading for meaning.

Help your kids learn things, do things, and grow as readers with these excellent nonfiction books!

Best Nonfiction Books, 2024

Picture Book Nonfiction

This is Not My Lunch Box! written by Jennifer Dupuis, illustrated by Carol Schwartz
WOODLAND ANIMALS
In this innovative way to teach readers about forest animals, a camping child opens up a lunch box that is not the child’s but actually the lunch of an animal. The lunch box of worms, nuts, and truffles belongs to a jumping mouse. The lunch box of snails, spiders, and eggs belongs to a wood frog. Kids will love learning and guessing who would eat these lunch box feasts while admiring the brilliant illustrations with vibrant colors that pop off the page. Outstanding.

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Over and Under the Wetland written by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal 
ECOSYSTEMS
For all of us who adore this series, join me in the excitement of discovering this next book in the series with gorgeous illustrations and sensory language that transport us to the Everglades. Grandmother and grandchild talk about what’s down below — the wild, wet world of frogs, water snakes, alligators, and swamp lilys — and what’s above, the barred owl, the cypress trunk with plants growing on its arms, an anhinga, and so much more.

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Hello, I’m a Sloth written and illustrated by Haley and John Rocco
ANIMALS
A friendly sloth tells readers about his life. For example, he climbs down from his tree once a week to poop and swims really well. And he poses questions to readers: How often do you poop? Can you swim? The first-person conversational narration will appeal to kids, as well as the clear illustrations. This entire nonfiction children’s book series makes for great read-alouds for preschoolers and early elementary readers.

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Ode to a Grapefruit: How James Earl Jones Found His Voice written by Kari Lavelle, illustrated by Bryan Collier
ACTOR BIOGRAPHY
THIS IS HOW YOU WRITE A BIOGRAPHY! The author captures the right scenes of James Earl’s life to show his fear of speaking because of a stutter, his introduction to poetry that led him to begin writing his own poems and speaking them out loud. Why do I love this book so much? Because it’s not a boring birth to death, too-much-text tome. It’s perfect in every way. Plus, Bryan Collier’s illustrations are rich and evocative, adding everything to the ambiance of this beautiful biography.

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This Is My Brain! A Book on Neurodiversity written and illustrated by Elise Gravel 
BRAINS / NEURODIVERSITY
Colorful cartoon illustrations and kid-friendly language introduce readers to the brain, a squishy thing that has superpowers and controls everything the body does. Characters add their own dialogue to show how our brain learns, experiences senses, and feels. The book feels informative and playful instead of didactic. This book will make a great learning tool for parents and educators.

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Volcanoes written by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Kalen Chock 
EARTH SCIENCE
The writing in this spectacularly illustrated book SINGS and INFORMS and DELIGHTS. Vivid verbs, figurative language, poetry, and exposition, this nonfiction gem is a must-own because it’s a masterpiece of writing. Use it to teach earth science as well as writing craft. In fact, you’ll be able to model for growing writers the crafts of word choice, figurative language, voice, fluency, research to exposition, and more. This book is an essential, wonderful addition to all classrooms, libraries, and homes.

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Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera written by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Nik Henderson 
HISTORY
It’s London, 1854, and people in a neighborhood are dying of a disease called cholera, for which there was no cure. Dr. John Snow thought he figured out why the disease was spreading so he gathered evidence by interviewing the affected people. Even though there wasn’t a cure, when the water access was stopped, the cholera stopped spreading. This historical picture book shows a real life medical detective solving problems using deductive reasoning and evidence. It’s a great book to read to understand the scientific method, how discoveries are made, and history. The writing is excellent (of course), and the art gives the book a vintage feel.

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Seeker of Truth Kailash Satyarthi’s Fight to End Child Labor written by Srvidhya Venkat, illustrated by Danica da Silva Pereira 
BIOGRAPHY
This is an inspirational life picture book biography about an advocate for children whose name we should all know! Beautiful storytelling, precise writing, and warm illustrations share about Kailash Satyarthi, who started helping others even when he was only a child. “Little by little. Drop by drop.” He wanted to change the world, which led to his lifelong fight against child labor and the rescue of many children. He even fought for new laws and set up homes for the rescued children, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for his efforts. What a hero!

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Dear Vincent written by Michael Bird, illustrated by Ella Beech
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
With letters from Vincent’s brother and simple narration, we see that Vicent is an artist whose brother encourages him through letters. Vincent explores, finding people and landscapes to paint and painting the sunflowers he’s grown. Perfect illustrations in a style adjacent to Van Gogh’s adorn each page — it’s a visual feast!

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Middle Grade Nonfiction for Ages 8 – 12

Poetry Comics written and illustrated by Grant Snider
SEASONAL POEMS
Starting with spring, a girl shares her feelings of fresh possibilities — if she were a tree, thoughts on an empty lot, balloons, tadpoles, and other topics. For summer, she ponders her inner life, other oceans, best friends, and more. Each season is captured in short poems which are illustrated in comic panels. Readers will be able to flip through this poetry book and read the poems that grab their attention.

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Mouse Town 30+ Kids Crafts Made From Recycled and Everyday Materials written by Jodi Levine & Margaret McCartney 
DIY / ACTIVITY BOOK
If your kids are like my youngest and like tiny things and upcycling, they will love this darling book about making a mouse town. It’s a fabulous combination of story and craft projects about two mice friends! Build your own mouse town with a mouse house out of a milk crate and accessories like a bed, a dresser, and toys. Read how to build buildings for the town, like a bakery and library, and add lots of itty bitty things like fruit and toy food. All the craft projects list the materials needed and are well written, making them easy to follow with photographic directions, plus adorable cardboard mice photos.

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Spooky Lakes 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes that Dot Our Planet written and illustrated by Geo Rutherford 
NATURE / GEOGRAPHY / SPOOKY STORIES
Will your middle grade readers enjoy this entrancing writing about 25 weird and fascinating lakes and what makes them so interesting? Weird stories include shipwrecks, poison gas, treasure, salt, mummies, and underwater worlds. The gigantic pages with gorgeous illustrations and easy to read designs add to this book’s appeal. I strongly approve of the bibliography, glossary, and front matter with information about lakes, including facts such as the study of lakes is called limnology. Well done and highly recommended.

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The Dark! Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves written and illustrated by Lindsey Leigh
CAVES
I love everything about this middle grade nonfiction book in which you’ll learn about caves, famous caves around the world, and the incredible cave animals and their adaptations. Appeal layouts and illustrations, some in cartoon panels, accompany informational text that isn’t too dense or hard to read because the paragraphs are only one or two sentences.

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History Smashers Salem Witch Trials written by Kate Messner 
HISTORY / SALEM WITCH TRIALS
As usual, the writing in the History Smashers series is excellent and appealing. Filled with facts, historical documents, and cartoon panels, read the history of the Salem Witch Trials, readers will learn the context of the time period, then how the witch accusations gained momentum ending in death sentences up until the witch fever finally ended. The parallels to other human behaviors throughout history and the present day are startling and educational which is why it’s so important to not just read, discuss, and reflect on it.

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Gross Factopia! Follow the Trail of 400 Foul Facts written by Paige Towler, illustrated by Andy Smith
GROSS FACTS
Brightly colored, eye-catching designs of photos and cartoons grab your attention as do the fun facts. Kids will love everything about these gross facts and this whole series.

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Rube Goldberg’s Big Book of Building written by Ed Steckley, Jennifer George, Zach Umperovitch
A must-own for homeschoolers, parents who love learning activities at home, and STEAM teachers, this is such a great book for learning about simple machines and energy with clear directions, captivating illustrations (often funny), and fun facts. With five levels of difficulty, build the 25 machines in the book with these six tools: duct tape, scissors, string, hot glue/glue sticks, a surge protector, and zip ties. Make machines whose tasks include sweeping the floor, putting on a band-aid, putting money in a bank, and pouring a bowl of cereal. Doesn’t this sound fun?

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They Saved the Stallions written by Deborah Hopkinson 
NONFICTION HISTORY
Animal lovers, especially horse lovers and history buffs will devour this fascinating book about the fate of the esteemed Lippizzaner stallions in Vienna during World War II. We learn the history of the man who became the (Vienna) Spanish Riding School’s director and how he became involved with these impressive stallions, leading to how he saves them from certain deaths, also organizing a rescue of the mares in a separate location. Meticulously researched with primarily source quotations and photographs, this is a compelling history interspersed with “Virtual Field Trips” and informational sections that will mesmerize readers.

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Mini Architects 20 Projects Inspired by the Great Architects written by Josephine Seblon, illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng 
ARCHITECTURE
If my kids were little, I would use this book not just for a homeschool unit but for home enrichment, too. The book introduces different 20 architectural examples from the past, modern, and contemporary, including Stonehenge, la Sagrada Familia, and Dandaji market. Each structure includes a photo or drawing and more about the structure as well as things to discuss. Then, follow the step-by-step directions to make your own craft project to resemble the architecture. I love the combination of illustrations and photos, as well as the clear writing. This is a fascinating two-in-one book: informational with hands-on crafts.

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