The Nonfiction Detectives: best books

Showing posts with label best books. Show all posts

Friday, December 29, 2023

Best Nonfiction of 2023

There were many excellent nonfiction books published for children and teens in 2023.

The following titles are some of the books that rose to the top.

The 21: The True Story of the Youth Who Sued the U.S. Government Over Climate Change
by Elizabeth Rusch

The Bees of Notre Dame
by Meghan P. Browne and E.B. Goodale

The Book of Turtles

by Sy Montgomery and Matt Patterson

Border Crossings

by Sneed B. Collard III and Howard Gray

Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series
by Traci Sorell and Arigon Starr

Coretta's Journey: The Life and Times of Coretta Scott King
by Alice Faye Duncan and R. Gregory Christie

A First Time for Everything

by Dan Santat

Hidden Systems: Water, Electricity, the Internet, and the Secrets Behind the Systems We Use Every Day
by Dan Nott

Impossible Escape: The True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe
by Steve Sheinkin

Loud and Proud: The Life of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm
by Lesa Cline-Ransome and Kaylani Juanita

Making More: How Life Begins
by Katherine Roy

Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem
by Melissa Stewart and Rob Dunlavey

Thursday, December 22, 2022

We have both served on the Sibert Award committee in past years, so we are quite familiar with the award criteria. Based on the books we have read in 2022, here are our favorites for the 2023 Sibert Award.

American Murderer: The Parasite That Haunted the South
by Gail Jarrow

Calkins Creek

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky
by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
illustrated by Daniel Minter
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

by Angela Joy

illustrated by Janelle Washington

Roaring Brook Press

Hanged!: Mary Surratt & the Plot to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln
by Sarah Miller
Random House Studio

How to Build a Human In Seven Evolutionary Steps
by Pamela S. Turner
art by John Gurche

Charlesbridge

Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
by Kindra Neely
Little, Brown and Company

Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration

by Elizabeth Partridge

illustrated by Lauren Tamaki

The Universe in You

by Jason Chin

Neal Porter Books

Wednesday, December 21, 2022

Best History Books for Kids from 2022

Here are the history book for children and teens from 2022 that we found to be outstanding. We have linked our reviews below. We continue to review titles published in 2022, so look for upcoming reviews of books from this list.

Action!: How Movies Began
by Meghan McCarthy
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky
by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
illustrated by Daniel Minter
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Going Places: Victor Hugo Green and His Glorious Books
by Tonya Bolden
illustrated by Eric Velásquez
Quill Tree Books

Hanged!: Mary Surratt & the Plot to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln
by Sarah Miller

Random House Studio

A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexican Word Painters
by Duncan Tonatiuh
Abrams Books for Young Readers

Peace is a Chain Reaction

by Tanya Lee Stone

Candlewick Press

Seen and Unseen: What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration

by Elizabeth Partridge

illustrated by Lauren Tamaki

Chronicle Books

Unbreakable: The Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code

by Rebecca E.F. Barone

Henry Holt and Co.

Tuesday, December 20, 2022

Best Biographies for Kids from 2022

Here are our picks for the best biographies for kids from 2022. We have linked our reviews below. We continue to review books published in 2022, so look for upcoming reviews of books from this list.

Because Claudette
by Tracey Baptiste
illustrated by Tonya Engel
Dial Books

Choosing Brave: How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

by Angela Joy
illustrated by Janelle Washington
Roaring Brook Press

Fighting for Yes: The Story of Disability Rights Activist Judith Heumann
by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
illustrated by Vivien Mildenberger
Abrams Books for Young Readers

I Could Not Do Otherwise: The Remarkable Story of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker
by Sara Latta

Zest Books

The Lady and the Octopus: How Jeanne Villepreux-Power Invented Aquariums and Revolutionized Marine Biology

by Danna Staaf
Carolrhoda Books

Numb to This: Memoir of a Mass Shooting
by Kindra Neely
Little, Brown and Company

Revolutionary Prudence Wright: Leading the Minute Women in the Fight for Independence
by Beth Anderson
illustrated by Susan Regan
Calkin Creek Books

Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice

by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barns and Dawud Anyabwile
Norton Young Readers

The Woman Who Split the Atom: The Life of Lise Meitner
by Marissa Moss
Abrams Books for Young Readers

Monday, December 19, 2022

Best STEM Books for Kids from 2022

It was a banner year for science books for children. Here are the titles we found to be outstanding in the area of STEM. We have linked our reviews to titles we have reviewed on the blog. We continue to review 2022 titles, so look for upcoming reviews for titles we haven't featured on the blog yet.