Nonfiction Glow Up
Crafting Informational Picture Books that Captive Today’s Readers (and Editors, too!)
Mentor Texts to Check Out
Suspenseful NF
Cassini’s Mission by Katie Venit and Julia Blattman
To See an Owl by Matthew Cordell
The Endless Sea by Chi Thai and Linh Dao
Immersive NF
Over and Under the Coral Reef (series) by Kate Messner & Christopher Silas Neal
In the World of Whales by Michelle Cusolito & Jessica Lanan
Poetic Language
The History of We by Nikkolas Smith
I Am We: How Crows Come Together to Survive by Leslie Barnard Booth & Alexandra Finkeldey
A Gift of Dust: How Saharan Plumes Feed the Planet by Martha Brockenbrough & Juana Martinez-Neal
The Book of Candles by Laurel Snyder & Leanne Hatch
Humor
Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson & Dan Santat
Polecat Has a Superpower by Jill Esbaum & Bob Shea
Stalactite & Stalagmite by Drew Beckmeyer
Butt or Face (series) by Kari Lavelle
I’m Trying to Love Farts (series) by Bethany Barton
Interactivity (and multiple topics)
Lots and Lots of Ocelots: A Skip Counting Book by Vicky Fang & Angel Chang
Menudo Sunday: A Spanglish Counting Book by María Delores Águila and Erika Meza
Alberto Salas Plays Paka Paka Con La Papa by Sara Andrea Fajardo and Juána Martinez-Neal
Structures that Delight Readers
My Antararctica by G. Neri & Corban Wilkin
My Bicentennial Summer by G. Neri & Corban Wilkin
Meet the Mini-Mammals by Melissa Stewart & Brian Lies
Who Would Win by Jerry Pallotta & Rob Bolster
The Whale’s Tale and the Otter’s Side of the Story: A Book to Read from Front to Back and Back to Front by Kate Messner & Brian Biggs (March ’26)
Photographic NF
Tracking Pythons: The Quest to Catch an Invasive Predator and Save an Ecosystem by Kate Messner
The Black Mambas: The World’s First All-Woman Anti-Poaching Unit by Kelly Crull
Honeybee Rescue: A Backyard Drama by Loree Griffin Burns & Ellen Harasimowicz
Everyday Things
Blue: A History of the Color as Deep as the Sea and as Wide as the Sky by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Daniel Minter
This Is Orange: A Field Trip Through Color by Rachel Poliquin and Julie Morstad
Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Concrete and Glass both by Larissa Theule and Steve Light
One Day This Tree Will Fall by Leslie Barnard Booth and Stephanie Fizer Coleman
And They Walk On by Kevin Maillard and Rafael López
Pizza: A Slice of History by Greg Pizzoli
Tea Is Love by Adib Khorram and Hanna Cha
I’m Sorry You Got Mad by Kyle Lukoff and Julie Kwon
How to Say Thank You by Jean Reagan and Lee Wildish
Immediate Relevance (Ripped from the Headlines Connections)
Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Person and the Real People She Helped by Kyle Lukoff and Levi Hastings
Some of Us: A Story of Citizenship and the United States by Rajani LaRocca and Huy Youn Lee
Just in Case: Saving Seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault by Megan Clendenan and Brittany Cicchese
PB Bios: Books of the Moment
Dr. Fauci: How a Boy from Brooklyn Became America’s Doctor by Kate Messner & Alexandra Bye
Zohran Walks New York by Millie von Platen
Phenomenal AOC: The Roots and Rise of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez by Anika Aldamuy Denise and Loris Lora
Messi’s Magic by Caroline Perry and Luciano Lozano
PB Bios: Always Popular Subjects
The Spy in the Museum: How Rose Valland Saved Art from the Nazis by Erin McGuire
The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid WWII Army by Penny Parker Klostermann and Anne Lambelet
PB Bios: Important Untold Stories, Written by Authors Who Share the Subject’s Background
André: André Leon Talley: A Fabulously Fashionable Fairy Tale by Carole Boston Weatherford, Rob Sanders, and Lamont O’Neal
Frida Kahlo’s Flower Crown by Nydia Armendia-Sanchez and Loris Lora
Make a Pretty Sound: A Story of Ella Jenkins, the First Lady of Children’s Music by Traci N. Todd and Eleanor Davis
Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata by Debbie Michiko Florence and Inko Ai Takita
The Prince of Stars: Ulugh Beg’s Quest to Map the Stars and Seasons by M.O. Yuksel and Zelma Firdauzia
When Science Stood Still: How S. Chandrasekhar Predicted the Existence of Black Holes by Shruthi Rao and Srinidhi Srinivasan
PB Bios: Well Known Person, Amazing Fresh Angle
How to Have a Thought: A Walk with Charles Darwin by Nicholas Day and Hadley Hooper
Biographies that Connect to a Bigger Story/Subject
The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs by Kate Messner & Matthew Forsythe
The Story of the Saxophone by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome
The World Entire: The True Story of an Extraordinary World War II Rescue by Elizabeth Brown & Melissa Castrillón
The Fire of Stars: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars are Made Of by Kirsten Larson & Katherine Roy
The Glass Pyramid: A Story of the Louvre Museum and Architect I.M. Pei by Jean Walker Harvey & Khoa Le
Fanny’s Big Idea: How Jewish Book Week Was Born by Richard Michelson & Alyssa Russell
PB Bios: Friendships, Rivalries, and Collective Biographies
Martina & Chrissie: The Greatest Rivalry in the History of Sports by Phil Bildner & Brett Helquist
First Ascent: The Epic Yosemite Rock Climbing Rivalry of Royal Robbins & Warren Harding by Kate Messner & Stevie Lewis
That Swingin’ Sound: The Musical Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong by Rekha S. Rajan & Ken Daley
Lighthouse Ladies: Shining the Spotlight on Hardy Heroines by Kris Coronado & Islenia Mil
Women on a Mission: The Remarkable Heroes Who Put Men on the Moon by Suzanne Slade & Molly Magnell
We Carry the Sun by Tae Keller & Rachel Wada
Other Books Mentioned (All great NF mentor texts!)
One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Followed Them by Loree Griffin Burns & Jamie Green
Extreme Birdwatching: Measuring Change on a Galapagos Island by Loree Griffin Burns & Jamie Green
Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart & Constance Bergum
Foote Was First: How One Curious Woman Connected Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change by Jen Bryant & Amy June Bates
Footeprint: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Woman’s Rights by Linsay Metcalf
Change Is in the Air: The Hidden Discoveries of Eunice Newton Foote, the First Climate Scientist by Rebecca Donnelly and Mercé López
Making More: How Life Begins by Katherine Roy