5 fab things – non-fiction picture books.
Personally, fiction is my jam. But when you have kids – in my case godchildren – it changes you. Weird, but true. One of my goddaughters is completely in love with facts. She loves to astound you with her latest “true thing”. So naturally, I now find myself looking at and for non-fiction picture books. Generally centred around dragons and Vikings. Yeah, my goddaughter is the best. She wants to be a dragon-riding Viking when she grows up. Honestly, I could not be more proud. I am helping raise a self-assured strong-minded individual.
Recently she has (with her family – she is only 6) moved abroad. She used to love storytime with Auntie Zoë and to be honest, I did too. I miss it. No one else demands Mr Snow be read to them whilst they are curled up in my lap. Probably a good thing. This lead to the creation of my YouTube channel. It is entirely devoted to me reading picture books out loud. I claim absolutely no credit for the books and only share them because I love stories, story time, and think the ones I have picked are awesome. And mostly overlooked or unknown.
So it’s time to share some of my most favourite non-fiction picture books, in no particular order (PS – most are also featured over on the channel).
-
The Planets by Gemma McMullen.
To be honest, Space and all things astronomical blow my mind. The idea of things being up there and we are just a speck of nothingness, whilst billions of pretty twinkly lights that we call stars are out there unreachable and with potentially millions more planets and stars around them…. *breathe* I find it hard to comprehend whilst absolutely loving it and its sheer enormity (both physical and mental!). Gemma McMullen has written a series of books – The Planets, The Moon, The Stars and The Sun.
-
Pick Your Queen! by Rob Alcraft
I love this book! It is a levelled book from Oxford Reading Tree that compares Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria. This biography helps children to learn interesting facts about each one such as how many pets they had, who had children and who liked cake, with cartoon-style pictures and an amusing tone. The learners in my class always loved to discuss which they like after each page, and quite the debates used to ensue! The only question remains – who would you pick?
-
From Seed to Plant by Kristin Baird Rattini
National Geographic Kids have to be mentioned in this post because they have created an incredible range of non-fiction picture books that are not only engaging and educational, but fully decodable and levelled! Children love to read books that they consider “real” and not created for school, and in my experience reluctant readers love how independent they can be with these. Thanks Kristin Baird Rattini!
-
How Does it Protect Itself? By Hyeon-Geong Oh and Cheol-Min Choi
This picture book is the perfect introduction to exploring the idea of camouflage and the way that wild animals protect themselves from predators in a clear and simple way.
-
Yucky Worms by Vivian French
Vivian French has created a wonderful hybrid book that tells a story of a child and their Grandma gardening. At the same time, children can learn important facts about how important worms are to the soil, and fascinating facts about soil and gardening in general due to the fact boxes sprinkled on every page.
Do you have little ones who love picture books and facts? Or even adults who are the same? Let me know in the comments below and don’t forget to sign up to the zoedidthat newsletter full of all the latest updates, freebies and more!
Like this post?
Try: