Best Children's Nonfiction Books 2015

This year’s selection of nonfiction children’s books (2015) was so good it took me a while to select my favorites. But I did. I hope your kids enjoy reading them!

Best Children’s Nonfiction Books 2015

1. Hippos Are Huge! by Jonathan London, illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Excellent writing and illustrations make this one of the best nonfiction animal picture books. Bigger text pairs with smaller factual text to give younger readers tons of information. (Also on: Best Books for Ages 4 and 5.)

2. Winnie The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally M. Walker, illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss

Did you know that Winnie the bear was a real bear? This picture book tells the story of how Winnipeg the Bear came to live at the London Zoo where Christopher Robin and his father, A. A. Milne met her. You’ll love the photographs of the real Winnie, too.

3. The Real Princess Diaries by Grace Norwich
Get a glimpse of the lives of a variety of international princesses. From historical princesses like Theodora of the Byzantine Empire to current princesses like Victoria of Sweden, each princess has her own section with basic facts, cool facts, and big achievements. Special sections on royal pets, royal duties, hairdos, princes, and fashion add extra juicy tidbits.

4. Mesmerized: How Ben Franklin Solved a Mystery that Baffled All of France by Mara Rockliff, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
This picture book narrates a little known part of Ben Franklin’s history. We see him use the scientific method to figure out what Dr. Mesmer was up to. Was it magic, science, or was Dr. Mesmer a fraud? Excellent images, design, and writing. Also on: The Scientific Method in Children’s Books

5. Book of Nature Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis
We’re enjoying these 200+ beautiful poems with the magnificent National Geographic photographs — this book is a keeper.

6. Search and Spot Animals! by Laura Ljungkvist
Ljungkvist’s picture book illustrations are simple, clean, and not too crowded. For example, on a bright yellow background, look at the purple and blue chickens to find a dozen eggs. Lovely.

7. Strange But True! Our Weird, Wild, Wonderful World
I literally couldn’t put this book down. First, the photographs grab your attention — then the headlines — and then the text. This is a GREAT book for your reluctant readers –it’s practically irresistible to read.

8. Animal Planet Animals A Visual Encyclopedia by Animal Planet
Beautiful photographs and bite-sized chunks of information showcase more than 2,500 animals from the seven major animal groups: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, insects and arachnids, invertebrates, and fish.

9. The LEGO Adventure Book Robots, Planes, Cities & More! Nearly 150 Models + 40 Brick-by-Brick Breakdowns by Megan H. Rothrock
This unique LEGO book isn’t just how to build, it’s also an action-packed cartoon story. New characters and models are introduced in each vignette. We highly recommend it.

10. Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods by Rick Riordan, illustrated by John Rocco
My kids can’t stop reading and rereading this enormous volume of Greek myths, retold Riordan style — its laugh-out-loud writing Greek God style.