Nonfiction 71 top books of the century. . - Book Talk - book review

Instructor, March, 2001 by Judy Freeman

Nonfiction is a crucial genre to emphasize in the classroom, but teachers don't always have time to research the best. Here, I've selected a number of nonfiction books from the past century that have had an impact on my teaching, broken new ground, taught me something extraordinary, wowed readers, and are unforgettable books to introduce to children. Share them, read them aloud, and leave them around the classroom for your students to pore over.

ANIMALS

Urban Roosts: Where Birds Nest in the City

Bash, Barbara. Little, Brown, 1992. (Gr. 3-6)

To the Top of the World: Adventures with Arctic Wolves

Brandenburg, Jim. Walker, 1995. (Gr. 4-8)

Red-Eyed Tree Frog

Cowley, Joy. Photos by Nic Bishop. Scholastic, 1999. (Gr. PreK-2)

Those Amazing Ants

Brennan Demuth, Patricia. Illus. by S. D. Schindler. Simon & Schuster, 1994. (Gr. K-2)

It's an Armadillo!

Lavies, Bianca. Dutton, 1989. (Gr. K-4)

Owls in the Family

Mowat, Farley. Illus. by Robert Frankenberg. Little, Brown, 1961. (Gr. 3-6)

Koko's Kitten

Patterson, Francine. Photos by Ronald H. Cohn. Scholastic, 1987. (Gr. 2-6)

Giants of the Land, Sea and Air, Past and Present

Peters, David. Illus. by the author Knopf, 1986. (Gr. K-6)

Animal Fact/Animal Fable

Simon, Seymour Illus. by Diane de Groat. Grown, 1979. (Gr. K-3)

Hummingbirds: Jewels in the Sky

Tyrrell, Esther Quesada. Photos by Robert A. Tyrrell. Crown, 1992. (Gr. 3-6)

ART

Linnea in Monet's Garden

Bjork, Christina. Illus. by Lena Anderson. R&S Books, 1987. (Gr. 3-6)

Talking with Artists

Cummings, Pat, ed. Illus. and photos. Bradbury, 1992. (Gr. 3-7)

Family Pictures / Cuadros de Familia

Lomas Garza, Carmen. Illus. by the author. Children's Book Press, 1990. (Gr. 1-4)

Pyramid

Macaulay, David Illus. by the author. Houghton Mifflin, 1975. (Gr. 4-8)

BIOGRAPHIES

Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man Adler, David A. Illus. by Terry Widener. Harcourt, 1997. (Gr. 2-5)

William Shakespeare and the Globe

Aliki. HarperCollins, 1999. (Gr. 2-8)

Flight: The Journey of Charles Lindbergh

Burleigh, Robert. Illus. by Mike Wimmer. Philomel, 1991. (Gr. 2-6)

Eleanor

Cooney, Barbara. Illus. by the author. Viking, 1996. (Gr. 1-4)

Boy: Tales of Childhood

Dahl, Roald. Farrar, 1984. (Gr. 4-8)

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

Frank, Anne. Doubleday, 1967. (Gr. 7+)

Lincoln: A Photobiography

Freedman, Russell. Clarion, 1989. (Gr. 5-8)

The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane

Freedman, Russell. Holiday House, 1991. (Gr. 5-8)

And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

Fritz, Jean. Illus. by Margot Tomes. Penguin, 1996. (Gr. 2-6)

Teammates

Golenbock, Peter. Illus. by Paul Bacon. Harcourt, 1990. (Gr. 2-6)

Chuck Close Up Close

Greenberg, Jan & Jordan, Sandra. DKInk, 1998. (Gr. 4-8)

My Great Aunt Arizona

Houston, Gloria. HarperCollins, 1992. (Gr K-6)

Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought)

Krull, Kathleen. Illus. by Kathryn Hewitt. Harcourt, 2000. (Gr. 4-8)

Lives of the Presidents: Fame, Shame and What the Neighbors Thought

Krull, Kathleen. Illus. by Kathryn Hewitt. Harcourt, 1998. (Gr. 4-6)

Wilma Unlimited: How Wilma Rudolph Became the World's Fastest Woman

Krull, Kathleen. Illus. by David Diaz. Harcourt, 1996. (Gr. 2-5)

Lost Star: The Story of Amelia Earhart

Lauber, Patricia. Scholastic, 1988. (Gr. 4-7)

Author: A True Story

Lester, Helen. Illus. by the author. Houghton, 1997. (Gr. K-4)

Snowflake Bentley

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs. Illus. by Mary Azarian. Houghton Mifflin. 1998. (Gr. 1-6)

Leonardo Da Vinci

Stanley, Diane. Morrowm 1996. (Gr. 4-8)

MATH AND SCIENCE

Bet You Can't: Science Impossibilities to Fool You

Cobb, Vicki. Illus. by Stella Ormai. Lothrop, 1980. (Gr. 3-6)

It's Perfectly Normal: A Book About Changing Bodies, Growing Up, Sex, and Sexual Health

Harris, Robie H. Illus by Michael Emberley. Candlewick, 1994. (Gr. 5-8)

Hottest Coldest Highest Deepest

Jenkins, Steve. Illus. by the author. Houghton Mifflin, 1998. (Gr. K-3)

Measuring Penny

Leedy, Loreen. Illus. by the author. Henry Holt, 1998. (Gr. 1-4)

The Way Things Work

Macaulay, David Illus. by the author Houghton Mifflin, 1988. (Gr. 6+)

How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World

McNulty, Faith. Illus, by Marc Simont. HarperCollins, 1990. (Gr. 1-4)

How Much Is a Million?

Schwartz, David M. Illus. by Steven Kellogg. Lothrop, 1985. (Gr. K-4)

Volcanoes

Simon Seymour. Illus. with photos. Morrow, 1988. (Gr. 2-6)

Bridges Are to Cross

Sturges, Philemon. Illus. by Giles Laroche. Putnam, 1998. (Gr. 1-4)

A Drop of Water

Wick, Walter. Photos by the author. Scholastic, 1997. (Gr. 3-6)

SOCIAL STUDIES

The Children We Remember

Abels, Chana Byers. Illus. with photos. Greenwillow, 1986. (Gr. 3-8)

Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and the Endurance

Armstrong, Jennifer. Illus. with photos. Crown, 1998. (Gr. 6-12)

The Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark

Blumberg, Rhoda. Lothrop, 1987. (Gr. 4-8)

Though My Eyes

Bridges, Ruby. Illus. with photos. Scholastic, 1999. (Gr. 4-8)