Top Ten Tuesday: Quick Kids’ Nonfiction

Today’s theme was quick reads or books to read when time is short and I’ve done a similar book list for middle grade titles, so I wanted to take some time to try something a little different. Today I focused on quick nonfiction reads that I think are not only educational and informational, but also really engaging! There’s only one titles on this list over 100 pages (104) and most of these clock in around 40 pages.

If you’ve got a reluctant reader in your life, this might be the list to try with books that range for a wide age group and interest level. A lot of reluctant readers might prefer nonfiction to typical fiction suggestions. They might also be a little intimidated by text-heavy titles and these books will definitely pull you in to learn more. If you’re looking for more great nonfiction titles, check out this great post that not only describes all the different styles of nonfiction, but a great list of books as well.

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Quick Kids’ Nonfiction

A Black Hole Is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, illustrated by Michael Carroll

What are black holes, what causes them, and how the heck did scientists discover them? Acclaimed STEM writer Carolyn DeCristofano’s playful text shares how astronomers find black holes, introduces our nearest black-hole neighbors, and provides an excellent introduction to an extremely complex scientific topic. Gorgeous space paintings supplement real telescopic images, and funny doodles and speech bubbles keep the content light and fun. (80 pages)

Escape at 10,000 Feet: D. B. Cooper and the Missing Money by Tom Sullivan

CASE NO. 001: NORJAK

NOVEMBER 24, 1971

PORTLAND, OREGON

2:00 P.M.

A man in his mid-forties, wearing a suit and overcoat, buys a ticket for Northwest Orient Airlines flight 305 bound for Seattle.

3:07 P.M.

The man presents his demands: $200,000 in cash and four parachutes. If the demands are not met, he threatens to detonate the explosive device in his briefcase.

So begins the astonishing true story of the man known as D.B. Cooper, and the only unsolved airplane hijacking case in the United States. Comic panels, reproductions of documents from real FBI files, and photos from the investigation combine for a thrilling read for sleuths of all ages. (104 pages)

Finding Winnie: The True Story of the World’s Most Famous Bear by Lindsay Mattick, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

In 1914, Harry Colebourn, a veterinarian on his way to tend horses in World War I, followed his heart and rescued a baby bear. He named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg, and he took the bear to war.

Harry Colebourn’s real-life great-granddaughter tells the true story of a remarkable friendship and an even more remarkable journey–from the fields of Canada to a convoy across the ocean to an army base in England…

And finally to the London Zoo, where Winnie made another new friend: a real boy named Christopher Robin. (56 pages)

Grand Canyon by Jason Chin

Rivers wind through earth, cutting down and eroding the soil for millions of years, creating a cavity in the ground 277 miles long, 18 miles wide, and more than a mile deep known as the Grand Canyon.

Home to an astonishing variety of plants and animals that have lived and evolved within its walls for millennia, the Grand Canyon is much more than just a hole in the ground. Follow a father and daughter as they make their way through the cavernous wonder, discovering life both present and past. (56 pages)

Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann

A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet!

Apis builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. And finally, she begins her new life as an adventurer.

The confining walls of the hive fall away as Apis takes to the air, finally free, in a brilliant double-gatefold illustration where the clear blue sky is full of promise– and the wings of dozens of honeybees, heading out in search of nectar to bring back to the hive. (40 pages)

Listen to the Language of the Trees: A Story of How Forests Communicate Underground by Tera Kelley and Marie Hermansson

This captivating book explores the real connection and communication that runs underground between trees in the forest. The well-researched details about trees’ own social network will help readers see that the natural world’s survival depends on staying connected and helping others—just like us!

Parents, teachers, and gift givers will find:

• a beautiful story about our forests with scientifically accurate information
• educational backmatter about this underground web of communication
• a nature book that supports social emotional learning

The fascinating mycorrhizal fungi network runs underground through the roots of trees in the forest allowing for connection and communication. Readers will discover that trees have their own social network to help each other survive and thrive. (40 pages)

Mars! Earthlings Welcome by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by Stevie Lewis

Meet Mars! The red planet. Planet Marvelous. Favorite sibling of Earth (or so he claims). Sometimes they’re close (just 34.5 million miles apart). Sometimes they need space (250 million miles apart)! Earth and Mars have a lot in common―clouds, mountains, polar icecaps. And while Earth has Earthlings, Mars makes a persuasive case for why people should make the journey to spend time with him. His day is 7 minutes longer! He is home to the largest volcano in the whole solar system. He’s, well, marvelous. (40 pages)

Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s Farallon Islands by Katherine Roy

A few miles from San Francisco lives a population of the ocean’s largest and most famous predators. Each fall, while the city’s inhabitants dine on steaks, salads, and sandwiches, the great white sharks return to California’s Farallon Islands to dine on their favorite meal: the seals that live on the island’s rocky coasts. Massive, fast, and perfectly adapted to hunting after 11 million years of evolution, the great whites are among the planet’s most fearsome, fascinating, and least understood animals. In the fall of 2012, Katherine Roy visited the Farallons with the scientists who study the islands’ shark population. She witnessed seal attacks, observed sharks being tagged in the wild, and got an up close look at the dramatic Farallons–a wildlife refuge that is strictly off-limits to all but the scientists who work there. (48 pages)

Pink is for Blobfish by Jess Keating

Some people think pink is a pretty color. A fluffy, sparkly, princess-y color. But it’s so much more.
Sure, pink is the color of princesses and bubblegum, but it’s also the color of monster slugs and poisonous insects. Not to mention ultra-intelligent dolphins, naked mole rats and bizarre, bloated blobfish.

Isn’t it about time to rethink pink? (48 pages)

Tricky Vic: The Impossibly True Story of Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower by Greg Pizzoli

In the early 1900s, Robert Miller, a.k.a. “Count Victor Lustig,” moved to Paris hoping to be an artist. A con artist, that is. He used his ingenious scams on unsuspecting marks all over the world, from the Czech Republic, to Atlantic ocean liners, and across America. Tricky Vic pulled off his most daring con in 1925, when he managed to “sell” the Eiffel Tower to one of the city’s most successful scrap metal dealers! Six weeks later, he tried to sell the Eiffel Tower all over again. Vic was never caught. For that particular scam, anyway… (48 pages)

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.