Nonfiction

The accolades keep coming for nonfiction picture books that dare to offer facts and true stories to elementary-aged readers. We cannot wait for autumn, when it's time for a whole other harvest of titles that keep children reading and learning.

Our starred middle and high school nonfiction offerings for the first half of 2025 are sure to keep readers engaged and informed. 

Margarita Engle’s collection of poetry heralds Latinx heroes and Juana Martinez-Neal’s latest celebrates a Peruvian scientist. A sprinkling of self-help titles round out the list.

Children's and YA titles are vital resources in public health education.

The winners of the 2025 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards are I Know How to Draw an Owl by Hilary Horder Hippely, illus. by Matt James; Everything We Never Had by Randy Ribay; and Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown by Candace Fleming.

A parent complaint about a nonbinary snail led a Virginia elementary school principal to cancel a visit by author Erica S. Perl. A former trial attorney, Perl offers a lesson in smart booking contracts and standing up to book and author challenges.

From a picture book about whales to middle grade books on rescuing red wolves and honeybees, these informational texts will encourage burgeoning environmentalists to take on a cause.

From fish farts to how animal poop helps fight the climate crisis, these STEM books will inform and satisfy readers who enjoy supercool titles about the slimy and disgusting.