Narrative Nonfiction picture book recommendations are by Angela Ferraris, The Retired School Librarian.
(The content below contains Amazon affiliate links. When you buy through these links, Mrs. Ferraris may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. These titles may be found on my Amazon Storefront under Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books– https://amzn.to/48NBD2O .)
❗This cumulative list grows over time, with the newest books always appearing at the top.❗
Behind My Doors: The Story of the World’s Oldest Library
by Hena Khan (Author), Nabila Adani (Illustrator)
Summary: Al Qarawiyyin Library tells us about itself being built in 859 in Fez, Morocco, and being the oldest library in the world. Fatima al-Fihri built a mosque and school for her community with a small library that grew over the centuries.
There is a room that can only be entered by four guards, who have to turn all of the keys at the same time for the copper doors to open. Now, only the curator has the keys. What could be so precious inside?
Comments: This narrative nonfiction book is told from the perspective of the library, from its very beginning until Dr. Chaouni, an architect who was hired to restore the building, renovates it.
The illustrations were created digitally.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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The Fabulous Fannie Farmer: Kitchen Scientist and America’s Cook
by Emma Bland Smith (Author), Susan Reagan (Illustrator)
Brief summary: In the late 1800s, Fannie Farmer developed a passion for cooking. Despite contracting polio at the age of sixteen, she enrolled in the Boston Cooking School, where she excelled and eventually became the principal. Fannie’s teaching focused on precise measurements and exact cooking methods, ensuring success for home cooks.
She rewrote the school’s cookbook with precision, which became incredibly popular. Fannie also gave lectures nationwide and even taught at Harvard Medical School.
Comments: After reading this narrative nonfiction picture book, I learned that people used non-standard measurements for cooking even though standard measurements were available. I was surprised to discover the variety of measurements in recipes passed down from generation to generation, such as a dash of this, a smidge of that, or a pinch of this.
The back sections contain photos and additional information about Fannie and the Boston Cooking School and how Ms. Farmer really improved cooking through precise and detailed recipes.
Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2
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Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World
by Vivian Kirkfield (Author), Alison Jay (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Annie Londonderry saw an ad in 1894 promising $10,000 to the first woman to travel around the globe on a bike. She taught herself to ride a bike and set off, following the rules of speaking English, accepting no donations, and earning $5,000 while traveling.
Comments: This inspirational narrative nonfiction picture book shares the story of an incredibly brave woman who overcame obstacles and injuries, persevered to win a bet, and was motivated by providing a better life for her children.
The back sections include an Author’s Note, Brakes, Bloomers, and Other Bicycle Bits, a Timeline, and a Bibliography.
The illustrations are created with alkyd oil paint on paper with varnish.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Gifts from Georgia’s Garden: How Georgia O’Keeffe Nourished Her Art
by Lisa Robinson (Author), Hadley Hooper (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Georgia O’Keeffe is known for her stunning paintings of flowers and wildlife in New Mexico. This narrative nonfiction picture book emphasizes and explores how she cultivated her own sustainable garden using water conservation, companion planting, and composting.
Comments: Reading a book about an artist’s life rather than their art was a refreshing change.
The back sections explain how Georgia O’Keefe gardened and includes two of her recipes.
The illustrations were created with pen, paint, and paper and assembled in Photoshop.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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A Grand Idea: How William J. Wilgus Created Grand Central Terminal
by Megan Hoyt (Author), David Szalay (Illustrator)
Brief summary: In 1902, Manhattan was full of people from all over the country visiting by train. A terrible train collision caused William J. Wilgus, a chief engineer, to devise a better plan to reduce and organize all of the train traffic to prevent any more accidents.
In this narrative nonfiction picture book, young readers will learn how he created this magnificent railroad station called Grand Central Terminal.
Comments: The back sections include information about William J. Wilgus and the Grand Central Terminal, fascinating facts about the terminal, a timeline, and sources.
The illustrations were created digitally with Adobe Photoshop.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Everybody’s Book: The Story of the Sarajevo Haggadah
by Linda Leopold Strauss (Author), Tim Smart (Illustrator)
Brief summary: In the mid-14th century, a Jewish wedding took place in Spain where the couple received a hand-painted haggadah for their Passover celebrations. The book was adorned with decorations of copper and gold. Passed down through generations, it eventually ended up in the possession of relatives who sold it to The National Museum in Sarajevo, Bosnia in 1894. This historic artifact is now known as the Sarajevo Haggadah. It’s remarkable that the book has survived through numerous wars.
Comments: The back sections in this narrative nonfiction book are Author Note, About the Author, and About the Illustrator.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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For more information:
Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall
by Lynn Brunelle (Author), Jason Chin (Illustrator)
Brief summary: This narrative nonfiction story begins with a blue whale eating krill and tells us how old she is, and her last day on earth. She dies and falls into the ocean but comes back up floating on the surface thanks to the gases in her body. Her body is now an ecosystem with many creatures benefiting.
Comments: The illustrations were created using watercolor and gouache on paper.
The back sections are A Bit About Blue Whales, What Are Ecosystems? It’s a Phase, A Little Pod of Whale Books, Whale Falls Online, and Selected Bibliography.
There are several nonfiction text features such as labels, maps, and diagrams.to help explain the whale’s cycle of life.
Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2
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The Wolf Effect: A Wilderness Revival Story (A Voice of the Wilderness Picture Book)
by Rosanne Parry (Author), Jennifer Thermes (Illustrator)
Brief summary: Young readers will learn about how the Yellowstone region became a national park and how it changed the humans and animals that inhabited the area. The reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park is told through rhyming verse and story panels, demonstrating the positive effect on the environment and surroundings.
Comments: The illustrations were created using watercolor and colored pencil on Arches hot-pressed paper. Nonfiction text features such as maps and labels had me stopping and looking at all of the details.
The back sections are Who is Who?, A Brief History of Wolves in the American West, Artist’s Note, Glossary, and Additional Resources.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
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One Day This Tree Will Fall
by Leslie Barnard Booth (Author), Stephanie Fizer Coleman (Illustrator)
Brief summary: In this narrative nonfiction picture book, we learn the story of a tree’s beginning as a seed, its growth, providing food and shelter to animals, and its continued contribution after it dies.
Comments: The illustrations were created using gouache, colored pencil, and Photoshop.
The back sections are A Tree’s Story Never Ends, Trees and People, Glossary, and Selected Sources.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons
by Laura Purdie Salas (Author), Alexandria Neonakis (Illustrator).
Brief summary: A mother and father loon raise a mallard duckling. The duckling learns the ways of the loons, like eating minnows and taking food from them.
Comments: This story in verse is based on a true story in 2019 in a Wisconsin Lake as part of the Loon Project, where researchers observed a loon pair taking care of a duckling. What makes this unique is that loons usually drive away mallard ducks.
The back pages include sections such as Is This Story True?, The Intruder, and Very Different Birds(with a Venn Diagram).
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Rise to the Sky: How the World’s Tallest Trees Grow Up
by Rebecca E. Hirsch (Author), Mia Posada (Illustrator). .
Brief summary: Young readers will learn about a tree’s life cycle from a tiny sprout to a tall tree.
Comments: Back sections include How Does a Tall Tree Grow?, Where Do the Tallest Trees Live?, and two activities.
The illustrations are cut-paper collages with watercolor but have photographs of the tallest trees in the back of the book.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Special Delivery: A Book’s Journey Around the World
by Polly Faber (Author), Klas Fahlén (Illustrator).
Brief summary: A book is made and journeys in various forms of transportation across the city, sea, and through the country until it reaches Pip’s Bookshop, where it is bought and sent to a grandson.
Comments: The back has Special Delivery Numbers of interesting statistics about the book’s journey.
Full, detailed illustrations with bright colors. I stopped and looked at each page to get more details of the transportation story from them.
Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2
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Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius: A True Story About an Amazing Swimmer
by Lynne Cox (Author), Richard Jones (Illustrator).
Brief summary: A Loggerhead hatchling finds her way across the Australian beach when the moon is full. She swims for the first time in the Indian Ocean, encountering many marine and land animals and fish on her journey.
The turtle is tangled in a net until a fisherman rescues her and helps her return to good health. Unable to keep the turtle, the fisherman gives her to an aquarium, where she is released into the sea with a tracking device. People can watch where she swims in the ocean. Will she make it back to her home?
Comments: This is a true story with more information in the Author’s Note.
I kept reading to find out more about Yoshi and if she was going to be okay or not.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Poop for Breakfast: Why Some Animals Eat It
by Sara Levine (Author), Florence Weiser (Illustrator).
Brief summary: Young readers will learn about why some animals eat feces. One can read a simple narrative or include a more correlating detailed description as the story continues teaching readers everything they need to know, including the correct terminology of why animals eat poop.
Comments: Well, I learned a lot from reading this book and recommend it to children and adults who desire to learn more about this topic, which was done in a very tasteful manner (excuse the pun).
The back sections include The Scoop on Poop, Be a Book Detective, By Any Other Name, and Further Reading.
Rating: 4/5 📗📗📗📗
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Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider
by Jessica Lanan (Author, Illustrator).
Brief summary: As soon as I open the book, I meet the main character as big as bean, Jumper, a jumping spider. Jumper is hungry and goes hunting for food in the family’s backyard. She jumps without worry as her silk is a safety line. Vibrations help the spider know if a predator or prey is nearby. Will Jumper ever find dinner, or will she become dinner?
Comments: Excellent back sections with more details about his spider, with close-ups illustrated by hand. A few other spiders are discussed, along with the life cycle of a jumping spider. There is a Glossary, Author’s Note, Finding and Identifying Spiders, and Resources sections.
This book begins and ends on the paste-down end pages. There is a fold-out demonstrating how a spider sees with eight eyes.
This book asks readers questions to pause and reflect upon the spider’s life. Dialogic reading.
Rating: 5/5 📗📗📗📗📗
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The Forest Keeper– The True Story of Jadav Payeng
by Rina Singh (Author), Ishita Jain (Illustrator).
Brief summary: Jadav Payeng, a tribal boy living in India, went to the elders in 1979 when the Brahmaputra River took large parts of the islands’ land mass away when it flooded. He wanted them to help him plant trees on an island called Majuli to help prevent the island from disappearing.
The forest department gave him bamboo seedlings and told him to plant the forest himself. So, he did. Has the past thirty years of his hard work helped the area and animals?
Comments: The front and end pages give more details about this passionate individual whose hard work and dedication completely changed Mujuli Island and the Molai Forest(named after him). It can take just one person to make a significant impact in a positive way.
Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗
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Nobody Likes Frogs: A Book of Toadally Fun Facts
by Barbara Davis-Pyles (Author), Liz Wong (Illustrator).
Brief summary: A turtle narrates how much it does not like frogs while learning all about them as the story progresses. Does the turtle have a change of heart? Will the reader?
Comments: The back sections are Frog Facts and Be Somebody Who Likes Frogs by Helping Them!. The pasted-down end pages are full of different types of frogs.
This is a general book about frogs. I learned that frogs can live as long as twenty years.
Rating: 3/5 📗📗📗
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The selected children’s books are chosen by a highly qualified retired elementary school librarian, who passionately reads and recommends picture books to teachers, school librarians, parents, grandparents, and other book enthusiasts.
Most of the books Mrs. Ferraris recommends are checked out from the public library. The only exception is for the complimentary copies that she receives for an honest review, which are duly noted.