Real Life: 10+ Nonfiction Titles

Summer is here! And that means loads of time for kids to experience books in all their glory. This is also a great time to encourage kids to read the books they choose (without having to worry about school assignments) and to try out new genres that they might be interested in learning more about. This series will offer titles for toddlers to teens and include a variety of formats. Each week will focus on a different genre and will follow the same format:

• • Mondays – Titles for Ages 3-7
  • Tuesdays – Middle Grade Titles for Ages 8-12
  • Wednesdays – Young Adult Titles for Ages 13+
  • Thursdays – Nonfiction pairings
  • Friday – Recap of the Week

Nonfiction
Adrift at Sea: A Vietnamese Boy’s Story of Survival by Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch with Tuan Ho
Tuan Ho is six-years-old in 1981 and is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with 60 other refugees fleeing Vietnam’s military police in a small, leaking fishing boat.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer
William Kamkwamba’s village was suffering from a drought and with a little imagination, some research in the village library and some spare parts, William was able to create a windmill to power the electricity for his home and pump the water his family needed to farm the land.

A Dog in the Cave: The Wolves Who Made Us Human by Kay Frydenborg
“Combining history, paleontology, biology, and cutting-edge medical science, Kay Frydenborg paints a picture of how two different species became deeply entwined—and how we coevolved into the species we are today.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans by Don Brown
“On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina’s monstrous winds and surging water overwhelmed the protective levees around low-lying New Orleans, Louisiana. Eighty percent of the city flooded, in some places under twenty feet of water. Property damages across the Gulf Coast topped $100 billion. One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three people lost their lives. The tale of this historic storm and the drowning of an American city is one of selflessness, heroism, and courage—and also of incompetence, racism, and criminality.” (Taken from Goodreads)


Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers
A closer look at the Statue of Liberty shows that her right foot is tilted as if the lady is in motion. This is the story of the Statue of Liberty and the author’s thoughts behind her right foot.

In the Shadow of Liberty: The Hidden History of Slavery, Four Presidents, and Five Black Lives by Kenneth C. Davis
A close-up look at five slaves owned by four Founding Father and how their stories are virtually invisible in the history books.
#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women edited by Mary Beth Leatherdale and Lisa Charleyboy
“An eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Sachiko: A Nagasaki Bomb Survivor’s Story by Caren Stelson
The story of six-year-old Sachiko, a Nagasaki atomic bomb survivor and how it affected her life from that day forward. This book written as a narrative nonfiction brings Sachiko’s story to life in a way that is heartbreaking and powerful.

Twelve Days in May: Freedom Ride 1961 by Larry Dane Brimner
“On May 4, 1961, a group of thirteen black and white civil rights activists launched the Freedom Ride, aiming to challenge the practice of segregation on buses and at bus terminal facilities in the South. The Ride would last twelve days.” (Taken from Goodreads)

Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers by Deborah Heiligman
Vincent Van Gogh was extremely close with his brother Theo and that relationship shaped his life. The research for this book included the 685 letters Vincent wrote his brother throughout his lifetime.

We Will Not Be Silent: The White Rose Student Resistance Movement That Defied Adolf Hitler by Russell Freedman
The true story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, Austrian born siblings who were enrolled in the Hitler Youth and later created the White Rose Student Resistance in opposition to the Nazi regime.