Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday - Top Five Picks for the First Half of 2014



Thank you everyone for all of the great posts each week for the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge 2014.

In the past, I have tried to review all of the picture books I have read during the first half of the year and select my favorite 10 at the end of June. This year, I decided to select my top five nonfiction picture books and then do another post for my top five fiction picture books. Out of the the 50+ nonfiction picture books published in 2014 that I have currently read, here are my favorites in no particular order.


Grandfather Gandhi by Arun Gandhi, Bethany Hegedus; Illustrated by Evan Turk (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, March 2014) - A glimpse into the life of Gandhi by his grandson Arun.  Readers learn about peace along with Arun.


A Baby Elephant in the Wild by Caitlin O'Connell; Photographs by Timothy Rodwell (HMH Books for Young Readers, March 2014) - By the team that brought us The Elephant Scientist comes a story about the birth and life of a baby elephant.  Informative and very accessible for younger readers.


Handle With Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey by Loree Griffin Burns; Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz (Millbrook Press, January 2014) - I was fascinated about the story of a butterfly farm in Costa Rica and the photographs brought it to vivid life.


Water Can Be... by Laura Purdie Salas; Illustrated by Violeta Dabija (Millbrook Press, April 2014) - This follow up to A Leaf Can Be... is just as beautifully illustrated.  The simple phrases bring new vision to something as meaningful as water.


The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra by Chris Raschka (Candlewick Press, May 2014) - Both the illustrations and text work together beautifully in this picture book biography of the jazz musician, Sun Ra. Raschka does an amazing job capturing the spirit and life of this unique musician.

What are your favorite nonfiction picture books published in 2014?

Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews...