Two weeks ago, I kicked off the Best Of posts when I shared with everyone the Best Of... Lists for Children's Books and how they fared with nonfiction. Last week, I shared Part I of the Best Nonfiction for Kids 2014. Since then, I have been frantically squeezing in some additional books from my list including listening to a few audiobooks in order to finish this post. Since I had so many books to feature, I knew I would have to do this is two parts and after seeing this list I almost wondered if I needed three posts. Here is Part II of Best Nonfiction for Kids 2014 in no particular order.
Best Nonfiction Audiobook:
Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell; Illustrated by Christian Robinson; Narrated by Lizan Mitchell (Recorded Books 2014)
Runners-Up: Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Penguin Audio, August 2014); The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of the Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming (Listening Library Audio, July 2014); Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin (Listening Library, January 2014);
Best Illustrations:
Tooth & Claw: The Wild World of Big Predators by Jim Arnosky (Sterling, April 2014)
Best Text for Mentor Texts:
Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart; Illustrated by Sarah S. Brannen (Charlesbridge, February 2014)
Runner Up: Creature Features: Twenty-five Animals Explain Why They Look The Way They Do by Steve Jenkins, Robin Page (HMH Books for Young Readers, October 2014)
Best Historical Fiction that can almost pass for Nonfiction:
Ben Franklin's Big Splash: The Mostly True Story of His First Invention by Barb Rosenstock (Calkins Creek, September 2014)
Runner Up: Shooting at the Stars by John Hendrix (Abrams, October 2014)
Best Book Around a Global Issue:
Every Last Drop: Bringing Clean Water Home by Michelle Mulder (Orca Books, April 2014)
Runner Up: Every Day is Malala Day by Rosemary McCarney (Second Story Press, March 2014)
Best Artistically Created Book:
Migrant: The Journey of a Mexican Worker by Jose Manual Mateo; Illustrated by Javier Martinez Pedro (Abrams, April 2014)
Best Biography:
The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant; Illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Eerdman's Publishers, September 2014)
Best Picture Book Memoir:
The Scraps Book by Lois Ehlert (Simon & Schuster, March 2014)
Best Biography About A Visual or Performing Artist:
The Cosmobiography of Sun Ra: The Sound of Joy is Enlightening by Chris Raschka (Candlewick Press, May 2014)
Runner-Ups: Hello, I'm Johnny Cash by G. Neri; Illustrated by A.G. Ford (Candlewick Press, September 2014); The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock (Alfred A. Knopf, February 2014);
Best Biography About an Animal:
Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla by Katherine Applegate; Illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books, October 2014)
Runner-Ups: Abayomi, The Brazilian Puma: The True Story of an Orphaned Cub by Darcy Pattison; Illustrated by Kitty Harvill (Mims House, April 2014); Rags: A Hero Dog of WWI: A True Story by Margot Theis Raven; Illustrated by Petra Brown (Sleeping Bear Press, August 2014); Strongheart: The World's First Movie Star Dog by Emily Arnold McCully (Henry Holt & Co., November 2014)
Best Long-Form Nonfiction:
The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming (Schwartz & Wade, July 2014)
Runners Ups: Bugged: How Insects Changed History by Sarah Albee (Walker Childrens, April 2014); How They Choked: Failures, Flops, and Flaw of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg (Walker Childrens, May 2014); Port Chicago 50: Disaster, Mutiny, and the Fight for Civil Rights by Steve Sheinkin (Roaring Brook Press, January 2014); Red Madness: How a Medical Mystery Changed What We Eat by Gail Jarrow (Calkins Creek, April 2014)
And three more that I am adding just because this is my list and I liked them...
Handle With Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey by Loree Griffin Burns; Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz (Millbrook Press, March 2014)
Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis; Illustrated by Gilbert Ford (HMH Books for Young Readers, September 2014)
The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats: A Scientific Mystery by Sandra Markle (September 2014)
So, what books would be on your list?
For the past three years, I have had the pleasure of hosting the Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday Challenge. From checking out everyone's posts, I can say with confidence that everyone has read more nonfiction this year than in past years. As you think about your 2015 goals, I hope that you'll be ready to join the challenge for another year. This year, I pushed myself to read even more nonfiction and to fill in some of my gaps. Next year, I am looking at how I can further grow in my understanding and appreciation of children's nonfiction books.
Stop by next week to sign-up for the 2015 Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge.
Don't forget to link up your nonfiction reviews or best of lists: