Rounding up the best nonfiction for children and teens
Spotlight on Stepping (Just Dance)
by Mel Hammond (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: Get ready to stomp, step, and clap! Discover stepping from its beginnings in Black communities to how people perform and celebrate this type of dance today. Then try it yourself!
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)
Stokes: The Brief Career of the NBA’s First Black Superstar
by Ty Chapman (Author), John Coy (Author), Lonnie Ollivierre (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: In a 1958 game against the Minneapolis Lakers, Stokes, went down hard and hit his head, losing consciousness. At the time, there was no concussion protocol, and Stokes went back into the game. A few days later, he went into a coma and woke up unable to move his body from the neck down. Players did not have any sort of financial support in situations like this, and Stokes’s teammate Jack Twyman worked with other players and Milton Kutsher to put on a benefit game during the summer at Kutsher’s hotel in the Catskills. This game became an annual tradition, and Stokes was eventually able to travel and watch the game.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)
Motorcycle Queen
by Janie Havemeyer (Author) and Jean Claverie (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: A woman riding a motorcycle was shocking enough to Americans in the 1930s, but one who performed stunts and traveled cross-country by herself was practically unheard of! Ever defying expectations, Bessie Stringfield made an indelible mark as the “Motorcycle Queen,” but her story has often been overlooked. (In 1941, she even served her country on a blue Harley-Davidson driving across Europe in World War II.)
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved. (*bookstore affiliate)
Great Super Bowl Traditions (NFL at a Glance)
by Drew Silverman and Heather Dilorenzo Williams (Authors)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: Short chapters highlight six aspects of the Super Bowl that make it a must-watch event each year.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Snow Man: A True Story
by Jonah Winter (Author) and Jeanette Winter (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: Meet the man living alone in the mountains whose hobby of measuring snowfall led to a global understanding of climate change.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2025 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Nature of Code: Simulating Natural Systems with JavaScript
by Daniel Shiffman (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: This beginner-friendly creative coding tutorial is designed to grow your skills in a fun, hands-on way as you build simulations of real-world phenomena such as flocking birds or dancing fireflies.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Small Stories of Great Artists
by Laurence Anholt (Author / Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: It’s been thirty years since Laurence Anholt began his beloved series about great artists and the real children who knew them. This anniversary edition includes dozens of high-quality reproductions of the artists’ work, child-friendly biographies of the artists, and interactive questions for young readers. Each story is closely based on historical events and extensive research. In many cases, Anholt visited the artists’ homes and studios, walking in their footsteps and interviewing their relatives. He was granted private access to Monet’s house in Giverny and became close friends with Sylvette David (now Lydia Corbett), Picasso’s famous Girl with a Ponytail. This volume features the following artists and their stories: Van Gogh and the Sunflowers, Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Cézanne and the Apple Boy, Picasso and the Girl with a Ponytail, The Magical Garden of Claude Monet, Tell Us a Story, Papa Chagall, Degas and the Little Dancer, Leonardo and the Flying Boy.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Let’s Get Festive!: Celebrations Around the World
by Joanna Konczak (Author), Ewa Poklewska-Koziello (Illustrator), Kate Webster (Translator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: Discover the smells, tastes, sights, and unforgettable traditions of festivals from every season in this international compendium.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
Kindred Spirits: Shilombish Ittibachvffa
by Leslie Stall Widener (Author) and Johnson Yazzie (Illustrator)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: This nonfiction picture book retells a pay-it-forward story that bridges two continents, 175 years, and two events in history–connecting Ireland, Choctaw Nation, Navajo Nation, and the Hopi Tribe.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.
The Real History of Thanksgiving
by Cayla Bellanger DeGroat (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop
Booktalk: Thanksgiving is celebrated by millions of people in the US every year. But for many people, Thanksgiving has a dark or complicated past, and the real or full story of the holiday is often left out of history. Learn about what many consider to be the first Thanksgiving and how the arrival of Pilgrims impacted the Wampanoag and other Native American nations. Then discover the myths of the national holiday and what led to the National Day of Mourning.
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It’s Nonfiction Monday!
Copyright © 2024 Anastasia Suen All Rights Reserved.