Nonfiction makes up the majority of what adults read. But too often kids don’t get enough nonfiction reading. Here are 10+of our favorite nonfiction series books to get that nonfiction reading in, from Kindergarten to 5th grades.
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For each nonfiction book series, I’m including a brief description and an age range. This age range is only a suggestion, as reading abilities and interests can range greatly from child to child.
Our Top 10 Favorite Nonfiction Series Books for Grades K-5
Rookie Readers has several nonfiction series, including Rookie Readers Science, Rookie Readers Geography, and Rookie Readers Biographies {many of these are older}. These are great nonfiction texts for young readers {1st/beginning of 2nd grade} to read themselves or make great read alouds for younger kids. The print is larger and they contain nice photographs/images.
I Can Read! Series– This is a common series you can find even in Wal-Mart. The print is larger, like the Rookie Readers Series and the pictures are simply amazing! I’d also classify these for kids reading at a 1st/beginning of 2nd grade level.
Gail Gibbons Books– We own many of Gail Gibbons’ books. If there’s something your child wants to learn about, there’s a Gail Gibbons book for that! Seriously though. This lady has written a TON of nonfiction texts, perfect for read alouds to the younger grades or reading texts for the older grades. My favorites are her holidaybooks because they share interesting facts about how special holidays came to be. {for grades K and up}
Seymour Simon Books–The images in these texts are absolutely breath-taking and engaging for readers. While they are not chapter books, they are filled with interesting science facts that will draw kids in. Because he does not use headings and subheadings within his texts, I love to ask 4th and 5th graders to read and divide the text into sections to workon nonfiction text features and text structures. {for grades K-4th}
APicture Book of… Biographies by David Adler {author of the Cam Jansen books} – Love the pictures and facts shared in these biographies! I’ve used them as read alouds for 1st and 2nd graders, but 3rd graders could totally read them on their own. {for grades 1st – 4th}
National Geographic KidsReaders– These books haveTONS of images/photographs, so they are not intimidating to young readers. There are several different science and geography topics to choose from that are typically of high interest to kids. Theyare also filled with different kinds of text features and the perfect resource to teach this, even with older kids. There are THREE LEVELS of books within this series, Level 1 {Preschool-1st grade}, Level 2 {K-3rd grade}, and Level 3 {2nd-4th grades}. Younger kids may even enjoy the Little Kids First Big Books by National Geographic.
We also GREATLY enjoy these National Geographic books, which make WONDERFUL read alouds in the younger grades {K-3rd grades}. We have ALLof these (and I honestly wish they had more!): A Tree for All Seasons, Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie, Apples for Everyone, Pilgrims of Plymouth, Winter Wonderland, Everything Spring & Insects.
Let’s Read and Find Out Series– We have a TON of these, as I use them over and over againin our science lessons. Much like the National Geographic Kids series, there’s a Level 1 {Preschool-3rd grades} andLevel 2{K-4th grades}. Although the images are drawn, the facts in these books are spot-on and match up well with the science concepts and topics covered in these grades.
Magic Tree House Nonfiction Companions– If you have a child who has enjoyed the Magic Tree House series, then she’ll enjoy the nonfiction companions. I also think these are PERFECT for struggling readers in the older grades because they are easier to read (on about the same level as the Magic Tree House fiction texts) and have high interest topics. {for grades 2nd-5th}
True Books Series– We check these out from the library often. They have many books in this series that are great for studying history or other cultures and lands. I love the way the text is laid out with fun facts and captions. I also think the online resources provided towards the end of the book are a great way to expand kids’ understandings of the topics. {for grades 2nd-5th}
Scholastic True or False–These books are highly interactive as kids guess whether the information is true or false. It’s a great way to introduce a topic {they stick with mainly animals and Earth science}.I’ve even learned a lot, like did you know that tigers have the sharpest teeth of all the cats? {for grades 2nd-5th}
If You…Series– This nonfiction series is FILLED with details and interesting facts about the lives of people and events in history. Usually when I read them aloud, I just pick out the sections I want to read or we read the book in several sittings, as the books are long and contain tons of info. {for grades 2nd-5th}
Who Was? / Who Is? Series – This nonfiction series does a great job of presenting information surrounding aperson or event in history, particularly American history, although there are some books in this series that do not pertain to American history, like Who Was King Tut? orWho Was Queen Elizabeth?These chapter books do a phenomenal job of filling in background knowledge for readers by providing extra blurbs on topics that pertain to the subject of the book. {ages 3rd-6th grades}
What nonfiction series books would you include on your favorite list?
More ReadingResources:
- How to Choose “Just Right” Books: Helping Kids Grow as Readers by Becky Spence
- Nonfiction Text Features and Text Structures
- Nonfiction Text Structures {Part 1} ~ with FREE graphic organizers
- Nonfiction Text Structures {Part 2} ~ with FREE graphic organizers
Visit all the book lists in this series by clicking here or on the image above.
~Becky
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