Children's Books Too Cool for School

Nonfiction can be a lot harder to "review" in the traditional sense. Because of this, a lot of great nonfiction not only gets ignored, but is often viewed by parents, teachers, and kids as not being "reading."

So, I'd like to call some brief attention to some great NF books I've had a chance to peruse lately.

How Many Baby Pandas? by Sandra Markle



A great one for the younger set, this is a counting book with a twist! An adorable panda twist. Using photos from the Wolong Giant Panda Breeding and Research Center in China, this book will make you squeal out loud like an idiot. See also: Panda Kindergarten by Joyanne Ryder, which uses some of the same shots for an older audience.

America : The Making of a Nation by Charlie Samuels



This might be one to hand sell those "ology" readers. It is real history, but laid out much like an "ology" book with cool pull outs and pictures. I do wish it had a few more bells and whistles, but at least the cover is eye-catching. Librarians, on the other hand, will love the lack of bells and whistles, because it means less stuff to lose!

Flags of the World by Sylvie Bednar




I was always a nerdy child, and I'm a nerdy adult, too. But this book is just the kind of thing that fascinates me. It isn't just a listing of the flags, (which are presented on large, full-color, glossy pages), there's also a little information about the whats and whys of the flags' designs. This would be useful even for adult reference.

So, that's this week's... month's... decade's? nonfiction roundup. I'll try to throw some more of these in from time to time, but I can't make any promises for when!