Texas Topaz Nonfiction List for Grades K-12

Here are just some of the 57 recommended titles for grades K-12 from the 2025 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List! The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children, teens, and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. It is intended for recreational reading and is not designed to support any particular curriculum. Visit txla.org/topaz for the full list and lists from previous years.

Updated July 1, 2025
Lewisville Public Library
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The enigma girls : how ten teenagers broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. With numerous starred reviews and accolades, from award-winning author Candace Fleming, comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies, with their hard work and...
The iguanodon's horn : how artists and scientists put a dinosaur back together again and again ... and again
Rubin, Sean
Paper Book
Highlighting the role of artists in the scientific process, this crowd-pleasing look at dinosaurs explores how new discoveries deepen our understanding of the world. AN ALA NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 2024 KID'S BOOK AWARD WINNER A HORN BOOK FANFARE TITLE ...
Impossible Escape A True Story of Survival and Heroism in Nazi Europe
Sheinkin, Steve.
Paper Book
From three-time National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor author Steve Sheinkin, a true story of two Jewish teenagers racing against time during the Holocaust--one in hiding in Hungary, and the other in Auschwitz, plotting escape. It is 1944. A teenager named Rudolf (Rudi...
Kid-ventors : 35 real kids and their amazing inventions
Pew, Kailei
Paper Book
What do swim fins, Popsicles®, Infection-Detecting Stitches, the Braille alphabet, and Taco vs. Burrito all have in common? They were all invented by kids! When Remya Jose had to spend many hours washing her family's laundry by hand, she invented a pedal powered washing...
Log life
Hevron, Amy
Paper Book
A New York Public Library Best Book for Kids 2024 A Junior Library Guild Selection Discover the tiny, fascinating world of nurse logs in this first book in an illuminating picture book series that explores how even the smallest habitats play big roles in nature.<...
Mushroom rain
Zimmermann, Laura K.
Paper Book
What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous and yet still eaten by humans, and even help create rain? The answer is mushrooms! From their hidden networks underground to the fruiting body above, mushrooms can do incredible things. But don't call them plants--mushrooms are...
My lost freedom : a Japanese American WWII story
Takei, George
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . A CALIBA GOLDEN POPPY AWARD WINNER . A moving, beautifully illustrated true story for children ages 6 to 9 about growing up in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II-from the iconic Star Trek actor, activist, and author of the New...
Small shoes, great strides : how three brave girls opened doors to school equality
Nelson, Vaunda Micheaux
Paper Book
On November 14, 1960, first graders Leona Tate, Tessie Prevost, and Gail Etienne stepped into history by going to school. Escorted by U.S. Marshals and facing swarms of shouting protestors, they became the first children in New Orleans to integrate a previously all-white school, just ten...
Stealing Little Moon : the legacy of the American Indian boarding schools
Jones, Dan C.
Paper Book
"Stealing Little Moon is both a moving family saga and an expertly told true story that all Americans should know." --Steve Sheinkin, New York Times bestselling author of Bomb and Undefeated Scholastic Focus is the premier home of thoroughly researched,...
Sweet justice : Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rockliff, Mara
Paper Book
An inspiring picture-book biography about the woman whose cooking helped feed and fund the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956, from an award-winning illustrator. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NewYork Public Library . Chicago Public Library Georgia...
Thomas Jefferson's battle for science : bias, truth, and a mighty moose!
Anderson, Beth
Paper Book
A Kirkus Best Picture Book of the Year 2025 Texas Topaz List Thomas Jefferson is one of the most famous founding fathers, but did you know that his mind was always on science? This STEM/STEAM picture book tells how Jefferson's scientific thinking and method battled against...
Uprooted : a memoir about what happens when your family moves back
Chan, Ruth
Paper Book
Perfect for fans of New Kid and A First Time for Everything, a joyful and tearful debut middle grade graphic memoir about one girl being uprooted when she moves to Hong Kong, a place where her family fits in but, for her, it's nothing like home. Ruth Chan loves...

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