Texas Topaz Nonfiction List for Grades K-12

Here are just some of the recommended titles for grades K-12 from the 2026 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/reading-lists for the full list and lists from previous years.

Updated January 13, 2026
Lewisville Public Library
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Lighthouse ladies : shining a spotlight on hardy heroines
Coronado, Kris
The derring-do of Shark Lady meets the inspiration of Mae Among the Stars in the true stories of four intrepid and diverse women of history as they battle weather and waves to save sailors at sea. Kris Coronado's debut nonfiction picture book, perfect for fans of Hello, Lighthouse,...
Earthrise : the story of a photograph that changed the way we see our planet
Marcus, Leonard S.
Paper Book
From award-winning historian Leonard S. Marcus, Earthrise is a unique middle-grade nonfiction book about the astonishing photograph taken during the Apollo 8 mission that forever shifted the way we view ourselves and our planet. Gazing out the window of the Apollo 8...
Meet the mini-mammals : a night at the natural history museum
Stewart, Melissa
Meet some of the world's very smallest mini-mammals in this adorable and informative nonfiction picture book with actual-size illustrations from Sibert Honoree Melissa Stewart and Caldecott Honoree Brian Lies. Big mammals like elephants, hippos, and giraffes get a...
The friendship train : a true story of helping and healing after World War II
Levy, Debbie
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection An impeccably researched, touching true story of the kindness of strangers around the world following World War II from a bestselling author and award-winning illustrator. On one side of the ocean, a war...
His fairytale life : a book about Hans Christian Andersen
Yolen, Jane
Paper Book
The storyteller becomes the story in this illuminating biographical picture book of Hans Christian Andersen, father of the modern fairy tale. A century and a half have passed since Hans Christan Andersen's death, but his stories are more alive than ever. Across languages, borders...
Narwhal : unicorn of the Arctic
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
Venture to the Arctic Ocean and discover real life underwater unicorns--narwhals--in this stunningly illustrated nonfiction picture book. A HORN BOOK AND BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR You are a narwhal. Shy... Swift... Small...
Tell me about Juneteenth
Nash, Kortney
Paper Book
Celebrate Juneteenth with this empowering picture book! On June 19th, 1865, the last enslaved African Americans were finally freed in Galveston, Texas. Every year, our community comes together to honor this special day. We play hopscotch, eat spice cake, and listen to music,...
Volcanoes
Beckerman, Nell Cross
Paper Book
The team behind the acclaimed book Caves returns with an enticing exploration of one of the most explosive wonders on the planet -- Volcanoes! A rumble. A tremble. A grumble. Growing, growling, getting hot. When will it... POP?! Using evocative storytelling, Nell Cross...
We are American, too
Chase, Kristen M.
Paper Book
An exquisitely illustrated and beautifully penned picture book about Asian American history, identity, and pride. Mei is a young Chinese American girl filled with curiosity about her family's history in Washington, D.C. Delving into their tales of courage, hope, and resilience...
Whales in the city
Castaldo, Nancy F.
Paper Book
For fans of If Sharks Disappeared, this kid-friendly picture book is a true story about how community action saved the whales of New York Harbor and reversed the effects of climate change. Spanning from pre-colonization to today, learn how the industrial revolution,...
Cactus queen : Minerva Hoyt establishes Joshua Tree National Park
Alexander, Lori
Paper Book
A 2025 Bank Street College of Education Cook Prize Silver Medalist The Nature Generation's 2025 Green Earth Book Award Short List How did the Joshua Tree National Park in California come to be? Meet Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, an artist, activist, and environmentalist, whose...
Dragonflies of glass : the story of Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany girls
Rubin, Susan Goldman
Paper Book
From award-winning kids' nonfiction author Susan Goldman Rubin, and radiantly illustrated by Susanna Chapman, the picture book Dragonflies of Glass celebrates the innovation, determination, and ambition of the brilliant woman artist behind the world-famous Tiffany glass ...
The five sides of Marjorie Rice : how to discover a shape
Alznauer, Amy
Paper Book
"Writing with a storyteller's flair, Alznauer captures her audience's attention with colorful phrases and interesting facts." --Booklist (starred review) Ablaze with pattern and color, this ebullient picture book biography celebrates the intersection of art and science-...
The house on the canal : the story of the house that hid Anne Frank
Harding, Thomas
Paper Book
"Deeply moving, powerful, and breathtaking." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review) A house reveals the story of its inhabitants, including Anne Frank--and honors four centuries of history--in a moving and exquisitely illustrated picture book from the creators of...
Hurricane
Chin, Jason
Caldecott and Sibert Medalist Jason Chin charts the thrilling saga of an island community's brush with a category three hurricane, and the cutting-edge science that helps them prepare. It's a beautiful day on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. But while all seems calm now, a...
Making light bloom : Clara Driscoll and the Tiffany lamps
Nickel, Sandra
Paper Book
The untold story of Clara Driscoll, a nature lover with the mind of a creative innovator and the unsung genius who designed and engineered the iconic Tiffany lamp Drawing inspiration from her childhood gardens, Clara Driscoll created designs for Louis C. Tiffany's stained glass...
Mariam's dream : the story of Mariam Al-Shaar and her food truck of hope
Boukarim, Leila
Paper Book
Mariam's Dream follows real-life freedom dreamer Mariam Al-Shaar, known around the world for building Soufra, a women-run kitchen in the Bourj Al-Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. This is a story about how one woman can make a huge difference.
The world entire : a true story of an extraordinary World War II rescue
Brown, Elizabeth
Everyone knows Oskar Schindler and his famous list, but few have heard of Aristides de Sousa Mendes―a Portuguese diplomat who saved the lives of thousands in World War II. This magnificently illustrated picture book biography tells a moving story
The bard and the book : how the first folio saved the plays of William Shakespeare from oblivion
Bausum, Ann
Paper Book
The unlikely true story of why we know the name William Shakespeare today, and the four-hundred-year-old book that made it possible. Four hundred years ago, no one bothered to write down the exact words of stage plays. Characters' lines were scribbled on small rolls of paper (as...
Fighter in the woods : the true story of a Jewish girl who joined the partisans in World War II
Greene, Joshua
Paper Book
From award-winning author Joshua M. Greene (The Girl Who Fought Back; Signs of Survival) comes this remarkable true story of a Jewish girl in Nazi-occupied Poland who escaped near death to join -- and fight -- with the Soviet partisans in the woods. For Celia, life is...
Scat : the incredible science of wildlife poop
Sanchez, Anita
Discover how poop can actually help protect our planet in this nonfiction book on the nutrient cycle and scientific problem solving. What could be more revolting, useless, and downright disgusting than poop? But in nature's endless and complex cycles, there's no such thing as...
Seeds of discovery : how Barbara McClintock used corn and curiosity to solve a science mystery and win a Nobel prize
Alexander, Lori
Paper Book
The quirky and singular Nobel Prize winner Barbara McClintock, a founder of modern genetics who did things her own way, is honored in this lively young STEM biography by Sibert Honor winner Lori Alexander.  Celebrating the power of curiosity and the rewards of tenacity,...
Spying on spies : how Elizebeth Smith Friedman broke the Nazis' secret codes
Moss, Marissa
Paper Book
Bestselling and award-winning author-illustrator Marissa Moss tells the gripping story of America's first female cryptanalyst, Elizebeth Smith Friedman, who busted Nazi spy rings. Praised for her accessible blend of narrative nonfiction with graphic novel-style chapter openers...
At last she stood : how Joey Guerrero spied, survived, and fought for freedom
Kelly, Erin Entrada
NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children Honor Book Chicago Public Library Best Book "A courageous, uplifting biography of a woman almost lost to history." -ALA Booklist World War II spy, Filipino guerrilla fighter,...
Death in the jungle : murder, betrayal, and the lost dream of Jonestown
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
How did Jim Jones, the leader of Peoples Temple, convince more than 900 of his followers to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide-laced punch? From a master of narrative nonfiction comes a chilling chronicle of one of the most notorious cults in American history. A YALSA...
Putin vs. Zelensky : the Russo-Ukrainian war: why it's happening and how it all got started
Thompson, Ben
Everything you needed to know about the war between Russia and Ukraine as told by children's nonfiction author Ben Thompson (Guts & Glory series). Conversational and straightforward, this is a must-read for any reader looking to have a better understanding of the current global events.
White House secrets : medical lies and cover-ups
Jarrow, Gail
Finalist, 2026 YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults A School Library Journal Best Book Chicago Public Library Best of the Best List 2025 Here are the shocking, yet true, stories of presidential medical cover-ups from the 19th to the 21st century-the...

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