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
Paper Book
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, is brilliantly...
Meet the mini-mammals : a night at the natural history museum
Stewart, Melissa
Paper Book
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
Paper Book
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...
José feeds the world : how a famous chef feeds millions of people in need around the world
Unger, David
Paper Book
The true story of Jose Andres, an award-winning chef, food activist, and founder of World Central Kitchen, a disaster-relief organization that uses the power of food to nourish communities after catastrophe strikes. When a terrible earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, chef Jose Andres knew he...
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...
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,...
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,...
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-...
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.
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
Paper Book
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, this engaging...
The true story of vanilla : how Edmond Albius made history
Richards, Ann
Paper Book
★ "Moving and bittersweet...Discusses the reality of slavery and the racial violence and prejudice formerly enslaved individuals experienced." -- Booklist, starred review In 1841, a 12-year-old enslaved boy, Edmond Albius, made history when he discovered how to hand-pollinate vanilla...
At last she stood : how Joey Guerrero spied, survived, and fought for freedom
Kelly, Erin Entrada
Paper Book
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...

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