17 Exceptional New Nonfiction Children’s Books, June 2025

The Secret Power of Animals written by Soledad Romero Marino, illustrated by Sonia Pulida
ANIMALS
In this rhyming board book for preschoolers, you’ll read about animals with secrets powers. The elephant’s secret power is its feet can sense other animals for miles. Bees have more than one secret power such as wiggling to tell other bees where to find food. A pleasing earthy color palette with lovely illustrations plus lift-the-flaps makes this a fun reading choice.

Animals of the National Parks: An Alphabet Book by Fifty Nine Parks
ANIMALS
With plenty of white space for minimal text and illustrations of each animal, this book features 26 animals found in the National Parks of the United States. Yes, even z for zigzag salamanders who blend in with colorful leaves. Not only will you read about the cool animals and see their illustration but you’ll also learn in which National Park or Parks they are found. For example, the Uinta chipmunks are found in Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Reading aloud this alphabet book is an engaging way to encourage kids’ interest in nature!

Miffy and the Artists written and illustrated by Dick Bruna
FAMOUS ARTISTS
Join Miffy and her friends as they experience famous works of artwork that relates to their day–whether pouring water on plants or dressing in dots or waiting for something. The famous piece of artwork is side-by-side a cartoon illustration with minimal text about it, plenty of white space, and often, an interactive question for the reader. “Do you have a quiet place where you like to read?” Very engaging and appealing.

You Are a Garter Snake! written by Laurie Ann Thompson, illustrated by Jay Fleck
ANIMALS
I love this second person verby preschool animal nonfiction series because it teaches kids about animals and gets them moving! Garter snakes do things like bend, shed, strike, swallow, wriggle, squeeze, and slumber and asks kid readers to do the same motions. Fun, right?

The Friendship Train A True Story of Helping and Healing after World War II written by Debie Levy, illustrated by Boris Kulikov
HISTORY
I love reading stories like this that encourage my faith in humanity. In this true story that takes place after World War II, Americans organized a long train loaded with supplies to help the survivors of the war. After they sent the supplies, the recepitents were so grateful, they sent their gratitude in the form of toys for children.

Lighthouse Ladies: Shining a Spotlight on Hardy Heroines written by Kris Coronado, illustrated by Islenia Mil
BIOGRAPHY
There is so much to love about this magnificent book that shares short stories of four women who lived and worked in lighthouses. The artwork is stunning and the rich language is masterful. The stories capture hard lives and heroic moments of these four women and are written like thrilling narratives, not boring nonfiction biographies. Highly recommended.

In the World of Whales written by Michelle Cusolito, illustrated by Jessica Lanan
OCEAN ANIMALS – WHALES
A masterclass in writing with vivid verbs and description, this is the story of a man’s free dive when he watches a sperm whale having a baby. “A ribbon of umbilical cord flutters from the baby’s abdomen, marking the site of its future belly button. Whales encircle mother and baby in an embrace. The man marvels at the sight.” Underwater illustrations in shades of blues include a fold out spread that shows more of the perspective — a small man next to the hulking whale bodies.

Build a Tree written by Philippa Forrester, illustrated by Natalia Rojas Castro
TREES
This tall, oversized book mimics the tall trees within its pages; trees through the seasons, in forests, with animals, threats, their importance, conservation, and more. The pages have multiple headers to organize the information into readable chunks. The artwork pops with colors and appealing design. But, there’s more–a craft! This book also includes the materials and directions to build your own small three dimensional tree with animals and foliage!

His Fairytale Life A Book About Hans Christian Anderson written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Brooke Boynton-Hughes
BIOGRAPHY
Written in one sentence (yes, the whole book is one sentence) this poetic tribute shares the highs and lows of the famous fairy tale author, Hans Christian Anderson, an awkward boy who became an awkward man who loved sharing poems and stories that became beloved around the world. Lovely, muted illustrations.

The Incredible 3D Bug Hunt written and illustrated by Peggy Nille
BUGS
Follow Little Ladybug on an adventure in this gigantic, buggy seek and find with 3D glasses to make the artwork pop off the page. (I personally don’t care for it but I’m sure many kids would.) Each spread shares what Little Ladybug finds and gives you the creatures to search for on the full-page illustration. From a page of caterpillars to a page of frogs and dragonflies, this book is dense with colorful creatures and interactive spotting opportunities.

Jim! Six True Stories About One Great Artist: James Marshall written and illustrated by Jerrold Connors
BIOGRAPHY
The beloved children’s book author of George and Martha, and other stories, gets to be a fox in this biography written in the style of George and Martha which is a genius format! These stories are about his life, his writing, his lack of awards, his life partner, and how he inspired kids. All the characters are darling cartoon animals. I applaud this creator’s creative way of sharing what’s most important about Jim. Outstanding.

Ray How Light Works written and illustrated by Emily Kate Moon
SPACE
I was very distracted by the overuse of exclamation points in the text, sometimes five on a two-page spread. But, if you can ignore that editing fail, the information is good– it’s a lot so I’d say you’d probably want to break up the read aloud into several days so kids can absorb the info. A useful teaching tool.

Cosmic Collisions: Asteroid vs. Comet written by Dr. Marc J. Kuchner, illustrated by Matt Schu
SPACE
A comet is heading straight for an asteroid–what do you think will happen? Suspense builds as they head toward each other in space while our narrator tells us more about comets and asteroids so you can see how they compare and start predicting what will happen. For example, one is hot, one is cold, one is big and heavy while the other isn’t. Readers will find this to be exciting, well-organized, and easily readable with eye-catching illustrations and informational insets.

Cosmic Collisions: Supergiant vs. Neutron Star written by Dr. Marc J. Kuchner, illustrated by Matt Schu
SPACE
A red supergiant star and a neutron star are headed toward each other in a cosmic matchup! Learn how the former regular stars became the stars they are now and see if what you learn will help you predict what will happen when they crash together, even if they’re very evenly matched. Writing with a playful voice, information shared with rising tension and excitement, and catchy illustrations make this a stand-out nonfiction reading choice.

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Dinosaurs written by Mary Pope Osborne and Will Osborne, adapted by Jenny Laird, illustrated by Jomike Tejido 
DINOSAUR – GRAPHIC NOVEL
In this graphic novel adaptation of the Fact Tracker series, Jack and Annie share what they’ve learned about dinosaurs from library books, museums, and experts. I appreciate that this book is organized into topical chapters that include subjects like fossils, flesh-eaters, sea monsters, and what happened, and that is includes a glossary! Readers will learn a lot from this small tome with dialogue, informational insets, diagrams, illustrations, and more.

An Illustrated Treasury of Dragon Tales Stories from Around the World written by Teresa Breslin, illustrated by Kate Leiper
DRAGONS
I’ve loved the stories I’ve read so far in this anthology of illustrated stories about dragons from countries like Mexico, India, and Scotland where dragons range from scary to good.