16 New Nonfiction Books, August 2025

Welcome to the Penguin Cruise: A Seek-and-Find Adventure written and illustrated by Haluka Nohana
SEEK AND FIND
In this Where’s Waldo but for penguins, the penguin family is taking a cruise vacation. Little Chibi Penguin explores the ship day to night, top to bottom, until they reach their destination– Guana Island, where there’s more exploration to do. It’s an eye-full, so I imagine kids will love all the fun details.

I Am We: How Crows Come Together to Survive written by Leslie Barnard Booth, illustrated by Alexandra Finkeldey
BIRDS
Masterful, brilliant writing! “I spill across the sky like ink–fill the night with jagged cries. I have one thousand eyes. I see all. Know all. Am all.” I love, love, love this evocative slice of life showing the challenge and survival of being crows who are safer together, written from mostly the “we” perspective. “We might stay alive if we cuddle, if we huddle, if we sleep side by side on this dark black, ice-cold, owl-haunted night.” I highly recommend it for all writers, kids or adults, who need mentor texts for onomatopoeia, verb choice, sensory images, point of view, metaphors, personification, rising tension, beginnings and endings, you name it, this book has done it brilliantly!

The World Entire: A True Story of an Extraordinary World War II Rescue written by Elizabeth brown, illustrated by Melissa Castrillon
BIOGRAPHY
Ready to be inspired? Read this astounding story about a man named Aristides, a man with incredible honor and integrity who, during World War II, defied Portugal’s orders, giving Jewish refugees visas so they could escape the Nazis. His defiance came at great personal cost, but he saved thousands of people, including Salvador Dali, Margret Rey, and others. Captivating illustrations.

Five Little Friends: A Collection of Finger Rhymes written by Sean Taylor, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock
PRESCHOOL
A great book for toddlers and preschoolers, read these rhymes and use the bright illustrations to show you what to do with your hands. Chant, move, and develop! I love it.

Chomp: The Truth About Sharks written by Annette Whipple
SHARKS
Organized by big questions, this is an engaging, readable nonfiction picture book with full-color photographs and an eye-catching design. Examples of questions are: Are sharks fish? What do shark teeth tell us? Do sharks sleep? Kids will love that they can flip around to any question that interests them. Excellent.

One Drop written by Kaitlin Sikes, illustrated by Mel Cerri
WATER CYCLE
Follow the drop of water in the water cycle as it moves on a grand adventure from the clouds to the earth below and back up again. One drop begins in the clouds, sinking through the soil to an aquifer, traveling through a tributary, lake, river, and ocean, tumbling into an underwater waterfall, and onward until it evaporates into the clouds. Colorful graphic illustrations and simple text make this very accessible to young readers.

Dawn: Watch the World Awaken written and illustrated by Marc Martin
NATURE
Each word or phrase describes the illustration that illuminates the beauty of nature at dawn. There are no sentences, but the art tells the stories of what’s happening. Water skippers “float”, fish “jump”, lizards “hide”, birds “call”. You’ll also find words like glint, glimmer, sun, and blossom. I enjoyed reading this, and the illustrations are dazzling, but will kids enjoy it? I’m not sure.

Saving Hawai’i’s Honu written by Leslie Ann Hayashi, illustrated by Kelly Pousettea
BIOGRAPHY
A real-life scientist named George Balazs started with a question and used the scientific method to find out the answer. His question was how many honu (sea turtles) were left in Hawai’i. What George discovered was that the answer was not very many, and they urgently needed protection. He worked hard to spread the word and advocated for the green sea turtles until people finally listened and protected the turtles. Interesting collage-photo artwork.

Swap-a-Word written by Marvin Terban, illustrated by Andreas Wittmann
HOMOPHONES
This book will be a great teaching tool for students studying homophones. I like the book but I wish the homophones were on the same spread instead of having to turn the page. Homophones include cent/scent, chilly/chili, creak/creek, and hairs/hares.

Talking Rocks and Minerals: Fact-Packed Guide to Geology written by Paige Towler, illustrated by Matthew Carlson
GEOLOGY
Pebble helps narrate the information in this book about the different kinds of rocks. Colorful illustrations and photographs, and a kid-friendly design will give readers a general overview of rocks.

Living Bridges: The Hidden World of India’s Woven Trees written by Sandhya Acharya, illustrated by AVani Dwivedi
ECOLOGY / ENVIRONMENTALISM
High in the mountains of India, a boy learns how the root bridge is made, and then he helps crisscross the ficus tree roots so they grow into the right shape for the bridge. As he does, he’s sad that there is litter and scars on the living bridge. What can he do? He educates and helps. Use this story as an opportunity to talk about how we all can make a difference, no matter our ages.

Who Would Win? Porcupine vs. Pangolin written by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Rob Bolster
ANIMALS
In this short, early reader format, the author compares two creatures –– from quills to scales to the way they walk, and their unique defences, readers will become experts on both animals after reading this book.

The Atlas Obscura Explorer’s Guide to Inventing the World 50 Inventions & Discoveries, 94 Locations, a Globe-Spanning Adventure written by Dylan Thuras and Jennifer Swanson, illustrated by Ruby Fresson
INVENTIONS / STEM
From fire to ancient agriculture, pumps, rockets, electricity, video games, and AI, this beautifully illustrated book covers significant inventions throughout history. You’ll read about the conditions and people who worked to find these breakthrough inventions. Visually appealing.

The Adventures of You! How to Write, Draw, and Star in Your Own Comics written by Ellen Forney
STORYTELLING AND SEQUENTIAL ART
An amazing resource for kids, this almost 200-page book is packed full of comic lessons to help readers learn and practice drawing and writing characters and storytelling.

Inside Your Brain written by Lucy Ann Unwin and Professor Caswell Barry, illustrated by Maria Jesus Contreras
HUMAN BODY
In this book about the history of brain knowledge and science, learn about important discoveries that contributed to our knowledge of the brain, including a gross story about a man with a metal rod through his brain, which changed his personality. The layout and design are visually appealing. Note: I was hoping this book would end with the truth that we still have a lot to learn about the brain (so says my daughter’s neurologist and clear to me when they’re trying to figure out her seizures) but instead, the ending extoled the virtues of AI–a dangerous position, in my opinion, that has little to do with the human brain.

Factology Greek Myths by Button Books
GREEK MYTHOLOGY
These books are treasure troves of information that kids and adults love! The writing’s great, the information is spot-on and full of depth, and the design is appealing. Inside, read about the origins of Greek mythology, the gods and heroes, and more stories.