Best Informational Books for Older Readers of 2022Like this list

21 items

• Alias Anna

  a True Story of Outwitting the Nazis

  Hood, Susan, 1954-

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  Zhanna Arshankaya, a Ukrainian Jewish concert pianist, shares the unbelievable but true story of how she and her sister Frina survived the German invasion of Ukraine. Written in verse, her memoir is bookended by detailed back matter…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• American Murderer

  the Parasite That Haunted the South

  Jarrow, Gail,

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  Gory, gross, and engrossing, this is a deep dig into the scientific discovery of a microscopic parasite so deadly it was given the name Necator americanus, or "American murderer."

• The Antiracist Kid

  a Books About Identity, Justice, and Activism

  Jewell, Tiffany,

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  What is racism? What is antiracism? What do you do when you encounter racism? This book teaches young children the words, language, and methods to recognize racism and injustice.

• Because of You, John Lewis

  the True Story of a Remarkable Friendship

  Pinkney, Andrea Davis,

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  Can you imagine getting to meet your real-life hero? Tyler Fau was lucky enough to meet his hero, John Lewis. This poetic and illustrated picture book biography takes you on a journey of their lives and friendship.

• Button Pusher

  Page, Tyler, 1976-

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  In this graphic novel memoir, Page shares his own childhood experiences of growing up with ADHD. With a mix of humor, angst and being informative, this is a great resource sure to appeal to graphic novel fans.

• Call Him Jack

  the Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter

  Williams, Yohuru, 1971-

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  Did you know about the civil rights work Robinson did outside of his groundbreaking baseball career? Learn all about it in this riveting biography showing all the sides of Jack Robinson.

• Choosing Brave

  How Mamie Till-Mobley and Emmett Till Sparked the Civil Rights Movement

  Joy, Angela, 1975-

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  In this picture book biography, learn how Mamie Till-Mobley channeled her grief over her son’s death into a call for action for racial equity and justice.

• Fossil Hunter

  How Mary Anning Changed the Science of Prehistoric Life

  Blackford, Cheryl,

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  See how Mary Anning handled the many challenges of being a female paleontologist in the Victorian era and still managed to find amazing skeletons and impacted our knowledge of prehistoric life.

• How to Build a Human

  in Seven Evolutionary Steps

  Turner, Pamela S.,

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  Just seven steps might not seem like enough to track how humans evolved from our hominid ancestors, but here the anthropological story is both richly detailed and easy to read. From step one: standing upright to step seven: telling…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• I Begin With Spring

  the Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau

  Dunlap, Julie,

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  This lovingly illustrated biography of Henry David Thoreau takes as its inspiration his journal of seasonal observations, following its subject from Spring (boyhood) to Winter (final years).

• Maya's Song

  Watson, Renée,

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  Marguerite Annie Johnson had a story that wasn’t all good and wasn’t all bad. Word-crafter Watson and painter Collier team up to create a stunning verse & watercolor portrait of Maya Angelou who faced racism, assault, and loss but who told…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• A Mind Like Mine

  21 Famous People and Their Mental Health /

  Davis, Rachael,

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  Beautifully illustrated profiles of famous figures familiarize various mental illnesses, interspersed by in-depth explorations of common conditions and treatments. This book admirably threads the needle of acknowledging the struggles of…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• The Mystery of the Monarchs

  How Kids, Teachers, and Butterfly Fans Helped Fred and Norah Urquhart Track the Great Monarch Migration /

  Rosenstock, Barb,

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  When an entomologist really wants to know where the butterflies disappear to every winter, he enlists the help of children and community members to tell him what they know and finds out something amazing.

• Packing for Mars for Kids

  Roach, Mary,

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  Going to space is uncomfortable, invasive and kind of weird. Learn all about the mysteries of space travel in this adaptation of Roach’s adult book by the same name.

• Peace Is a Chain Reaction

  How World War II Japanese Balloon Bombs Brought People of Two Nations Together

  Stone, Tanya Lee,

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  Did you know that a balloon bomb exploded in Oregon near the end of World War II? This book weaves together the separate stories of a young Japanese American enduring Internment camp in CA, Japanese high-school girls laboring over balloons…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Rewilding

  Bringing Wildlife Back Where It Belongs

  Steen, David A., 1979-

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  The concept of rewilding or re-introducing wildlife into their own habitats is described along with the challenges, successes, and failures of these efforts. Short vignettes offer a broad overview of numerous efforts including…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Seen and Unseen

  What Dorothea Lange, Toyo Miyatake, and Ansel Adams's Photographs Reveal About the Japanese American Incarceration /

  Partridge, Elizabeth,

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  This uniquely visual nonfiction book uses photographs of the same internment camp by three different photographers to explore the imprisonment of Japanese Americans during WWII and encourage readers to think critically about media bias and…Read moreRead more of this annotation

• Star Child

  a Biographical Constellation of Octavia Estelle Butler

  Zoboi, Ibi Aanu,

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  An innovative tribute to the mother of Aftofuturism this experimental biography blends poetry and prose to paint a portrait of Butler and her worlds – real and imagined.

• The Sun Does Shine

  An Innocent Man, a Wrongful Conviction, and the the Long Path to Justice

  Hinton, Anthony Ray,

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  Despite being on death row for 28 years in Alabama for a crime he didn’t commit, Anthony Ray Hinton never stopped trying to clear his name. A powerful story of racial justice, adapted for young readers.

• Unbreakable: the Spies Who Cracked the Nazis' Secret Code /

  Barone, Rebecca E. F.,

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  The page-turning true story of how an international team of Allied spies, scientists, and mathematicians smuggled Nazi coding devices and secrets across enemy borders and defeated the Third Reich.