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ISO: Engaging Nonfiction, middle school level


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My daughter tends towards nonfiction for her pleasure reading. She’s read through all the Horrible series (science, geography, history, math). I’ve culled the lists from the National Science Teachers Association. We own most the David Macaulay books and she’s seen the Theodore Gray books. For the most part, she doesn’t like the large, heavy encyclopedia type books from DK or Smithsonian; she prefers something more narrative. 

Please load me up with suggestions! Any topic - science, math, language, history, other - she loves it all. Reading level is a nonissue, and she prefers her books to be at upper elementary/middle school level.

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The scope for my daughter can be notably wider than the narrative focus in the other thread. For example, I wouldn’t necessarily consider Scientists in the Field or the Horrible books to fit in with the suggestions on that thread, but she gobbled those up. Any non-encyclopedia nonfiction works well for her.

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A few more ideas:

History
Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams (Jurmain)
Lincoln's Grave Robbers (Sheinkin)
Code Talkers (Bruchac)
Streetcar to Justice: How Elizabeth Jennings Won the Right to Ride in New York (Hearth)

Biography
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Young Readers Edition (Kamkwamda)
I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World (Yousafazai & McCormick)
Riding Freedom (Ryan)
Sower Series (Christian authors)
Landmark Books

Geography
Holling C Holling books -- Paddle to the Sea, The Tree in the Trail, Seabird, Minn of the Mississippi
Around the World (Phelan)

Science
Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum (McCarthy)
Exploring Planet Earth (Tiner) -- Christian author
The History of Medicine (Tiner) -- Christian author
Oh Rats! The Story of Rats and People (Marrin)
Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon (Thimmesh)

Math
Murderous Maths (Kjarten)
The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure (Pappas)
The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures (Tahan)

Edited by Lori D.
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My DS and I have enjoyed the Guts and Glory series. They are war histories, written in a very engaging (though perhaps a little slangy) style. We’ve read the ww2 and civil war ones. I think there’s also a Viking one I’d like to get ahold of.

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I'll recommend  Oh, Yuck!: The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty  by Joy Masoff.  Yes, it's in encyclopedia format, but the entries are narrative.  You could download a sample to see if it's suitable, or your library may own a copy. I can attest that the book has kid, teen, and husband appeal.

The author also has written Oh, Yikes!: History's Grossest, Wackiest Moments.

Regards,
Kareni

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