Below you will find six non-fiction picture books my kids have been consistently reaching for the last few months.

We have had more than a few conversations about all of them and they have learned many fascinating facts. Non-fiction picture books are not typically the books I reach for at bedtime or when I am trying to get a quick book read, but they can be such an amazing and natural teaching tool.

Kids absorb so much from picture books and my kids find it far more interesting to gain knowledge from a source like this than me rattling off facts or ideas.

Here are six non-fiction picture books we have been enjoying.

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Mushroom Rain

By: Laura K. Zimmerman

Illustrated By: Jamie Green

What can smell like bubble gum, glow neon green at night, be poisonous and yet still eaten by humans, and even help create rain? The answer is mushrooms! From their hidden networks underground to the fruiting body above, mushrooms can do incredible things.

Jumper: A Day In The Life Of A Backyard Jumping Spider

By: Jessica Lanan

What if you were small as a bean,
Could walk on the walls and ceiling,
Sense vibrations through your elbows,
And jump five times your body length?

That is Jumper’s world.

Pluto: Not A Planet, Not A Problem

By: Stacy McAnulty

Illustrated By: Stevie Lewis

Meet Pluto! The runt of a litter of eight planets. Pluto may not be the biggest or fastest planet to revolve around the Sun, but it has a unique story to tell. From the tale of how it was found by humans to its naming as a dwarf planet, it’s Pluto’s turn to take the spotlight and properly re-introduce itself.

Josephine And Her Dishwashing Machine

By: Kate Hannigan

Illustrated By: Sarah Green

Many Americans have a dishwasher in their kitchen. But who invented it?

Meet Josephine Garis Cochrane: entrepreneur, innovator, girlboss. Washing dishes is a pain—it leaves Josephine’s cups cracked, her dishes dinged, and her chowder bowls chipped. She’d rather be picking flowers, frosting cakes, or playing piano than dealing with cracked crockery. What to do about a chore that’s icky, destructive, and time-consuming? Josephine tackles this task the modern way: she makes a machine to do it for her!

The Fire of Stars

By: Kirsten W. Larsen

Illustrated By: Katherine Roy

Astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne was the first person to discover what burns at the heart of stars. But she didn’t start out as the groundbreaking scientist she would eventually become. She started out as a girl full of curiosity, hoping one day to unlock the mysteries of the universe.

Fish Everywhere

By: Britta Teckentrup

There are fish everywhere! Some of them live in fresh water, some of them live under ice, and some even live in the desert. Young readers will learn where in the world all sorts of fish can be found and all the weird and wonderful things that they never imagined were true. 

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