Book List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

 Today’s Topic: Top Ten Books for Readers who Like Nonfiction

For readers that like nonfiction, here are some of our favorites!

Ricki

*I opted to divide my books into the marketed audience. I will say that all of the books I listed below cross age levels and would be appreciated by all ages.*

1. For Children:

Locomotive by Brian Floca

My husband and I loved reading this with our son. Adults (with or without children) will enjoy this book just as much as children will. It is beautifully written.

2. For Middle Grades:

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

It is difficult to put words to this book. It is a stunning masterpiece that will appreciated for years to come. If you haven’t read it, I promise it is worth the hype.

3. For Young Adults:

Dreaming in Indian, Edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Leatherdale

Readers get lost in the contemporary Native American Voices of this anthology which features a combination of art, photography, poetry, and prose.

4. For Adults:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Ahh, let me count the ways I love this book. Many of my high schools loved the writing of this text. It is marketed for adults, but the beauty of story makes it a book that touches many lives. This is one of my all-time favorite books.

5. For Professional Development/Writers:

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

This text taught me a lot about writing and made me want to drop everything and crawl into a cave to write. If you aren’t inspired to write after reading this book…then I shall bake you a pie.

Kellee

Nonfiction is one of the genres that many of my students are not interested in (though I try to get them into it!). Here are 5 nonfiction books that I wish my students would read because they are awesome.

All of these books are on my list for the same reason: Because they made me completely fascinated about the time period or topic. They all are told in a mix of informational and narrative to keep the reader entertained, they all are about a topic not widely written/talked about (except Amelia), and they all are just filled with such a ridiculous amount of information.

1. An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

2. The Great Fire by Jim Murphy

3. Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World: The Extraordinary True Story of Shackleton and The Endurance by Jennifer Armstrong

4. Amelia Lost: The Life and Disapperance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming

5. Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler’s Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Honorary (because I’m not done yet). The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

Which books would you recommend to readers who like nonfiction?

 and 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. The feature was created because The Broke and Bookish are particularly fond of lists (as are we!). Each week a new Top Ten list topic is given and bloggers can participate.

 Today’s Topic: Top Ten Books Read in the Last 3 Years We Would Classify As All Time Favorites 

Sometimes you read a book, and you know that it is one you’ll never forget. Here are some books we’ve read in the last 3 years that have become instant favorites.

Ricki

I PROMISE I created this list before I came onto here and saw Kellee’s list (hers is below). We are destined to be blog partners. I am realizing this more and more each day.

1. The Fault in our Stars by John Green

When a book becomes trendy, we have the urge to pull away from it. I fall more in love with this book every time I read it.

2. Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

I recommend this book to everyone I meet. It is very teachable. If you are a teacher and you haven’t read it, drop everything and get to it! I promise it will impact you immensely.

3. A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

This spindiddly book touched my heart. I absolutely love it and want to share its magic with everyone.

4. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Everyone should read this book. It makes me want to be a better person.

5. Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles

All of the award stickers on the cover of this book are just a hint at how it is written phenomenally well.

Kellee

Anyone who knows me knows how hard this was for me (I wish I could have included all 14 of the Walden books since I’ve been on the committee!), but I did it! Here are 5 books I’ve read over the last 3 years that directly spoke to my heart.

1. Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

This book instantly rocketed into my top 3 favorite books of all time. It is just so beautifully written! And the story it tells is so important for everyone to read because it makes the reader grow and think and learn.

2. The Fault in our Stars by John Green

John Green’s writing is so incredible, and Hazel and Gus’s story is so special. You love these two characters so quickly which means you live what they live and hurt when they hurt.

3. Wonder by RJ Palacio

There are certain books that while you are reading, you wish that you could share it with every person, adult and child, that you know. This is one of those books. It is almost too hard to explain because of how wonderful it is. It is a book that will make you want to be kinder to every person that you meet. If you can finish Wonder and not feel impacted, then I don’t know what to tell you.

4. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

I knew about Ivan before reading Applegate’s Newbery Award winning book, so she already had me because of the topic. Then, I even fell more in love by how beautifully it was written and put together. This book is almost a novel in vignettes. The way that Katherine Applegate wrote for Ivan is straight to the point but deep at the same time which I really feel fits a gorilla’s personality. I can picture Ivan sitting, alone, for hours feeling just the way that Katherine Applegate wrote for him. The beauty of the prose mixed with the simple, realistic illustrations made for a brilliant book about friendship, loss, and making a difference.

5. (Trent’s choice) Personal Penguin by Sandra Boynton

We love Sandra Boynton in our house. Her rhythmic picture books and colorful illustrations are so well done. Some of her stories, including Personal Penguin, have songs that go with them as well. I can sing all of Personal Penguin, and it is one of the books that Trent picks up on a regular basis. We’re fans.

Which books have you read recently and immediately fell in love with? 

 and