During their ILA Webinar From Facts to Fascination: Using Nonfiction to Drive Curriculum and Enthusiasm, speakers Patricia Newman and Kirsten W. Larson (find her on all social media as @KirstenWLarson) shared how effective nonfiction can be at engaging young readers. This naturally leads to the question: Where can I find high-quality nonfiction books to bring into my classroom?

Larson, who has a newsletter you can sign up for, provided a list of some of her sources.

Blogs

Book awards

Check out these book awards, listed by the month the awards are given, for quality nonfiction titles:

• American Library Association's Sibert Award (January)
• Cybils Awards (February)
• AAAS/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science Books (March)
• ILA Children’s & Young Adult Book Awards (June)
• California Reading Association's Eureka Awards (October)
• National Council of Teachers of English's Orbis Pictus (November)

Databases

Junior Library Guild - The Junior Library Guild puts its gold seal on some amazing nonfiction books. TeachingBooks.net and Junior Library Guild maintain a searchable database of books you can sort by year and category.

Year-end best books lists

Many of the review publications and large public libraries put out annual "best books" lists in November/December; here are a few of the major ones:

• American Library Association Notable Books
• Bank Street College of Education
• Booklist
• Children's Book Council's Notable Book Lists (Social Studies, Science, and Best STEM Books)
• Chicago Public Library


• Kirkus
• Publishers Weekly
• The Nerdies (Nerdy Book Club)
• NY Public Library
• NY Times
• School Library Journal
• Science Friday
• Texas Topaz Reading List