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in this book each page introduces an animal and a movement (like “I am a giraffe and I bend my neck. Can you do it?”). I would read this book slowly, and then I would be pausing on each page to give children time to act out the motion and talk about the animal. The interactive nature makes the nonfiction content come alive and children learn facts about animals while also connecting it to their own bodies. It’s perfect for circle time when kids need movement breaks, and I could extend it with another activity, maybe a sorting game like, “Which animals jump? Which ones walk?”, and build off of the story.

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Come face-to-face with a giant squid and paw to paw with a polar bear! A hare's ears, a shark's teeth, a chameleon's tongue, and even a pygmy hippo's bottom can all be compared by kids! Discover interesting information about each species in the book's back.

It takes a different strategy to read a children's factual informational book than it does to read fiction. To learn, concentrate on actively interacting with the text. Examine the key points, illustrative details, and their connections. Exaggerate your tone of voice to fit the size of each animal with voice differences. To help with comprehension, use visuals such as diagrams and illustrations, or even real life comparisons (if applicable). To strengthen learning, underline important details, and read passages again. To elucidate ideas and create connections to past knowledge and practical experiences, have a conversation with others about the material and engage in conversations about how they can compare sizes in everyday situations. It's also critical to evaluate the reliability of the source and distinguish between opinions and facts. To further the learning, you could also make lessons that exemplify the differences in sizes of items in the classroom.

This cute book is very well-illustrated and can be really interesting to learn from, as young children have a lot of interest in size comparison (I am taller than you!). I also think the use of animals in the book was a good call, as it puts into perspective how much bigger these parts of an animal are than we realize.

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This is an adorable little book about different wild animals, facts about them, and how their fur/skin/scales may feel. It says things like "I'm a wild lizard. I live up in this tree. My skin is rough and scaly, but not my personality". I think when I was reading this book, I would allow for more discussion than I might would for another type story time book. I would allow children to truly experience and see the book ( this is a touch and feel book, so I would let children feel the book), and we could discuss the animals habitats and other facts about the animal. This would not only be a literacy learning moment, but a a moment for children to learn more about their world. I could also open up for questions, because children are very curious and I am sure there would be questions and comments about the animals. Also another thing that I love doing when reading books about animals is teach them the sounds that they make; for example, teaching children that a lion says ROAR. This is a fun way to get children engaged and you can come back to this in later lesson and ask them questions about the animals. I have never seen a child get sad when I ask them what a lion says, and they yell back with a smile on their face "ROAR".

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My Beak, Your Beak (2006) Melanine Walsh

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When reading this book, I would approach it differently than I do with fiction books. For instance, instead of following a storyline, I would pay closer attention to the facts and the way the author compares animals to each other. On the other hand, I could approach this book in a different way when reading it by focusing on the real life features or characteristics that each animal is portraying and make associations to the animals in real life that I might have seen in my environment or possibly at the zoo. Nonfiction books like this encourage me to slow down and look carefully at both the words and illustrations, since each detail teaches something real about the natural world. Unlike a storybook that takes me into an imaginary world, this book makes me think about real animals and sparks curiosity about how they live. For me, nonfiction feels more like exploring and learning, while fiction feels more like escaping into a story.

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This charming board book explores the world of color and celebrates the joy of creativity. Preschoolers really enjoy learning about what happens when three white mice discover red, yellow, and blue paint. The playful introduction to color mixing catches the curiosity of any young child, who then wants to try mixing their own paints to create new colors. I would read this book at group time and let them all see what happens when the mice dance in the blue and yellow paint, creating a new, exciting color. Then I would put out a provocation of blue and yellow paint, encouraging the children to explore mixing the two colors on white paper. I'd ask questions like, What color do you get when you mix a lot of yellow and a little blue? How about when you mix a lot of blue and only a little yellow? Can we show the difference on paper? This gets the children using critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and observing cause-and-effect. It helps them ask questions, make predictions, and experiment with the outcomes, all while fostering creativity and allowing for self-expression.

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This book is about the way family and other people live together. They are pictures families visiting shops. The families travel on busses and trains. They live in small area and in a large city. The families go to the doctors and nurses. Then families learn about the firefighters, trash trucks and the many other services. We enjoyed singing along to this book this week. We talked about the different people getting along, the way they interact with in a group. I really loved to see the looks on the children faces they looked and the pictures.

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I chose this book because my son loves bugs, and I know he would love this book! Also, it is kid friendly, fun, and engaging. I believe the children I read this book will learn a lot of new things about all the bugs in this book and may even have a few giggles as well! :)

When reading Do Doodlebugs Doodle, I would approach this book with a more science investigation rather than a typical story book. I would read the questions such as "do water boatmen wear life jackets?" I would have my students raise their hand and give me their thoughts; I would like to know what they are thinking so they can be more engaged with the story! I would be sure to pause for them to look at each picture so they can take all the information in. I would ask them what their favorite bug was from the book and maybe what they found most interesting that they learned. We can compare what we already know about the bugs in the book and then talk about the new information we learned! With this book we can turn the experience of reading this book into an active exploration and investigation rather than just reading a book about bugs! In the end I hope my students would have fun learning all the new information and I may also have them draw about their favorite bug from the book to keep the engagement going even after we read!

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Personally, when I think of non-fiction books when I was younger, I really enjoyed reading the little golden books that were sort of like biographies. I chose Dolly Parton because I love Dolly Parton and a lot of what she stands for, and I also really love her imagination library. I think the difference in how I would read this is all in the way that I explain it and go through the different parts of the book. I think I would preface with that. It is a true story about a real person. I also think that I would talk about and reference things that the children might be going through or dealing with in their own lives to try and make it more realistic and personable to the children. Lastly, I really think that I would maybe try and show some of her acknowledgments through pictures on things like Google, and for reference, Dolly Parton, maybe showing her imagination library and her amusement park, just to put into perspective that these are real things.

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Planet Earth is a nonfiction book that we use in our NC Pre-K classroom around Earth Day each year. It explains earth science concepts in a developmentally appropriate way including talking about land, oceans, weather and even the planet's layers. It has bright illustrations to spark the children's interest and the information is kept short but still engaging. Nonfiction can be just as fun to read as fiction but it does take a different approach. There are no characters or storyline to follow. Instead we are focusing on the facts and information about the earth. This can be a big shift for young children so I would make sure to read slowly and pause often for any questions or discussion that might come up. I would also rely more on the pictures to help the children to understand the sometimes abstract content in a more kid-friendly way. Our students love to look at nonfiction independently as well and they will often return to the same book and ask to be read it several times. I think this reinforce many of the concepts and helps to build a deeper understanding of our planet and how to take care of it.

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Not a Monster (2023) written by Claudia Guadalupe Martínez and illustrated by Laura González

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Not a Monster is a bilingual non - fiction book that describes the life cycle and origin of the beloved amphibian, the axolotl! Before reading this book I knew what an axolotl was, but I was unaware that these animals are native to the Mexican wetlands! What I love about this book is that not only is it non - fiction and describes the real life cycle of an axolotl, but it integrates Spanish words for colors, phrases, and other terms throughout the book and reflects on Mexican folktales about the axolotls' origin, and discusses the impact of pollution on wildlife. This book would be incredible to feature in a classroom library. The book captures readers' attention with the beautiful drawings and with the complex life cycle that reflects other amphibians like frogs and other salamanders, and the call to action to clean up the earth to protect wildlife. What a rich way to honor students' home language and culture by integrating their legends and stories into a beautiful book. What a strong message the book is to clean up the earth and to hope for a better future for us and the world's animals!

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This book discusses the weather. It focuses on Rainbows, which explains why rainbows look the way they do. Storms, clouds, and rain explain how clouds are formed, which causes rain. It also introduces the four seasons as it goes into detail and explains each season. I would read this book differently by reading this during our weather unit and using hands-on experience, such as making our own rain clouds and using sensory bins with shaving cream and blue food coloring. I did this last year with my Pre-K kids, and they loved it, and it gave them a better understanding of weather and how rain clouds are formed. I would also ask open-ended questions such as, "Why do we wear jackets when it rains?" or "What sounds do you hear when it thunders?". I think this will give them a better understanding and also keep them engaged during science experiments.

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All About Weather: a first weather book for kids

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My Five Senses is a book we use in my classroom to help teach young children about their senses. It helps explain what each sense is and how you can use it. I like using this book because we can also talk about what else we can use for each sense. One way I enjoy bringing it into the classroom is popping popcorn. You can use popcorn because you can hear it popping, smell it cooking and see it popping in the microwave. You can also feel it when it gets done. It brings all the senses together. We also ask students what does certain things feel like and what do they hear. We also talk about if someone does not have one of their senses what can they do? For example, if someone is deaf how can they talk or hear? Then it opens up for a discussion on what they can use to hear or to talk about ASL. This is a very interactive book and the children enjoy it as much as we do.

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I never had books when I was growing up. I do remember my cousins having the My little Golden Book Collection and when I would get to spend the night with them I always wanted to see the books. To be honest I don't know when I learned to read. I just remember looking at these books and wanting to know what the vibrant pictures were about. I would start out with an age appropriate definition of what non-fiction meant. I would incorporate that anyone can end up in a book and that anything is possible if you try. I also would make the book relatable to the students. This could be by pointing out the different talents or abilities that each one has. That trying things until you find what you love to do is the key to being successful. This could be used to express that sometimes you may want to do something and others may try to convince you not to pursue it, but how it is always best to do what is fair. Betty refused to allow others to change her. She did not allow herself to mistreat others just to be "accepted" by her peers. I would discuss how bullying is wrong using this book. There are other life lessons in this book that could be discussed in a relatable fashion to the students. Examples of how important it is to respect animals. How staying true to who you are and not being influenced, but rather being a leader and an example to others. This book touches several areas of real life.

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Ocean Day (1993) by Shelley Rotner and Ken Kreisler

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I chose Ocean Day because I love going to the beach! The book is about a little girl named Emily and her experience at the beach. It includes real pictures (taken by the author) of natural treasures of the seashore like animals, sand dunes, driftwood, crashing waves, seashells, and tide pools. Before I read the book, I would ask my students “Has anyone ever been to the ocean before?” As I read the book, I would ask students if they’ve had similar experiences to Emily. For example, the book states “She looked down and found her footprints in the sand…” I would ask my students if they’ve ever seen footprints while walking in the sand. The book states “Children dig and build.” I would connect to the story and say, “I used to build big sandcastles when I was little. Raise your hand if you like building sandcastles.” I would include students that have never visited the ocean before. I would ask, “What kind of sandcastle would you like to build at the beach?” The book also talks about sea creatures; it mentions starfish, shiny blue mussels, sea urchins, crabs, and jellyfish. I would ask the class “What are some other animals that live in the ocean?” They could answer turtles, sharks, fish, etc. I would tell them that dolphins are my favorite sea creature. “I love watching dolphins jump out of the water!” I would try to engage students by connecting to the story, sharing my personal experiences, and asking them questions about the ocean.

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As I read this book it reminds me to be thankful for everything that I have. The Cherokee people focus on gratitude, community and each season. Each and every morning they are thankful just because they wake up. The children notice the small things of the day. In the Spring they plant seeds in the garden. In the summer they celebrate and eat food, dance and play in the water in the summer. During autumn they pick apples and gather many. This book is child friendly because it reflects the way children think about the world around them.

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I would read this book by first having printouts of the food. As I am reading the book, I would have the child bring up the food that they have and place it in a bin. I would also create a food chart and take a poll on the foods that children are familiar with and have a taste test for all of the foods to help introudce them to another food if they are not already familiar with a food.

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I would introduce this book by explaining what non-fiction means. Explaining that it is telling a fun story of the truth. I have read this book to a few students in a classroom I worked in, and I think it does a great job of explaining the solar system to preschool-aged children.

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My Life as a Monarch Butterfly. By John Sazaklis, published in 2022

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My Life as a Monarch Butterfly is a nonfiction book told in the first-person. The butterfly explains its own life story. The butterfly talks about the life cycle, migration, and survival of Monarchs in a simple and engaging way. I would read this book a bit differently because it blends science facts with storytelling. Instead of reading it straight through like informational text, I would pause to highlight the key concepts such as the stages of growth and long migration journey. I would ask questions and allow the children to make connections (have you every seen a cocoon? or Have you ever seen a caterpillar before its a butterfly?). Because the butterfly is “speaking,” I’d emphasize the diagrams, labels, and vocabulary words so children can connect the story to real scientific ideas. While reading, I might ask students to compare what the butterfly says to what we’ve learned in science or seen in daily life to help them separate facts from the playfulness of the book. To continue the learning, I’d encourage the children to visualize or act out the butterfly’s journey. Overall, I’d treat the book as both a story and a science resource, making the reading experience more active than with a typical picture or fiction book.

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I chose this book because I remember being so fascinated with Sacagawea and her story when I was a little girl. Also, I think that the "I am.." book series as well as the "Who was.." book series are such excellent non-fiction resources for children and are a great gateway book for children into the non-fiction genre. These books provide a historically accurate account of the individuals or events that they talk about, while still maintaining children's interest through illustrative pictures. I would read this book a little differently to children than I would a typical picture book by really emphasizing the idea that this was a real person, who lived a real life just like you and I are living, although it was very different back then. When going through the key events of Sacagawea and her life in this book, I would explain further in relevant terms that I know the kids I am reading to could personally relate with. I would also bring up relevant facts and takeaways, maybe even ways that something Sacagawea did or stood for that impacts us today. I would hope that by reading this book a little bit more seriously, it would inspire a love for non-fiction in the kids!

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It is Okay To Be Different (2009) by Todd Parr

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This is one of my favorite children's books. The title sums up what the book is about. It teaches children that everyone is unique in their own way, and it is a good thing. Some pages include "it's okay to need help", "it's okay to have no hair", "it's okay to have wheels", "it's okay to talk about your feelings". This book also makes it fun for kids because it says things like "it's okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub." For this book, I would read it in a way to make it more interactive. I would stop and ask a question when it is appropriate to. I would also connect the book to real-world situations.

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National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space

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National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space

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Catherine D. Hughes' National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space is a captivating nonfiction book that uses simple diagrams, colorful illustrations and straightforward language to educate young children on planets, stars, and the solar system. It is read with an emphasis on investigating facts posing questions, ands drawing conclusions rather than following a story, in contrast to fiction. While a bilingual version might engage both languages by reading the primary text in one language and utilizing captions or labels in the other to compare words and expand vocabulary, the photos and labels promote visual literacy and understanding. This book is an excellent option for exposing students to scientific and informational language since it fosters curiosity, topic understanding, and emerging literacy abilities.

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National Geographic little kids first big book of space

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Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise

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Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise

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Because Planting Stories is a nonfiction book, I would read it differently than a typical storybook by slowing down and focusing more on discussion and explanation. Instead of reading straight through, I would pause often to talk about who the book is about and what is happening in her life. I would also spend more time looking closely at the illustrations and connecting them to real events, since nonfiction books are meant to help children learn information, not just follow a story.

Since this book is bilingual, I would intentionally engage with both English and Spanish while reading. I might read a page in English first and then point out key words or phrases in Spanish, especially ones that are repeated or important to understanding the text. For children who speak Spanish, this would help validate their home language, and for children who do not, it would expose them to another language in a meaningful way. I could also ask children if they recognize any Spanish words or if they notice similarities between the two languages.

I like this book because it shows children that nonfiction books can tell real stories about real people while also honoring language and culture. Reading it this way helps children understand that books can be sources of information and learning, and it encourages curiosity, conversation, and respect for multiple languages.

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planting stories the life of librarian and storyteller pura belpre by anika aldamuy denise

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I really like this book and other Little Golden Books because it is a great way to introduce children to more sensitive topics in an age appropriate way. I would read this book differently by slowing down and pausing to explain the real history behind the story. I would also ask questions as we go so children can connect personally with the story. I would want them to think about how the story makes them feel and how the characters may have felt in the story.

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I would emphasizing the facts and the scientific observations. I would pause and highlight key terms. I will also focus on explaining, asking them questions, and help them connect them with the real world.

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In the book My Very First Book of Colors helps young children learn basic colors using bright pictures and simple words. The book shows colors through things children recognize, like animals, plants, and objects from nature. The pages in this book invite children to look, point, and name the colors, which helps build early reading and thinking skills. The book is easy to follow and great for toddlers and preschoolers who are just starting to enjoy books. I chose this book because it is fun, colorful, and easy for young children to understand. Eric Carle’s pictures are very eye catching and keep children interested. I think kids enjoy this book because they can join in by naming colors and talking about what they see. This helps them feel confident and excited about reading. The book supports children’s engagement in reading by making learning feel like play and encouraging them to interact with the story instead of just listening.