Nonfiction Notes from the Horn Book was a quarterly supplement to our monthly e-newsletter Notes from the Horn Book. Nonfiction Notes provided recommendations of recently published nonfiction books, by topic, across grade levels, ability levels, and all areas of interest. All reviews are from The Horn Book Guide.
The Common Core State Standards Initiative helped guide our selections. More importantly, though, good books are good books — and we highlighted the best of the best for use in school, libraries, or at home.
Some introductory resources are below. Send questions, comments, or feedback to: newsletter@hbook.com.
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
Orbis Pictucs Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
“Nonfiction: What’s Really New and Different — and What Isn’t” by Barbara Bader (November/December 2011 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“The Importance of Being Wrong” by Steve Jenkins (March/April 2011 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“Narrative Nonfiction: Kicking Ass at Last” by Elizabeth Partridge (March/April 2011 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“Sing a Song of Science: Scientists in the Field” by Erica Zappy (March/April 2011 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“The Amorphous Genre” by Jonathan Hunt (May/June 2013 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“Danger! Dialogue Ahead” by Marc Tyler Nobleman (May/June 2013 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“What Teachers Need to Know About the ‘New’ Nonfiction” by Sharon Ruth Gill (Reading Rockets)
“Persons of Interest: The Untold Rewards of Picture Book Biographies” by Barbara Bader (September/October 2013 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“Today’s Picture Book Biographies: Back Matter Matters” by Tracy Nelson Maurer and Ann Henkens Matzke (September 20th, 2013 at The Horn Book’s website)
“Changing Times” and more by NF great Russell Freedman
What Makes Good… Narrative Nonfiction? including Five Questions for Steve Sheinkin
What Makes a Good Nonfiction Adaptation? by Betty Carter (May/June 2015 special issue of The Horn Book Magazine: Transformations)
Candace Fleming’s 2015 Boston Globe-Horn Book Nonfiction Award speech for The Family Romanov.
“YA Meets the Real: Fiction and Nonfiction That Take On the World” by Marina Budhos (September/October 2015 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
“The Writer’s Page: What Is Narrative Nonfiction?” by Marc Aronson (March/April 2016 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
From the Guide: Narrative Nonfiction (March/April 2016 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
The Common Core State Standards Initiative
all posts tagged “Common Core” on hbook.com
“What Common Core Means for Publishers” by Karen Springen (July 16th, 2012 issue of Publishers Weekly)
“Common Core Ready?” by Roger Sutton (July/August 2013 issue of The Horn Book Magazine)
On Common Core — Getting Real by Marc Aronson and Sue Bartle (October 18th, 2012 School Library Journal webcast)
“Who’s Minding the Schools?” by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus (June 8th, 2013 New York Times Sunday Review)
“I Want a Real Picture of a Dinosaur” by Marc Aronson (September 18th, 2013 at School Library Journal‘s Consider the Source)
“A School and Public Librarian Find Common Ground on the Common Core” by Nina Lindsay and Olga Nesi in conversation; moderated by Daryl Grabarek (October 21th, 2013 at School Library Journal‘s website)
January 2019
• General knowledge
• Exploring our oceans
• Weather and climate
• Graphic biographies and memoirs
March 2019
• Collective biographies for Women’s History Month
• National Poetry Month 2019
• Animals on the move
• Librarianship and information science
May 2019
• Life skills
• Activists and activism
• Evolution
• Sustainable eating
September 2019
• Health and human body
• Undocumented immigrant experiences
• Coding and computer science
• Exploration
October 2019
• Creepy things
• Cool inventions
• Unusual Crafts
• Sports, Sports, and More Sports
December 2019
• Language and Literature
• War and Peacemakers
• U.S. Landmarks
• Poetry and Poetry Collections
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January 2018
• Animal-human relationships
• Graphic-novel biographies and memoirs
• Interesting invention stories
• Logophila
• Calm and confidence
March 2018
• Coding
• Spies, ciphers, and drones
• Physics
• Photography
• National Poetry Month 2018
May 2018
• Psychology, emotions, and wellness
• Adolescence and sexuality
• Refugees and immigrants
• Pollution and conservation
• Engineering and technology
September 2018
• Trailblazing Latinx women
• Incarceration and redemption
• Planetary science
October 2018
• Election Day 2018
• Empowering girls and women
• Promoting tolerance
• Plagues and medical breakthroughs
November 2018
• Religions of the world
• Natural history of our world
• Protecting our world
• Myths and folktales around the world
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January 2017
• Young people making a difference
• Civics and community
• Farm to table
• Architecture and engineering
• Our solar system and beyond
March 2017
• Women in STEAM
• Spring into poetry
• Environmental activism
• Kids and computing
• Collective biographies
May 2017
• Labor
• Memorial Day 2017
• Short story collections
• Wonderful world of math
• Pride Month 2017
September 2017
• Children around the world
• Women in computing
• Awe-inspiring athletes
• Paleontology
• Outdoor activities
October 2017
• Harvest and agriculture
• Our universe
• Fascinating facts
• Extreme weather
• Photographers
November 2017
• Writing and reporting
• School days
• Geology
• Insects and invertebrates
• Native American history
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January 2016
• Immigration
• Customs and lifestyles
• Inspirational athletes
• Investigating crime
• Psychology and mindfulness
March 2016
• Inspiring women
• Earth Day 2016
• National Poetry Month 2016
• Robotics
• Botany
May 2016
• Art appreciation
• Activism
• Inventions and inventors
• Wildlife rescue
• War and peace
September 2016
• National Parks Service at 100
• U.S. politics
• Internet safety and security
• Folklore and mythology collections
• Sports science and technology
October 2016
• Presidential biographies
• Domestic animals
• Natural resources at risk
• Personal and global economics
• Blood and gore (for Halloween!)
November 2016
• Native American Heritage Month
• American immigration
• Feminism
• Psychology and empowerment
• Music makers
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January 2015
• Black History Month
• Presidents and their families
• Archaeology
• Language and literature
• Physics and chemistry
March 2015
• Trailblazing women
• Earth Day 2015
• National Poetry Month
• Folklore from around the world
• Sporting life
May 2015
• Creepy-crawlies
• Prehistoric life
• Human body
• Rock ‘n’ roll
• Social issues
September 2015
• Economics and money
• Social revolutionaries
• Stories behind the stories
• Inventions and innovations
• Extracurriculars
October 2015
• Research and information science
• Ancient and medieval history
• Sea life
• Vehicles
• Pop culture
November 2015
• World religions
• Natural history
• Medicine and diseases
• Space and space exploration
• Food and cooking
January 2014
• U.S. presidents
• Civil rights
• Endangered species
• Space
• Snow day
March 2014
• Women’s History
• Poetry
• Earth Day
• Migration
• Math concepts
May 2014
• Folklore
• Insects and arachnids
• Oceanography
• Gardening and outdoor discovery
• Sports and recreation
September 2014
• All about animals
• Disasters
• Performing artists
• Careers and community helpers
• After-school activities
October 2014
• Unexplained phenomena
• Memoir
• Domestic animals
• Big ideas
• Cookery
November 2014
• Social change
• How things work
• Indigenous cultures
• Geography and maps
• Medicine and the human body
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January 2013
• “Science and the Common Core”
• Earth science
• Animal behavior
• Health and the human body
• Machines and technology
• Books for Presidents’ Day
• The Civil War
• Discovering ancient and medieval history
• Music
• Dance
• Snow day activities
April 2013
• Remembering the Holocaust
• Exploration
• Habitats and wildlife
• Farm life, husbandry, and gardening
• Life skills and wellness
June 2013
• Social issues
• Poetry
• Myths and legends
• Oceanography and marine life
• Sports and recreation
September 2013
• Scientist biographies
• Architecture
• Social reformers and activists
• Folklore
• Math is elementary
October 2013
• Colonial America
• Literary biographies
• Technology innovations, past and present
• Visual arts
• Sports season
November 2013
• World religions
• Native Americans
• Cookery
• Handicrafts
• Exotic creatures
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October 2012
• “Common Ground”
• Government, politics, and leaders
• The Civil Rights movement
• World cultures
• Pollution and conservation
• Experiments and science projects
• Astronomy
• Dinosaurs and prehistoric life
• Language arts
• The arts
• After-school fun
Sandy Westbrook: “Thanks for publishing this! I’ve read them all and find them to be really helpful. We’ve done a lot of weeding in our nonfiction area and now I’m looking for great books to restock. I always find your reviews to be helpful.” (email September 26, 2013)
Janet Larscheid: “So far, so good. It’s great to be informed of new nonfiction works. I hope you continue with this venture.” (email September 26, 2013)
Beth Staiger: “I love Nonfiction Notes! Keep it coming. These books are really good to hear about and there isn’t another place for recommendations as wonderful as Horn Book.” (email September 25, 2013)
Sandra Fletcher: “As a librarian in a Catholic School, I really need recommendations on nonfiction books. Thank you for the Nonfiction Notes.” (email June 26, 2013)
Katy Mann: “Just to let you know that this is the first of your Nonfiction Notes newsletters that I’ve taken the time to read and I’m thrilled with it. Loved reading all of it. Please continue. Anything coming out on the history and science of how we’re coming to know our universe for middle school children?” (email April 25, 2013)
Donna Jamison: “I’d always like to read more, especially science and engineering, and educational core standards for K-12.” (email April 25, 2013)
Mary Neville Hood: “I think Nonfiction Notes is a great idea. Although a retired school librarian, I am always on the look out for well-reviewed nonfiction… I also like a quick email update because I savor the magazine and read it slowly — these updates are read quickly BUT with just as much interest.” (email October 29, 2014)
Connie LeFever: “I find this column greatly assists my purchase process in choosing quality nonfiction. It is especially helpful in series selections. There are few reviews in this genre and many are not worth it. Nonfiction is a priority in my middle school budget, but the priciest. I hate to spend money on titles that are often limited to series selections. I often delay purchase until I consult Horn Book. Thank you!” (email October 29, 2015)
Nancy Ralph: “Nice list of newest nonfiction around. Encouraging for a site to have a ready made list for classrooms.” (email March 26, 2016)
Christine Wilson: “Thanks for this update! Nonfiction doesn’t always get the publicity that fiction does, but it’s equally important for a school library.” (email March 28, 2016)
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