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This Reading Mama

Favorite Nonfiction Series Books {for K-5th grades}

By thisreadingmama 16 Comments

Nonfiction makes up the majority of what adults read. But too often kids don’t get enough nonfiction reading. Here are 10+ of our favorite nonfiction series books to get that nonfiction reading in, from Kindergarten to 5th grades.

Nonfiction Series Books for K-5th grades | This Reading Mama

*This post contains affiliate links.

For each nonfiction book series, I’m including a brief description and an age range. This age range is only a suggestion, as reading abilities and interests can range greatly from child to child.

 

Our Top 10 Favorite Nonfiction Series Books for Grades K-5

 

Rookie Readers

Rookie Readers has several nonfiction series, including Rookie Readers Science, Rookie Readers Geography, and Rookie Readers Biographies {many of these are older}. These are great nonfiction texts for young readers {1st/beginning of 2nd grade} to read themselves or make great read alouds for younger kids. The print is larger and they contain nice photographs/images.

 

I Can Read Series

I Can Read! Series– This is a common series you can find even in Wal-Mart. The print is larger, like the Rookie Readers Series and the pictures are simply amazing! I’d also classify these for kids reading at a 1st/beginning of 2nd grade level.

 

Gail Gibbons Books– We own many of Gail Gibbons’ books. If there’s something your child wants to learn about, there’s a Gail Gibbons book for that! Seriously though. This lady has written a TON of nonfiction texts, perfect for read alouds to the younger grades or reading texts for the older grades. My favorites are her holiday books because they share interesting facts about how special holidays came to be. {for grades K and up}

 

Seymour Simon Books– The images in these texts are absolutely breath-taking and engaging for readers. While they are not chapter books, they are filled with interesting science facts that will draw kids in. Because he does not use headings and subheadings within his texts, I love to ask 4th and 5th graders to read and divide the text into sections to work on nonfiction text features and text structures. {for grades K-4th}

 

A Picture Book of… Biographies by David Adler {author of the Cam Jansen books} – Love the pictures and facts shared in these biographies! I’ve used them as read alouds for 1st and 2nd graders, but 3rd graders could totally read them on their own. {for grades 1st – 4th}

 

NG for Kids

National Geographic Kids Readers– These books have TONS of images/photographs, so they are not intimidating to young readers. There are several different science and geography topics to choose from that are typically of high interest to kids. They are also filled with different kinds of text features and the perfect resource to teach this, even with older kids. There are THREE LEVELS of books within this series, Level 1 {Preschool-1st grade}, Level 2 {K-3rd grade}, and Level 3 {2nd-4th grades}. Younger kids may even enjoy the Little Kids First Big Books by National Geographic.

 

We also GREATLY enjoy these National Geographic books, which make WONDERFUL read alouds in the younger grades {K-3rd grades}. We have ALL of these (and I honestly wish they had more!): A Tree for All Seasons, Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie, Apples for Everyone, Pilgrims of Plymouth, Winter Wonderland, Everything Spring & Insects.

 

Let’s Read and Find Out Series– We have a TON of these, as I use them over and over again in our science lessons. Much like the National Geographic Kids series, there’s a Level 1 {Preschool-3rd grades} and Level 2{K-4th grades}. Although the images are drawn, the facts in these books are spot-on and match up well with the science concepts and topics covered in these grades.

 

Magic Tree House Nonfiction Companions– If you have a child who has enjoyed the Magic Tree House series, then she’ll enjoy the nonfiction companions. I also think these are PERFECT for struggling readers in the older grades because they are easier to read (on about the same level as the Magic Tree House fiction texts) and have high interest topics. {for grades 2nd-5th}

 


True Books Series – We check these out from the library often. They have many books in this series that are great for studying history or other cultures and lands. I love the way the text is laid out with fun facts and captions. I also think the online resources provided towards the end of the book are a great way to expand kids’ understandings of the topics. {for grades 2nd-5th}

 

Scholastic True or False– These books are highly interactive as kids guess whether the information is true or false. It’s a great way to introduce a topic {they stick with mainly animals and Earth science}. I’ve even learned a lot, like did you know that tigers have the sharpest teeth of all the cats? {for grades 2nd-5th}

 

If You…Series– This nonfiction series is FILLED with details and interesting facts about the lives of people and events in history. Usually when I read them aloud, I just pick out the sections I want to read or we read the book in several sittings, as the books are long and contain tons of info. {for grades 2nd-5th}

 

 Who Was? / Who Is? Series  – This nonfiction series does a great job of presenting information surrounding a person or event in history, particularly American history, although there are some books in this series that do not pertain to American history, like Who Was King Tut? or Who Was Queen Elizabeth? These chapter books do a phenomenal job of filling in background knowledge for readers by providing extra blurbs on topics that pertain to the subject of the book. {ages 3rd-6th grades}

 

What nonfiction series books would you include on your favorite list?

 

More Reading Resources:

  • How to Choose “Just Right” Books: Helping Kids Grow as Readers by Becky Spence
  • Nonfiction Text Features and Text Structures
  • Nonfiction Text Structures {Part 1} ~ with FREE graphic organizers
  • Nonfiction Text Structures {Part 2} ~ with FREE graphic organizers

 

Our Ultimate List of Favorite Books from tots to chapter books | This Reading Mama

Visit all the book lists in this series by clicking here or on the image above.

 

 

 

~Becky

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Filed Under: Book Lists

« Our Favorite Books {Tots through Chapter Books}
Favorite Board Books {for Babies and Toddlers} »

Comments

  1. Deceptively Educational says

    November 17, 2014 at 8:07 am

    My 9-year-old loves non-fiction! Thanks for sharing such a great list!

    Reply
  2. Rebecca Jones (@booklongenough) says

    November 17, 2014 at 8:35 am

    Becky, this is a really original book list. As a librarian, I love it! Sharing across my networks. Thanks so much for hosting the link-up!

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 17, 2014 at 2:37 pm

      Thank you, Rebecca!

      Reply
  3. MaryAnne says

    November 17, 2014 at 4:05 pm

    Great suggestions here! We recently discovered the “Who was…” series, and it is great!

    Reply
  4. Michelle says

    November 19, 2014 at 9:28 pm

    We love the “You Wouldn’t Want to Be……..” series.

    Reply
  5. boymamateachermama says

    November 20, 2014 at 12:40 am

    This is a great collection of series. I love the Rookie Read About Series! Some of these are new to me too. Thanks for the ideas!

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 20, 2014 at 5:26 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  6. Kim Vij (@EducatorsSpin) says

    November 20, 2014 at 9:27 am

    I see so many of our favorites! Thanks for sharing Becky! Would make great holidays gifts this year.

    Reply
  7. Natalie PlanetSmartyPants says

    November 23, 2014 at 3:23 pm

    Excellent collection! You nailed all the major non-fiction series. The only one I’d add would be the history series, You Wouldn’t Want to Be…

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 23, 2014 at 3:30 pm

      That one is new to me. I’ll have to look into it! Thanks, Natalie.

      Reply
  8. Dineen says

    November 24, 2014 at 9:56 am

    Thank you so much for this. I am learning that my little big kid who is great reader, but has become a reluctant reader prefers to read for information rather than read fiction. This list will help me a great deal.

    Reply
    • thisreadingmama says

      November 24, 2014 at 11:00 pm

      So glad to hear!

      Reply
  9. Michele says

    November 25, 2015 at 3:37 pm

    love the list. my son is a big fan of the horrible histories book also.

    Reply
  10. isabella says

    November 5, 2017 at 6:10 pm

    my daughter just loves to read magic tree house books.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Learning Activities for Kids ages 5+ (and a new link up) - The Measured Mom says:
    November 24, 2014 at 1:03 am

    […] Reading Mama has been sharing some amazing book lists lately.  This list of favorite nonfiction series for kids is super helpful for parents who want their kids to love nonfiction.  If your child has to write […]

    Reply
  2. 50+ free reading activities and resources - The Measured Mom says:
    January 5, 2015 at 1:02 am

    […] Favorite nonfiction series for K-5 […]

    Reply

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Hi! I’m Becky, a homeschooling mama with 4 blessings who keep me on my toes {and knees}. Before homeschooling, I was a classroom teacher (M.Ed.) and reading tutor. Read more about me here.

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