Non-fiction and fact books your child will love (younger children)
Getting children to love reading isn't necessarily about fiction and fairy tales.
There are loads of brilliant non-fiction books that can teach your child about the world, as well as being entertaining, funny and gorgeous to look at. Sometimes non-fiction is also a fantastic way to tempt a reluctant reader into sitting down with a book.
Here are just a few of our favourites to get your family ready and excited to read.
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Frida Kahlo
Author: Ma Isabel Sanchez Vegara Illustrator: Gee Fan Eng Translator: Emma Martinez
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 6+
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Frida Kahlo
Author: Ma Isabel Sanchez Vegara Illustrator: Gee Fan Eng Translator: Emma Martinez
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 6+
Frida Kahlo's life story is adapted for younger readers - with bold and colourful illustrations, and an inspiring facts and photos…
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Outside: A Guide to Discovering Nature
Author: Maria Ana Peixe Dias and Ines Teixeira do Rosario Illustrator: Bernardo P Carvalho
Interest level: 8+
Reading age: 8+
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Outside: A Guide to Discovering Nature
Author: Maria Ana Peixe Dias and Ines Teixeira do Rosario Illustrator: Bernardo P Carvalho
Interest level: 8+
Reading age: 8+
Amphibians, birds, rocks, oceans and clouds: they're all explored in this large and stylish hardcover guide to nature for children…
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Can I Eat That?
Author: Joshua David Stein Illustrator: Julia Rothman
Interest level: 4-8
Reading age: 7+
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Can I Eat That?
Author: Joshua David Stein Illustrator: Julia Rothman
Interest level: 4-8
Reading age: 7+
A quirky combination of fact and fun, this distinctive picture book about food poses questions that inquisitive children typically…
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Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
Author: Vashti Harrison
Interest level: 6-11
Reading age: 7+
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Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
Author: Vashti Harrison
Interest level: 6-11
Reading age: 7+
This beautiful and profound book chronicles the struggles and achievements of historic and contemporary black women. Not just…
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Under Earth, Under Water
Author: Aleksandra and David Mizielinski
Interest level: 4+
Reading age: 7+
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Under Earth, Under Water
Author: Aleksandra and David Mizielinski
Interest level: 4+
Reading age: 7+
This gorgeous large hardback explores what happens under the earth and in our oceans and seas in fantastically colourful and acces…
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Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World
Author: Kate Pankhurst
Interest level: 6-9
Reading age: 7+
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Fantastically Great Women Who Changed The World
Author: Kate Pankhurst
Interest level: 6-9
Reading age: 7+
Written and illustrated by a direct descendant of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, this colourful picture book is full of facts abo…
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Space Kids
Author: Steve Parker Illustrator: Andrea De Santis
Interest level: 6-10
Reading age: 7+
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Space Kids
Author: Steve Parker Illustrator: Andrea De Santis
Interest level: 6-10
Reading age: 7+
Including topics such as stars, planets, moons, gravity and even how astronauts are able to eat and sleep, each page of this fasci…
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Mr Shaha’s Recipes for Wonder
Author: Alom Shaha Illustrator: Emily Robertson
Interest level: 6-9
Reading age: 7+
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Mr Shaha’s Recipes for Wonder
Author: Alom Shaha Illustrator: Emily Robertson
Interest level: 6-9
Reading age: 7+
Learn to think like a scientist in this beautifully illustrated book, which celebrates and inspires readers to be curious and expl…
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Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets
Author: Hena Khan Illustrator: Mehrdokht Amini
Interest level: 4-6
Reading age: 5+
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Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets
Author: Hena Khan Illustrator: Mehrdokht Amini
Interest level: 4-6
Reading age: 5+
This beautifully designed picture book with exquisite illustrations explores a variety of shapes relating to Islamic objects and p…
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Alastair Humphreys’ Great Adventurers
Author: Alastair Humphrey Illustrator: Kevin Ward
Interest level: 7-10
Reading age: 8+
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Alastair Humphreys’ Great Adventurers
Author: Alastair Humphrey Illustrator: Kevin Ward
Interest level: 7-10
Reading age: 8+
An inspiring introduction to 20 adventurers and explorers from the last 700 years. This book will encourage readers to live m…
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The Great Big Body Book
Author: Mary Hoffman Illustrator: Ros Asquith
Interest level: 5+
Reading age: 5+
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The Great Big Body Book
Author: Mary Hoffman Illustrator: Ros Asquith
Interest level: 5+
Reading age: 5+
How does the human body develop and change in a lifetime? Hoffman and Asquith explore these questions and more in this honest, ent…
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Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable
Author: Nicola Davies Illustrator: Neal Layton
Interest level: 6-9
Reading age: 7+
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Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable
Author: Nicola Davies Illustrator: Neal Layton
Interest level: 6-9
Reading age: 7+
This funny non-fiction picture book for older readers is packed full of fascinating facts about poo and enthusiastically explains …
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Grandad Mandela
Author: Zazi Ziwelene & Zindzi Mandela Illustrator: Sean Qualls
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 6+
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Grandad Mandela
Author: Zazi Ziwelene & Zindzi Mandela Illustrator: Sean Qualls
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 6+
This insightful and uplifting picture book recounts the life of Nelson Mandela through the eyes of his great-grandchildren, Zazi a…
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The Book of Clouds
Author: Juris Kronbergs Illustrator: Anete Melece Translator: Mara Rozīte and Richard O’Brien
Interest level: 7-11
Reading age: 8+
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The Book of Clouds
Author: Juris Kronbergs Illustrator: Anete Melece Translator: Mara Rozīte and Richard O’Brien
Interest level: 7-11
Reading age: 8+
This wonderful book about the magic of clouds is full of surprising and original poems, perfect for upper key stage two children e…
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The Book of Bees
Author: Piotr Socha and Wojciech Grajkowski Translator: Agnes Monod-Gayraud
Interest level: 7-9
Reading age: 7-9
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The Book of Bees
Author: Piotr Socha and Wojciech Grajkowski Translator: Agnes Monod-Gayraud
Interest level: 7-9
Reading age: 7-9
This glorious book will introduce you to the bee world. It is fantastically illustrated in a cartoonish style that is big, bold an…
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She Persisted Around the World
Author: Chelsea Clinton Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger
Interest level: 7-9
Reading age: 7+
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She Persisted Around the World
Author: Chelsea Clinton Illustrator: Alexandra Boiger
Interest level: 7-9
Reading age: 7+
Featuring simply-told stories and glorious illustrations, this book about incredible, determined women from around the world is su…
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Gloria’s Voice
Author: Aura Lewis
Interest level: 5-7
Reading age: 5+
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Gloria’s Voice
Author: Aura Lewis
Interest level: 5-7
Reading age: 5+
An inspirational picture book biography of an amazing woman: the feminist, journalist and activist Gloria Steinem. Aura Lewis’ dre…
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Sports are Fantastic Fun!
Author: Ole Könnecke
Interest level: 5-7
Reading age: 6+
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Sports are Fantastic Fun!
Author: Ole Könnecke
Interest level: 5-7
Reading age: 6+
Full of brilliant detail about a vast range of sports, this highly entertaining illustrated picture book gives children a good int…
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Search and Find: Alphabet of Alphabets
Author: Mike Jolley and Amanda Wood Illustrator: Allan Sanders
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 6+
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Search and Find: Alphabet of Alphabets
Author: Mike Jolley and Amanda Wood Illustrator: Allan Sanders
Interest level: 5-8
Reading age: 6+
A book with 26 differently illustrated and themed alphabets is an original idea, and it’s fun to dip in and out of – both to …
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Dogs in Space
Author: Vix Southgate Illustrator: Iris Deppe
Interest level: 4-7
Reading age: 5+
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Dogs in Space
Author: Vix Southgate Illustrator: Iris Deppe
Interest level: 4-7
Reading age: 5+
This informative and exciting picture book details the journey of Belka and Strelka (dogs sent into space as part of the Sovi…
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Stubby: A True Story of Friendship
Author: Michael Foreman
Interest level: 4-8
Reading age: 7+
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Stubby: A True Story of Friendship
Author: Michael Foreman
Interest level: 4-8
Reading age: 7+
Published to coincide with the centenary of the end of the First World War, this beautiful book tells the story of Stubby, the mos…
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