Colorful and Informative Nonfiction Picture Books Curious Kids Will Be Wild About
Posted on April 18, 2018
by cindy vanderbrink
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? It’s easy to see why “What do you do with a tail like this?” is on the 101 Picture Book Challenge list. This Caldecott Honor winning title has stunning cut-paper art by Steve Jenkins. The book has close-ups of animal noses, ears, eyes and so on. It invites readers to guess to which animal they belong. The following page reveals each animal with facts like “if you’re a jackrabbit, you use your ears to keep cool.” Borrow it from the Library: |
Informative and Colorful Nonfiction Picture Books
Steve Jenkins’ illustrations are in a bunch of excellent informational books. Here are a few favorites:
 Just a Second : A Different Way to Look at Time by Steven Jenkinsj 529 Jen | Ages 4-7 This non-fiction picture book explores time and how we think about it in a different way – as a series of events in the natural world (some of them directly observable, others not) that take place in a given unit of time. |
 Eye to Eye : How Animals See the World by Steve Jenkinsj 573.88 Jen | Ages 6-9 In this eye-popping work of picture book nonfiction, a Caldecott Honoree explains how for most animals, eyes are the most important source of information about the world in a biological sense. |
 Animals by the Numbers : A Book of Infographics by Steve Jenkinsj 590.72 Jen | Ages 6-9 An amazing look at numbers, facts, infographics, and the animals that inhabit them from the Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Steve Jenkins. Also available in eBook. |
 Egg : Nature’s Perfect Package by Steve Jenkins and Robin Pagej 591.468 Jen | Ages 4-7 Hatching a plan for survival isn’t always easy in the wild. And how animals lay, protect, and even use each other’s eggs as a food source help reveal the life cycle of the natural world. Also available in eBook. |
 Trickiest! : 19 Sneaky Animals by Steve Jenkinsj 591.47 Jen | Ages 6-9 Trickiest! introduces readers to some of the slyest animals on the planet, and the award-winning author and illustrator Steve Jenkins is here to show you what earned them their reputation. |
 Apex Predators : World’s Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present by Steve Jenkinsj 591.53 Jen | Ages 6-9 In his latest illustrated exploration of the animal kingdom, Steve Jenkins introduces readers to some of the most powerful predators in history, from the Tyrannosaurus rex to the African Siberian tiger. |
 Flying Frogs and Walking Fish: Leaping Lemurs, Tumbling Toads, Jet-Propelled Jellyfish, and More Surprising Ways that Animals Move by Steve Jenkins and Robin Pagej 591.57 Jen | Ages 4-7 A red-lipped batfish waddles across the sea floor on its fins, searching for small sea creatures to eat. Other animals may fly or glide, or jet-propel themselves to get around. These creatures come equipped with legs, wings, or tentacles, and they often move from place to place in surprising ways. Also available in eBook. |
 Deadliest! : 20 Dangerous Animals by Steve Jenkinsj 591.65 Jen | Ages 6-9 What do a cape buffalo, a king cobra, and a puffer fish have in common? They’re all deadly! This installment in Extreme Animals showcases the most lethal members of the animal kingdom. |
What is the 101 Picture Book Challenge?
The 101 Picture Book Challenge is a list of recent and classic picture books that we think are great and want you to read. This is the latest in a series of blog posts exploring some of the things we love about these books.
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