Watchung Booksellers' Best Nonfiction Picks for Children

The following column was written by your local children's bookseller Carolyn Anbar, of Watchung Booksellers, at 54 Fairfield St. 

Have you ever heard your kid say these things?

"Nah, who needs a book on birds for my fourth-grade report. I'll just look it up on the Internet."

"Who was Amelia Earhardt? I'll just look it up on Wikipedia."

Well guess what, it turns out that looking up everything on a screen isn't always the best way to learn.

With the Common Core Curriculum Standards now in motion, teachers and parents are going to be looking for quality non-fiction books to excite and challenge students. And they will not be disappointed.

In the 11 years that I've been working at Wachung booksellers, the "true" books, as the kids sometimes call them, have gone from mostly average to downright spectacular.

Photographers and illustrators capture the tiniest geological detail in "A Rock is Lively" by Dianna Hutts Aston to actual size animals in "Life Size Zoo" by Kristin Earhart and photographer Toyofumi Fukuda. 

The  chapter books "Boys and Girls Who Rocked the World" by Michelle Roehm and Amelie Welden make everything so much more interesting, and a sense of humor certainly doesn't hurt. And don't forget young adult nonfiction. A brand new story from ultra hip young MTV filmaker Andrew Jenks is sure fire high interest, and the more emotional "I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior" by Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin gets teens thinking.

Next time you're in the bookstore, check out our children's nonfiction shelves. They are chock full of information presented in the best possible ways. 

Other titles not to be missed are:

• "Sports Illustrated: The Math of the Game" (Basketball, Baseball, Hockey, and Football)
• "Wicked Histories," biographies of Napoleon, Vlad the Impaler and more
• "National Geographic Angry Birds Space: A Furious Flight Into the Final Frontier" by Amy Briggs
• "In Disguise!: Undercover with Real Woman Spies" by Ryan Ann Hunter
• "Amazing Rubber Band Cars: Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys" by Mike Rugsby
• "What Was The Gold Rush?" "What Was the Battle of Gettysburg?" "What Was the Boston Tea Party?" "What was the March on Washington?"