Tea, Tales, and Tomes

From the Gentle Science of Baby Loves Quarks to Laugh-out-Loud Learning with Bill Bryson: Non-fiction is Fun Too!

• Natasha • Season 1 • Episode 9

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Have you ever dismissed an entire genre of books only to have your child prove you spectacularly wrong? That's exactly what happened when my son Jaz revealed his preference for nonfiction - a category I'd spent my entire reading life avoiding "like the plague."

What began as concern over my youngest son's waning interest in our beloved family read-aloud sessions turned into an eye-opening journey. While I was busy pulling out all the stops with silly voices and wacky characters in fiction books, Jaz was quietly gravitating toward factual texts about Australian wildlife and other scientific topics. The moment of realization was humbling: "Just because a book isn't fun in the way I define it doesn't mean it's not deeply enjoyable to someone else."

This episode explores the surprising world of high-quality nonfiction for young readers across all age ranges. From the "Baby Loves" board books that introduce complex scientific concepts to toddlers, to Usborne's brilliant "Lift the Flap" series, to National Geographic's visually stunning collections. For older children, we dive into the wonderfully bizarre "Animal Battles" series (think WWE meets Animal Kingdom with scientific explanations), graphic novel-style science books, and even adapted Bill Bryson works that maintain his signature wit while making complex topics accessible to young minds.

Whether your child is already a nonfiction enthusiast or you're looking to expand their literary horizons, these recommendations offer the perfect balance of educational content and genuine reading pleasure. And stay tuned for part two, where we'll explore even more extraordinary nonfiction titles and provide a framework for distinguishing exceptional informational books from forgettable ones.

Have you discovered any surprising reading preferences in your children? What nonfiction titles have captured their imagination? I'd love to hear about your experiences with factual books that have made a difference in your family's reading life.

Visit the webpage for this episode to get all the booklists, the transcript, or to leave a message and chat. 

Find us on Instagram @teatalesandtomes and don't forget to join us next time for more bookish wonder.

Podcast music by Lundstroem (Episode 1 onwards) and Audionautix (TTAT Trailer). Podcast edited by Timothy Wiggill.

Natasha:

Hello bookish friends. This is Natasha and you're listening to Tea Tales and Tomes, where we are living our favorite lives talking books and drinking hot beverages. So grab your cuppa and let's talk books. Today we're venturing into territory that I never thought I would really explore with any kind of depth the realm of nonfiction books for kids. So let me tell you a not so secret secret.

Natasha:

I have never been a nonfiction girlie, so I will happily devour a sweeping fantasy. I'll fall head over heels for historical fiction or go full goblin mode over a picture book with gorgeous illustrations, but nonfiction. When I enter a bookstore or library, I avoid the nonfiction shelves like the plague. Let's call it my toxic traits and yes, I fully admit to it. I mean give me narrative nonfiction. I'm there or I'll dip into a podcast to get my daily facts fixed. But a straight up factual book about, I don't know, the dietary habits of nocturnal marsupials, I'm out of here. But oh how karma keeps receipts. Because you see, my youngest Jazz, my firecracker, has been quietly proving me wrong For the last few months, many months.

Natasha:

I've started noticing a shift in the tea tales in Tom's home, especially as regards our reading life, our usual read-aloud time. Jazz wasn't into it anymore as much as he used to be. I'd grab a stack of books, some tasty snacks, cozy up with both my kids and while my eldest would be eating this up, he would light up Jazz, would groan or just kind of sit there, half interested, more interested in the snacks present, but not at the level of engagement he had previously. At first I thought, is it me, does my kid not enjoy reading? Is this just a reading slump? So I decided I'm going to pull out all the stops. Silly voices, funny books, wacky characters, but nothing and I mean nothing really brought the same spark. He would engage, but it was not at that level that I'm so used to from him. But then I started really paying attention.

Natasha:

A few months ago I started to look carefully at the books Jazz was picking up on his own, the books he'd pull off the shelves in quiet moments, the ones that made it into his backpack after school library days, all non-fiction. He would bring home books like Creatures of the Australian Outback and I would normally just look at it and cringe. I would also very incorrectly think that he just picked out the book because maybe it was what was left or maybe this is just what was on the shelves at school, although I've seen the shelves at school and there are some really great fiction tales there. So, yeah, I should have realized sooner. These were books full of massive blocks of text, big facts, close-up animal photos the kinds of books that I would have put down immediately. But not Jazz. He was captivated. He wanted to learn about thorny devils and sugar gliders and what have you. He was engaged, curious and, dare I say it, excited, and that's when it hit me Just because a book isn't fun in the way I define it doesn't mean it's not deeply enjoyable to someone else, even my own children.

Natasha:

I was clearly resistant to seeing what was right before my eyes. But now that I could rest assured that my kid hadn't lost the spark for reading I was just not meeting him where he is at at this time of his life my next challenge was to find the right type of nonfiction for my little book dragon. Books that I felt needed to feed his curiosity, books that would help him and me, the grown-up, understand the world, one fascinating fact at a time. I also needed to strike the perfect balance between being informative but also really engaging and, in the best-case scenario, something that we could also read aloud or read together, without me wanting to pull my hair out, and that will be say it with me long-lasting shelf occupiers that are not just going to be there for that toddler age group or just that teen years, and then you're going to chuck them in the bin. Because here's the thing while fiction feeds the imagination, non-fiction feeds our intellects, and both are essential Essentially in a world where being a good reader isn't just about escaping, it's also about finding understanding.

Natasha:

So steep your tea, snuggle up with your favorite cozy blanket in this wintry Durban weather and let's take a journey into the factual, the fascinating and the surprisingly fun world of non-fiction books for young readers. If you've listened to Tea Tales and Tomes before, you know that I always say that not all books are equal. If you browse any nonfiction shelf at your local bookstore, you will see exactly what I mean. So how did I sift out the great from the average? As always, I've done the hard work for you and I'm here to share this. I've actually had to separate this episode into a two-part episode because, for someone who doesn't love non-fiction, I actually have a lot of amazing books to recommend Today.

Natasha:

In part one, we will be delving into engaging non-fiction picture books for the littlest learners, middle grade options that blend facts with storytelling, and even books for older kids and teens that challenge them to think critically and explore the truth about the world around them. Let's start at the very beginning Board books and early readers for our youngest explorers. If you look at some of my earlier bookstagrams, you will be familiar with my love for the Baby Loves books by Ruth Spiro. These board books are adorable introductions to big science topics. Titles like Baby Loves Quarks, baby Loves Aerospace Engineering, baby Loves Gravity, and many others will start incorporating that gorgeous language of science into kids' minds and hearts from the earliest of ages. All the topics are explained in a way that makes sense to babies and toddlers. They're clever, colorful and sneakily educational. So if you want your toddler to know that it's gravity that keeps their sippy cup on earth and why they slide down that slide, this is the series of books for you. Remember, this is not about giving them a BSc in physics as toddlers. It is about letting scientific language swirl around in their spongy brains. Okay, that doesn't sound quite right, but somehow it's very right. Right, because kids are sponges at this age, slurping up all the knowledge that the world has to offer them. Let's move on from my sponge references.

Natasha:

So I mentioned the Usborne books in episode three, where I spoke about prolific authors and author collections that you can always rely on, and they deserve a mention again in this episode. Specifically, today I want to highlight the Usborne Lift the Flap very first question and answers books with lift the flaps, lift the flaps and illustrations and language that is straight up gorgeous. So titles like what is sleep, what are stars, what is poo, what are germs, have been staples on our shelves for years and years and are still picked up and poured over time and time again. One title in particular, what is Sleep, is so good for when you are having sleep battles with your little people. Using friendly illustrations, it speaks to why sleep is so important for us to rest, to heal, to help us function, to help us remember things on a daily basis, and all done in a way that draws in those little eyes. And did I mention that the books are all plain gorgeous? Once this episode airs, I will post a few reels on my bookstagram, that's, at ttalesandtomes on Instagram, showing you the inners of all the books mentioned here so you can see for yourselves what I mean. So from these very first Lift the Flaps books, you can then move on to the first Lift the Flaps question and answers for slightly older kids, exploring titles like what Are Viruses, how Do I See, why Do I Need to Go to School? And ultimately, to the older Usborne Sea Insight series, which delves into things like world religions, art, how things work, weather and climate, and even a book all about the periodic table and all done in a way that is accessible and hugely interesting that you truly won't want to put these books down. So I invite you to look at what Usborne has to offer and see what will be interesting to you and your little readers. I'm going to list all of these titles in the blog post for this episode so you don't have to write these down like I always do so from here.

Natasha:

Another non-fiction collection that I find genuinely interesting and makes for great read alouds very important and that also has amazing longevity. These are the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book Of series. That's the National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book Of. So it'll be things like Little Kids's first big book of oceans or first big book of reptiles and amphibians, etc. You cannot go wrong with these. The first big book of titles span everything, like I said, from oceans to space to why things go boom, with bold photographs, bite-sized facts and engaging layouts. These are perfect for curious minds and, the best part, they grow with your child. So my kids are currently obsessing over Little Kid's First Big Book of Dinosaurs. I mean kids and dinosaurs. Last month's obsession was Little Kid's First Big Book of who, which goes into many key people from history like Leonardo da Vinci, into many key people from history like Leonardo da Vinci, king Tut, malala Yousafzai, amelia Earhart and much, much more. These books make for the best dinner conversations and reasons to go look for further information.

Natasha:

Another series we love is from the publishing house called Miles Kelly and it's called Curious Questions and Answers. This is great for that golden age of curiosity when kids ask why and how and who a hundred times a day. The books are pure Q&A gold. They ask and answer the questions that kids really want to know, like why don't penguins get cold or what would happen if the earth stopped spinning. They are bright, cheeky and really fun to flip through. They make for great independent reading and conversation starters. The reason I like it is because the information is bite-sized. It doesn't make me feel overwhelmed when I'm reading it aloud. The illustrations are quirky and the format feels very personal and very inviting.

Natasha:

Another truly inspiring, totally wacky series is called Animal Battles by Kieran Downs. So if your kid is into dinosaurs or gladiators, this series is kinda like WWE meets the Animal Kingdom. It sets animals against each other in fantasy battle scenarios yes, you heard me correctly. Think Jaws, tiger versus alligator, skunk versus raccoon, praying mantis versus black widow, spider, and then the author uses real science to determine who'd win. It's fact-packed, fast-paced and delightfully dramatic. The theoretical battles are wildly, wildly entertaining. So each book has four short chapters. They're called the Competitors, secret Weapons, attack Moves and, lastly, ready Fight, and they're packed with photos, infographics, facts and stats, ideal for reluctant readers and visual learners. If you think that this sounds really kooky, let me tell you that Jazz has gone through all of these books multiple times already and he can tell you which animal will win and give you a very scientific explanation for why, based on physiology, habitat, diet. And then, like a true scientist, he extrapolates all this information to other creatures, like putting dinosaurs against each other or Ice Age mammals throwing down.

Natasha:

I have to, sadly hear all about these battles and all my long drives with this little monster. But you know, I say this really scornfully, but I'm secretly in awe that books like these exist. They are real masterpieces again, meeting kids exactly where they are at. And while we're on series and ones that are not the usual fare for the slightly older kids I'm thinking 7 or 8 and up I cannot recommend the science comic series enough. Graphic novels meet science lessons in this brilliant series that covers everything from volcanoes to the solar system, to the science and engineering behind skyscrapers. There's so many great topics science comics, cats, bats and even a volume on the human brain. So each book and this is the wonder of it, right Each book reads like a story, with characters, humor and action, all the while delivering real, accurate science. Honestly, I love them just as much as the kids do. I say they're for older kids because they are slightly longer than the books I've mentioned previously and it does help when kids can read for themselves because it will be a very, very long multiple day read aloud. Also, older kids will be so captivated by the books that you reading them aloud over a few days or nights might result in some frustration because they will not be able to wait to get to the next page. Independent readers are going to adore getting their non-fiction dose in this way.

Natasha:

Another great graphic novel that has just come out is by Tonya Bolden and David Wilkinson. It's called Black Lives Great Minds of Science. This book joyfully celebrates the contributions that scientists of color have made throughout history. Importantly, these are not names that many people will learn about in school. So scientists like the physician Matilda Evans, engineer Archie Alexander, mathematician Gladys West and, my favorite, marine biologist, ayanna Elizabeth Johnson. An anthology that is in the similar vein to this is Good Night.

Natasha:

Stories for Rebel Girls by Alina Favelli and Francesca Cavallo. I'm probably pronouncing those surnames completely wrong, and that's exactly what happens when you are a reader is that you end up pronouncing things the way you see them written on the page, so do apologize. I have two boys and they love these stories and will often pick these off the shelves for themselves. The books all feature short, one-page stories and illustrations of women throughout the ages that have defied the odds and accomplished great things, featuring activists, pirates, astronauts, writers, sports heroes and even spies. These books are thrilling to dive in and out of, especially at bedtime.

Natasha:

My last trick for today is Bill Bryson, because I simply cannot do an episode on nonfiction and not feature one of my all-time favorite writers. I know, I know I said that non-fiction is not my thing, but Bill Bryson is so amazing as a writer that it's impossible not to fall in love with all of his books. So most of Bill's books are for the older, kids and adults, but I've recently seen some of his titles, like the award-winning A Short History of Nearly Everything and his other book called the Body, which have now been adapted for kids with slightly different titles. They're called A Really Short History of Nearly Everything and A Really Short Journey Through the Body. If you've read Bill Bryson, you know that he has this brilliant way of taking complex topics and writing about them in a way that will keep even the most jaded non-fiction reader riveted and I mean riveted. These books tackle science and history and human anatomy with humor, wit and clarity. Kai Jazz and I have loved these two and I think that they are already huge Bryson fans, even at this young age.

Natasha:

Wow, I feel like I've been talking for a very long time. So for someone who doesn't really enjoy nonfiction, I sure have had a lot of recommendations to make. You can rest assured that anything I have chosen to talk about today are truly great reads. I've also chosen books and series that have a wide range of topics, so that you can look at the titles and see which one appeals to your specific interest and, of course, that of your child. In part two, I am moving off series and I'm going to look at books with big ideas and beautiful illustrations, literally where nonfiction meets art that will imprint itself on you and your family of readers. Also, in part two, I'm going to give you a guide of what to look for when going down the nonfiction road yourself, essentially, how to sift out the twaddle from the gems. So thank you for being here talking books with me. Don't forget to join us next time for more bucket wonder.

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Natasha

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Timothy Wiggill

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