These picture books covering a wide range of topics are perfect for young readers who are looking for more of a challenge when they read, before they transition to early chapter books. There are beautiful illustrations, fun nonfiction facts and more difficult topics for kids to dive into in these picture books.
Finding My Spark
A picture book for older readers, Finding My Spark follows a tween who realizes he’s not the girl everyone thinks he is. He eventually he gathers the courage to open up to his family and friends and be his true self.
This book’s illustrations have a graphic-novel quality that makes them well-suited for ages 9–12.
Ayah and the Big World Outside
In this story for kids ages 6–8, Ayah lives in a refugee camp and isn’t sure what she wants to be when she grows up. But then she dreams of a visit from a swallow who shows her the wide world outside the fence.
Ayah and the Big World Outside is inspired by co-author Souad Shehab’s experience of growing up in a refugee camp.
More Us
In this sweet picture book, a boy’s uncle who has been living on the streets for years moves in with him and his mom. The story is based on the author’s family experience and can help start deeper conversations about why people live on the street.
★ “A sensitive and powerful look at a complex topic.” —School Library Journal, starred review
Bird Brothers, A Delhi Story
This touching picture book tells the true story of two brothers who learn how to treat and rehabilitate raptors that are often injured by the popular custom of kite fighting and the dense air pollution in Delhi.
★ “The artwork and the story are inspiring and beautiful.” —School Library Journal, starred review
My Language Is a Garden
In this poetic picture book for ages 6–8, a parent tells their child about their heritage language and all that it represents.
★ “Captures a language’s ability to connect one to places, ancestry, and cultural heritage through the sharing of stories, family recipes, and so much more.” —Booklist, starred review
★ “This celebration of language successfully imparts the sense of it as a living, breathing expression of love and belonging.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review
Nature’s Partners: How Plants, Animals and Insects Team Up
Explore incredible cross-species partnerships in this nonfiction book! Discover unlikely connections between organisms from two different species who rely on each other for survival.
Includes an introduction to scientific concepts such as symbiosis, mutualism as metamorphosis, and provides examples from ecosystems around the world.
South with the Seabirds: Follow Four Scientists to the Edge of the World
This nonfiction picture book follows Mary Gillham, Isobel Bennett, Hope Macpherson and Susan Ingham on an adventure to Macquarie Island. They were the first four female scientists to join an Australian research expedition to the subantarctic.
“An engaging choice for browsers and report-writers that highlights the inspiring, unsung work of four women scientists.” —School Library Journal
Time Is Wild: The Life Cycles of Animals and You
This nonfiction picture book introduces readers aged 6–8 to the time it takes for animals to grow up in the wild and how those timelines compare to that of humans.
Explores themes of animal biology, animal life cycles, nature and environment, and includes a glossary with words to know.