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2021 Texas Topaz List Announced

TLA News, TLA Reading Lists
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The world of nonfiction is our world.  Nonfiction books show our pain, our struggles, our successes and inventions – revealing parts of history long left shrouded, giving us glimpses into our future. 

In nonfiction, the historical becomes personal, and the personal becomes something to be shared with others.

The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children and adults with recommended nonfiction titles that stimulate reading for pleasure and personal learning. (It is intended for recreational reading and is not designed to support a specific curriculum.)

The 94 books on this year’s list include a wide variety of worthy titles. There is the massive, but immensely readable, Big Wonderful Thing: A History of Texas, by Stephen Harrigan, and the folksy and loving The Best Cook in the World: Tales from my Momma’s Table, by Rick Bragg. Interested in having your DNA tested? Learn about the implications your test results can bring in Libby Copeland’s The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are.

We have the Topaz list divided into titles for adults, and titles for youth. Among the books for children are Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person Ever to Run a Marathon by Simran Jeet Singh, an inspirational story of perseverance. And both children and their parents will be interested in Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe by Vivian Kirkfield, illustrated by Alleanna Harris.

Librarians on the selection committee chose the titles from among hundreds of nominations. 

Find the adult list here.

Find the children’s list here.

The complete list is here. Enjoy!