2022 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List Announced

The Texas Library Association is thrilled to announce the new Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List! The purpose of the Texas Topaz Reading List is to provide children, teens, 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 any particular curriculum.

Each year, the Texas Topaz Committee considers nonfiction books published three years prior to the release of the list. This year, the Committee selected 81 titles recommended for young readers and 51 titles recommended for adults. All titles on the new list were published between 2019 and 2022.

Below are recommended titles from the new Texas Topaz Reading List with unanimous votes from the entire Committee. For the full 2022 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List, go here.

2022 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List – UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATIONS

Grades K-2

• A Girl Named Rosita–The Story of Rita Moreno: Actor, Singer, Dancer, Trailblazer! by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Leo Espinosa
• Above the Rim: How Elgin Baylor Changed Basketball by Jen Bryant, illustrated by Frank Morrison
• Areli is a Dreamer: A True Story by Areli Morales, a DACA Recipient by Areli Morales, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
• Crossings: Extraordinary Structures for Extraordinary Animals by Katy S. Duffield, illustrated by Mike Orodán
• Does It Fart?: A Kid’s Guide to the Gas Animals Pass by Nick Caruso & Dani Rabaiotti, illustrated by Alex G. Griffiths
• In My Mosque by M.O. Yuksel, illustrated by Hatem Aly
• Indelible Ann: The Larger-Than-Life Story of Governor Ann Richards by Meghan P. Browne, illustrated by Carlynn Whitt
• Ocean! Waves for All by Stacy McAnulty, illustrated by David Litchfield
• Saving American Beach: The Biography of African American Environmentalist MaVynee Betsch by Heidi Tyline King, illustrated by Ekua Holmes
• Shirley Chisholm is a Verb by Veronica Chambers, illustrated by Rachelle Baker
• Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature by Rachel Williams, illustrated by Freya Hartas
• The Highest Tribute: Thurgood Marshall’s Life, Leadership, and Legacy by Kekla Magoon, illustrated by Laura Freeman

Grades 3-5

• Bartali’s Bicycle: The True Story of Gino Bartali, Italy’s Secret Hero by Megan Hoyt, illustrated by Iacopo Bruno
• Black Heroes of the Wild West by James Otis Smith
• Free Lunch by Rex Ogle
• Hear My Voice: The Testimonies of Children Detained at the Southern Border of the United States compiled by Warren Binford for Project Amplify
• Just Being Dali: The Story of Artist Salvador Dali by Amy Guglielmo, illustrated by Brett Helquist
• King of Ragtime: The Story of Scott Joplin, written and illustrated by Stephen Costanza
• The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field by Scott Riley, illustrated by Nguyen Quang & Kim Lien
• The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem by Colleen Paeff, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
• Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by Jeff Gottesfeld, illustrated by Matt Tavares

Grades 6-8

• Blood and Germs: The Civil War Battle Against Wounds and Disease by Gail Jarrow
• The Power of Style: How Fashion and Beauty Are Being Used to Reclaim Cultures by Christian Allaire

Grades 9-12

• Banned Book Club by Kim Hyun Sook & Ryan Estrada, illustrated by Hyung-Ju Ko
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask: Young Readers Edition by Anton Treuer
• Year of the Rabbit by Tian Veasna, translation by Helge Dascher

Adult for Young Adult

(These are adult books that the youth committee selected as recommendations appropriate for young adults/teens.)

• She Came to Slay: The Life and Times of Harriet Tubman by Erica Armstrong Dunbar
• The Book of Rosy: A Mother’s Story of Separation at the Border by Rosayra Pablo Cruz & Julie Schwietert Collazo
• You Will Get Through This Night: A Practical Mental Health Guide by Daniel Howell

Adults

• Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad
• Crying in H Mart: A Memoir by Michelle Zauner
• Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band by Willie Nelson & Bobbie Nelson with David Ritz
• Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics by Heather Lende
• On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed
• The Burning Blue: The Untold Story of Christa McAuliffe and NASA’s Challenger Disaster by Kevin Cook
• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee

2022 Texas Topaz Reading List Committee Members:

Kelly Brouillard, Chair
Alleasha Austin, Vice Chair
Carol Hafer, Past Chair
Rachel Asselin
Kari Heitman
Jennifer Franz
Jessica Jones
Amelia Lewis
Bette McDowell
Ann Rector
Jenny Rodriguez
Cathe Spencer
Priscilla Suarez
Kay Waltmon
Amy Watterman