2024 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 57 titles recommended for young readers and 37 titles recommended for adults. All titles on the new list were published between 2021 and 2023.
Collection Development Statement
The Texas Topaz Reading List is not designed to support any particular curriculum. Librarians are not required or expected to purchase every book on the list. Due to the diversity in age range and topics, librarians should follow their local collection development policies and guidelines when considering which titles to purchase for their library.
Below are recommended titles from the new Texas Topaz Reading List with unanimous votes from the entire Committee.
2024 Texas Topaz Nonfiction Reading List
UNANIMOUS RECOMMENDATIONS
Grades K-2
- Battle of the Butts: The Science Behind Animal Behinds by Jocelyn Rish, illustrated by David Creighton-Pester (Running Press Kids, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, 2021)
- Caves by Nell Cross Beckerman, illustrated by Kalen Chock (Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2022)
- Dogs: A History of our Best Friends by Lita Judge (Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams, 2023)
- Glitter Everywhere!: Where It Came From, Where It’s Found & Where It’s Going by Chris Barton, illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat (Charlesbridge, 2023)
- How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Candlewick Press, 2023)
- How to Make a Book (about My Dog) by Chris Barton, illustrated by Sarah Horne (Millbrook Press, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group, 2021)
- How to Promenade with a Python (And Not Get Eaten) by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Kathryn Durst with Jeff Sayre (Tundra Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, 2022)
- Ice Cream Man: How Augustus Jackson Made a Sweet Treat Better, by Glenda Armand and Kim Freeman illustrated by Keith Mallet (Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2023)
Grades 3-5
- Contenders: Two Native Baseball Players, One World Series by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Arigon Starr (Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023)
- Extra Life: The Astonishing Story of How We Doubled Our Lifespan by Steven Johnson (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023)
- Hardcourt: Stories from 75 Years of the National Basketball Association by Fred Bowen, illustrated by James E. Ransome (Margaret K. McElderry Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 2022)
- Survival Scout: Lost in the Mountains by Maxwell Eaton III (Roaring Brook Press, 2023)
- Whale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-Floor Ecosystem by Melissa Stewart (Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2023)
Grades 6-8
- Agent Most Wanted: The Never-Before-Told Story of the Most Dangerous Spy of World War II by Sonia Purnell (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2022)
- A First Time For Everything by Dan Santat (First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, 2023)
- A Long Time Coming: A Lyrical Biography of Race in America from Ona Judge to Barack Obama by Ray Anthony Shepard, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie (Calkins Creek, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, 2023)
- Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir by Pedro Martin (Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, 2023)
- The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity by Nicholas Day, illustrated by Brett Helquist (Random House Studio, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2023)
- The Monkey Trial: John Scopes and the Battle Over Teaching Evolution by Anita Sanchez (Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2023)
- Sunshine: How One Camp Taught Me About Life, Death, and Hope by Jarrett Krosoczka (Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2023)
Grades 9-12
- American Murderer: The Parasite that Haunted the South by Gail Jarrow (Calkins Creek, an imprint of Astra Books for Young Readers, 2022)
- Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham (First Second, an imprint of Roaring Brook Press, 2023)
- Money Out Loud: All the Financial Stuff No One Taught Us by Berna Anat, illustrated by Monique Sterling (Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2023)
- Spearhead: An American Tank Gunner, His Enemy, and a Collision of Lives in World War II (adapted for young adults) by Adam Makos (Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2022)
- Where to Start: A Survival Guide to Anxiety, Depression, and Other Mental Health Challenges by Mental Health America, illustrated by Gemma Correll (Rocky Pond Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023)
Adults
- All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work by Hayley Campbell
- Art of the Chicken: A Master Chef’s Recipes and Stories of the Humble Bird by Jacques Pépin
- Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brené Brown
- Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas by Jesse Cole
- The Barbizon: The Hotel That Set Women Free by Paulina Bren
- Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara
- Fatty Fatty Boom Boom: A Memoir of Food, Fat, and Family by Rabia Chaudry
- A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
- The Forever Witness: How Genetic Genealogy Solved a Cold Case Double Murder by Edward Humes
- Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya
- How to Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication by Tom Mustill
- Ice: From Mixed Drinks to Skating Rinks, a Cool History of a Hot Commodity by Amy Brady
- The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
- The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of Rex and How It Shook Our World by David Randall
- Over My Dead Body: Unearthing the Hidden History of America’s Cemeteries by Greg Melville
- Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People by Tracy Kidder
- Scenes from My Life: A Memoir by Michael Williams
- Waco Rising: David Koresh, the FBI, and the Birth of America’s Modern Militias by Kevin Cook
- We Should Not Be Friends: The Story of a Friendship by Will Schwalbe
2024 Texas Topaz Reading List Committee Members:
Bette McDowell, Chair
Lorraine Roussin, Vice Chair
Alleasha Austin, Past Chair
Rachel Asselin
Paige Bowman
Megan Firestone
Kandra Gibbs
Candace Hudson
Bethni King
Shelly Landreth
Curren McLane
Ann Rector
Amber Seely
Kristi Starr
Theresa Tongio Holden
Kay Waltmon