Best of the Best!

Hi Builders, thanks for welcoming me back!

As a quick reintroduction, I’m a veteran picture book author, working mostly in nonfiction. So, in the coming year, you’ll see a lot of posts from me about science, the arts, and real people. I tend to prefer narrative, but can appreciate interesting expository text, and if a book manages to work in a page-turning story and serious exposition, that’s my favorite of all! 

This first return blog will be a recap of five picture books that I felt represented the best nonfiction work of 2025. To me, these titles best inspired an interest in the real world, its challenges and joys. All picture books are pieces of visual and literary art; but each of these has an extra something special which I’ll try to define below.

Ta-da! My personal Best of 2025 nonfiction picture book list–

A GIFT OF DUST reveals the hidden wonders of Saharan dust and how it impacts the world: from slowing a hurricane to nourishing a rainforest; from ancient times to the sunbeam sparkle in a child’s window.

My Take?  A perfect lyrical science text. It’s simple, yet wildly multi-layered (all creatures live and die; we too become dust that can affect the whole world) all while showing the connections between the Saharan desert and the Amazon rainforest.  Martha Brockenbrough can write her butt off and Juana Martinez-Neal’s art is a revelation. A book about ONE thing and then, EVERYTHING.

High above the ground Native workers called skywalkers have sculpted city skylines, balancing on narrow beams, facing down terrifying heights and heartbreaking loss. TO WALK THE SKY is grounded in Patricia Morris Buckley’s family history with watercolors from the great E.B. Lewis.

My Take? Simply a GREAT story. Long ago my Chicago construction worker Dad told me that many Native “guys” were steel beam experts. I now know why, who, where, when, what, and how in 32 pages, plus they’re not all guys! I appreciated the connection to 9/11 (not the easiest PB topic!) and the future hopefulness. Great back matter too. An important, muscular story.

Caldecott and Sibert Medalist Jason Chin charts the thrilling saga of an island community’s brush with a category three HURRICANE, and the cutting-edge science that helps them prepare. Full of the super-detailed science illustrations and information that characterize Chin’s work.

My Take? Builders, I have a confession to make, Jason Chin is a lovely, talented person, but I often find his books overwhelming—too little story and way too dense for me to digest. I almost feel like I’m not smart enough to “get him.” But this book pulls off the almost impossible task of weaving three different narratives: the storm itself, the townspeople preparing, and the weather scientists, into a seamless whole. Plus, Jason manages to be amazingly reassuring right in the middle of a natural disaster. An accessible exposition of a single hurricane woven with the hopeful message that we can get through bad things together.

Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable? The US Supreme Court takes on the case in this juicy history picture book. TOMATOES ON TRIAL covers botany, law, government, and cooperation/conflict in a fun format.

My Take? I’m jealous. I write a lot of history and should have known this story! (Has that ever happened to you?) Seriously, who knew that the Supreme Court ruled about tomatoes? I love Lindsay Metcalf’s text–its light style, and its “team fruit” v. “team vegetable” structure. When paired with Ed Fotheringham’s nutty yet informational illustrations, it’s nonfiction fun at its best (and again, soooo jealous!)

Ablaze with pattern and color, THE FIVE SIDES OF MARJORIE RICE celebrates the intersection of art and science—through the life and lens of an amateur mathematician.

My Take? Amy Alznauer is one of the smartest picture book writers working today. This is a biography about math, a math book about art, an art book about nature…the story of one woman’s mathematical pursuit to make a pentagon fit. And it’s visually stunning! I was not familiar with illustrator Anna Bron, but WOW! From mammoth tusks to mosques to math departments to motherhood…this book ranges wide before concluding that pursuing what you love is how you fit into this world.

That’s my five best, though books are so subjective, and picture books more than most. I’m sure some of you are arguing in your heads with me about my choices! So, which books made your personal “Best of 2025” list? Please list them below (I need to read them ALL!) …