Some nonfiction books are a little difficult to read aloud to students. Do you know what I mean?

I’m talking about books that have text all over the place, lots of text features, and just don’t “read” smoothly.

By no means do I avoid those texts altogether—some of my favorite books fall into that “difficult to read” category. And I want to expose my students to more complex texts!

But there are times when I just need a nonfiction book that will be a good readaloud for my students—OR a book that students can read on their own. When I’m looking for a text like this, I often rely on one of the following series:

Note: The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links.

Series #1: “In My Backyard” Series (The Creative Company)

These books are fun, have great photographs, and are easy to read aloud. They do include text features, but the text features are relatively simple.

They make great readalouds or books for students to read! You can read them aloud to Kinder, 1st, or 2nd grade students. Second and third grade students can read them independently.

Click on any of the images to see the book!

Series #2: “Amazing Science” Series (Picture Window Books)

This is another great series that is easy to read but still has some interesting text features! These books have illustrations rather than photographs.

These books are great for reading aloud to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students. The reading levels vary a bit, but range from late second to third grade.

Many of the titles are also available in Spanish too!! (Search for “Ciencia asombrosa”)

Series #3: “A Day In The Life” Series (Heinemann Raintree)

If your kids are animal lovers, they will love all the different books in this series! The series covers sea animals, desert animals, rainforest animals, and polar animals.

These books have photographs and simple text features, including labels and glossaries.

These books are great for reading aloud to Kinder, 1st, or 2nd grade students. The reading levels vary a bit, but range from second to third grade.

Series #4: “Closeup” Series (Wild Dog Books)

This series is cool because each physical book actually contains TWO books in it! For example, one of my books has information about polar bears and penguins. When you flip the book upside down and backwards, you can read the other text!

These books are great for reading aloud to late Kinder, 1st, or 2nd grade students. The reading levels vary a bit, but range from second to third grade.

I didn’t find these books on Amazon, but here’s a link where you can see and purchase books from the series: https://wdog.com.au/?cat=58

Your Ideas?

These are some of my go-to books, but what about you? If you have any nonfiction readaloud favorites, I’d love to hear from you. Happy teaching!