I’ve got a 3rd grader this year and we are working our way through doing book reports for various genres. Each time we do a new genre I get a whole host of books from the library for my son and allow him to pick what he wants to read that month. Since I’ve done all this research I’m sharing my list of nonfiction books for 3rd graders with all you other parents out there so that you can find a bunch of options all in one place.
Clearly there are so many books out there and I’m just going to share a few with you all. We have not read all of these but I compiled a list of ones we like, friends’ recommendations and lists from our local libraries. Please be sure to leave any of your favorites in the comments below!
I shared the lexile numbers as well so that you can tell which books are roughly near your child’s reading level.
Also, every family is different and we may not see eye to eye on what is appropriate for a 3rd grader to read. So, as always, I recommend you read anything before you have your child read it or check something like Common Sense Media to see if you would approve.
Nonfiction Books for 3rd Graders
Who was Marie Curie?
This is one of the Who was/Who is? books and my son really enjoyed it. He loves science and so learning about different scientists is interesting to him. There are many books in the Who was/Who is? series so it should be easy to find someone your child would want to read about. Lexile: 690L
What is the Super Bowl?
In addition to the Who is…? books there are also a number of What is…? books. My son is into football and enjoyed reading What is the Super Bowl? There are a variety of these books so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one with a topic your child would love. Lexile: 620L
National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Space
National Geographic Little Kids has a whole “First Big Book of…” series of books about a variety of topics. We have several of these and love them all. Lexile: 710L
American Girl: A Girl Named Helen
American Girl has a series of biographies of different girls who grew up to be famous women that are on a great level for third graders. Lexile 720L
Who Would Win? Whale vs. Giant Squid
The Who Would Win? books are an interesting take on learning some animal facts. Lexile: 700L
Want more books? Check out these posts:
