It’s February 10th, and that means the annual #nf10for10 (Nonfiction 10 for 10) book lists are posted today. Thanks to our hosts: Cathy Mere (Reflect and Refine) and Mandy Robeck (Enjoy and Embrace Learning).  I enjoy challenging myself to come up with meaningful lists to share with other readers.

As we prepare for standardized testing season in our schools, I resist “test prep” practices more than ever. I look on social media and look to my friends to drag me out of the muck of worksheets and “read-and-answer-questions” crud that is the traditional way of school life during testing. I LOVE to read, and what better way to spread love than honoring time to read and learning with books that inspire? Based on a personal need to see more creativity and thinking in our classrooms, I chose “Inventors/Inventions/Thinkers” for my “Nonfiction 10 for 10” theme. Here are ten books that inspire:

Whoosh! Lonnie Johnson’s Super-Soaking Stream of Inventions by Chris Barton (2016)

Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta (2013)

Honda: The Boy Who Dreamed of Cars by Mark Weston (2014)

Pop! The Invention of Bubble Gum by Meghan McCarthy (2010)

The Hole Story of the Doughnut by Pat Miller (2016)

Six Dots: A Story of Young Louis Braille by Jen Bryant (2016)

The World is Not a Rectangle: A Portrait of Architect Zaha Hadid by Jeannette Winter (2017)

Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines (Vietnam Veterans Memorial) by Jeanne Walker Harvey (2017)

Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code by Laurie Wallmark (2017)

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating (2017)

Thank you for reading. I hope I’ve inspired you to invent, create, and think. What ten picture books would you share with the world?

(All pictures from http://www.goodreads.com)