Non Fiction Books for the Reggio Emilia Inspired Child (Part 2)

Part 2 of the list of books that are perfect for use in any Reggio Emilia-inspired atelier, home, art studio or school. This list includes some of the wonderful non-fiction books I highly recommend. To see Part 1: Picture Books, click here. You will often find things like encyclopaedias, art books, museum books, and photography books in Reggio Ateliers. The books below are in addition to these kinds of heavy information tomes.

100 Steps for Science: Why it Works and How it Happened by Lisa Jane Gillespie covers 100 major scientific breakthroughs, discusses the scientists who were behind them, and explains how they have changed the world. The illustrator, Yukai Du, has worked for The NY Times, BBC, Adobe, The Guardian, TED Education and Facebook. Her illustrations are wonderous. The topics covered help to inspire and encourage today's newest scientists - our children.

The Art Book for Children by Ruggi Gilda Williams is the perfect introduction to art for children.

The boy who harnessed the wind by William Kamkwamba is the story of a young boy in Malawi who manages to harness electricity for his village to help it through a terrible drought. An inspirational true story of a boy who overcame much adversity.

The Crystal Bible is the perfect reference book for any crystal lovers out there. With beautiful photographs complimenting the traditional and contemporary crystal lore, this book is well organised and full of facts and information.

The Girl Who Thought In Pictures by Julia Finley Mosca is a great book with a diverse character in Dr Temple Grandin, a revolutionary modern scientist who has autism and was told they would never speak, let alone change the modern world. Sweet rhyming words and illustrations mean this is a great read for the youngest of readers.

Grow - secrets of our DNA by Nicola Davies is a beautiful book about how life has always been written in one language. Children can see how all living things grow from tiny dots to sometimes small and sometimes enormous things. With detailed drawings alongside delightful explanations of scientific facts, this book covers genes and DNA along with a great detailed explanation of cell decision following conception.

Hedy Lamar's Double Life by Laurie Wallmark is about Hollywood superstar Hedy Lamar - who was also a secret inventor. She discovered communications technology that we still use today, but was forced to keep it classified by the US Government until the patent expired when they released it for everyone to use in their technology. Hedy was only acknowledged for her amazing work when she was in her 80s. A great book about how books are often judged by their covers, and how people can have diverse interests and successes throughout their lives.

Illuminatomy written by Kate Davies is a visual smorgasbord for readers eager to learn about the human body. It comes with a 3 colour lens to be able to see inside a body - red for an xray of a skeleton, green to see the muscles and blue to see how your body works day and night to keep you alive. A must for any Reggio family who likes to incorporate fantastic technology into education.

Looking Closely Frank Serafini series is an excellent way to look deep into nature without a microscope or webcam. Children aged 3 to 7 will enjoy predicting what each close up picture is before turning the page and discovering what the micro photograph was of, and learning about nature. There are four books in this series.

Mr Ferris and His Wheel by Katherine Gibbs Davis is a picture book about inventor George Ferris who defied the odds and created the first ferris wheel in 1893. It has wonderfully detailed artwork and is a great biography for all the little inventors out there.

My Book of Rocks and Minerals by DK is a great introduction for anyone interested in geology and fossils. Gathering natural loose parts will be even more fun for children and adults alike as they learn to identify the rocks and minerals they find!

On a Beam of Light by Jennifer Berne explains the life of Albert Einstein all the way from young childhood throughout his life. I'm a big fan of picture book biographies for children aged above 5 for their inspirational and easy-to-access qualities.

Your Wild Imagination by Brooke Davis is a beautiful book filled with nature based activity ideas for busy parents who want to get their child outdoors but don't know what to do once they're there.