Series Made Simple

Whether readers have an interest in physically traveling to another place or they enjoy experiencing different scenery from home, these series make exploring more accessible. Readers can pick up these titles and embark on adventures to cultures, countries, mountain peaks, and landmarks that are around the planet and out of this world.

Series Made Simple aims to provide a well-­rounded overview of the season’s best and worthwhile nonfiction series selections. Fall 2019's familiar offerings are bountiful. We hope that this curated list will not only inspire your patrons to further explore the highlighted subjects but look more closely at themselves and the world around them.

MacGyver has become a verb, and readers will be MacGyvering all over the place with books that teach STEM skills, encourage tinkering and repeated testing, and show how to reuse recyclables. The series below offer original activities, new takes on old favorites, and great-looking reproducibles for library, club, or classroom use.

A fundamental piece of building literacy, and ultimately developing a lifelong love of reading, is providing readers with engaging texts that meet and support them where they are. Two categories of texts that play a powerful role in achieving this goal are beginning readers and hi-lo books. Librarians will find a wide variety of texts to support developing and reluctant readers in this season’s offerings.

Animal books continue to be among the most popular titles in nonfiction collections, both for school assignments and general interest. The series below provide interesting information and useful visual content, so selectors should find strong candidates for purchase. 

Popular contemporary figures and classic report topics represent the latest in biographical series. Some books are introductions for youngsters while others contain report information for older readers; a few provide interesting reads.

No matter what series you look at, there are connections to be found between the reader, the topic, and the world at large. The best new science books offer captivating photos, helpful diagrams, and explanations or descriptions that draw readers in—then send them out to discover more.

Many of the most important issues facing Americans today are the same matters the United States and its citizens have been struggling with for centuries. One could argue many of these contentious debates are hotter than ever. The following series look at foundational documents and major social issues, while clearly and effectively showing how meaningful change has come about and what roadblocks still exist.

According to many adults, “If you have your health, you have everything!” Children and teens, however, may not be as familiar with this saying. But after reading these series, students will more fully understand their elders’ maxim and know much more about their bodies.