- Hummingbird, Nicola Davies ; illustrated by Jane Ray
- The brain, the ultimate thinking machine, written by Tory Woollcott ; illustrated by Alex Graudins
- Whale fall, exploring an ocean-floor ecosystem, written by Melissa Stewart ; illustrated by Rob Dunlavey
- On time and water, Andri Snær Magnason ; translated by Lytton Smith
- Tito Puente, Mambo King, Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo, A bilingual picture book by Monica Brown ; Illustrated by Rafael López ; Translated by Adriana Domínguez
- Flesh and blood so cheap, the Triangle fire and its legacy, Albert Marrin
- Blue, a history of the color as deep as the sea and as wide as the sky, by Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond ; illustrated by Daniel Minter
- Milloo's mind, the story of Maryam Faruqi, trailblazer for women's education, written by Reem Faruqi ; illustrated by Hoda Hadadi
- From the river to the sea, the untold story of the railroad war that made the West, John Sedgwick
- How to make a mountain, in just 9 simple steps and only 100 million years!, by Amy Huntington ; illustrated by Nancy Lemon
- Stamped, racism, antiracism, and you, written by Jason Reynolds ; adapted from Stamped from the beginning by and with an introduction from Ibram X. Kendi
- American poison, how racial hostility destroyed our promise, Eduardo Porter
- Where Lily isn't, Julie Paschkis ; illustrations by Margaret Chodos-Irvine
- We ask permission, Lydia Bowers ; illustrated by Isabel Muñoz
- Behind the beautiful forevers, Katherine Boo
- The best American science and nature writing 2021, edited and with an introduction by Ed Yong
- Below the edge of darkness, a memoir of exploring light and life in the deep sea, Edith Widder, Ph.D
- Big vape, the incendiary rise of Juul, Jamie Ducharme
- All the birds in the world, David Opie
- The memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a true and exact accounting of the history of Turtle Island, Kent Monkman and Gisle Gordon
- The remarkable life of the skin, an intimate journey across our largest organ, Monty Lyman
- Huddle, how women unlock their collective power, Brooke Baldwin
- We are not broken, George M. Johnson
- Honeybee, the busy life of Apis mellifera, Candace Fleming ; [illustrated by] Eric Rohmann
- We are a garden, a story of how diversity took root in America, by Lisa Westberg Peters ; illustrated by Victoria Tentler-Krylov
- Body talk, 37 voices explore our radical anatomy, edited by Kelly Jensen
- Fly girls, how five daring women defied all odds and made aviation history, Keith O'Brien
- Young water protectors, a story about Standing Rock, Aslan and Kelly Tudor
- At the center of all beauty, solitude and the creative life, Fenton Johnson
- The blue house, collected works of Tomas Transtromer, Tomas Transtromer ; translated by Patty Crane
- Lifting as we climb, Black women's battle for the ballot box, Evette Dionne
- Facts vs. opinions vs. robots, Michael Rex
- The tide pool waits, Candace Fleming ; pictures by Amy Hevron
- Alphabetical diaries, Sheila Heti
- Night, Elie Wiesel ; translated from the French by Marion Wiesel
- Hey, water!, Antoinette Portis
- Come and join us!, 18 holidays celebrated all year long, written by Liz Kleinrock ; illustrated by Chaaya Prabhat
- The book of turtles, Sy Montgomery & Matt Patterson
- Keepunumuk, Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving story, Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten ; illustrated by Garry Meeches Sr
- Juneteenth, our day of freedom, by Sharon Dennis Wyeth ; illustrated by Kim Holt
- Breakthrough!, how three people saved "blue babies" and changed medicine forever, Jim Murphy
- A house of my own, stories from my life, Sandra Cisneros
- Kapaemahu, by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Dean Hamer, and Joe Wilson ; illustrated by Daniel Sousa
- Mornings with Monet, by Barb Rosenstock ; illustrated by Mary Grandpré
- A history of underwear, with Professor Chicken, written by Hannah Holt ; illustrated by Korwin Briggs
- Hear my voice, the testimonies of children detained at the southern border of the United States, compiled by Warren Binford for Project Amplify ; foreword by Michael Garcia Bochenek of Human Rights Watch = Escucha mi voz : los testimonios de niños detenidos en la frontera sur de los Estados Unidos / recopilado por Warren Binford para Project Amplify ; prefacio por Michael Garcia Bochenek de Human Rights Watch
- Jack Knight's brave flight, how one gutsy pilot saved the U.S. Air Mail Service, by Jill Esbaum ; illustrated by Stacy Innerst
- An American story, Kwame Alexander ; art by Dare Coulter
- I'm a virus!, by Bridget Heos ; illustrated by Mike Ciccotello
- The view from the cheap seats, selected nonfiction, Neil Gaiman