Best Non-Fiction Series for 7 and 8 year olds

The years 7 to 8 are a marvellous time. Our children are still making sense out of our world and understanding how it works. But they also can grasp complex concepts and ask big questions. They can fall in love with a special subject, be inspired by people from the past and even learn to make their first code!

Sticking non-fiction books under our growing readers' noses can mean helping them discover a passion or hobby, teaching them about the world we live in in fun ways or simply giving them the tools to better understand themselves.

Here are some of our favourite non-fiction series for this age range. We've made sure to include the most varied of topics, so that there's truly a book for every reader, whether they like animals, sport, history, geography, machines or nature!

Georgina Atwell

Toppsta

2026-05-31

2024-04-24

Best Non-Fiction Series for 7 and 8 year olds

Science and Society Series

Illustrated in full-colour and packed with so many fun facts for readers aged 7+, this non-fiction gem is an inclusive celebration that will help children feel special for all the things that make them unique. Each book in this series draws on science, social studies and activism to explore what makes humans special, from their brains to their bodies and more. Readers will discover brilliant facts, for example that they are made of stardust or how everyone's DNA is unique. The ultimate message of these books is that even when you feel different, it's important to remember that being different is completely natural ... it's just science! All the information is so easy to digest, especially thanks to the child-friendly illustrations throughout the books.

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Racing Legends Series

This is an illustrated non-fiction series for all F1 and sports lovers aged 7+, written by Formula One expert, Maurice Hamilton. For readers both new to the sport and familiar with all there is to know about Formula One! Containing fun facts and stats about F1, each book in the series dives into one driver and their story. We get to compete with them, travel to race in competitions across the world and track their wins. The books are inspirational and educational, celebrating drivers for their incredible lives on and off the track. The books are packed with black-and-white illustrations throughout.

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Ultimate Dinosaurs Series

Almost every 7-year-old we know has one big love: DINOSAURS! In this black-and-white illustrated series, children this age and above will get to learn everything there is to know about their very favourite ones...

Each book in the series shines a spotlight on one of the greatest dinos to have stomped on land millions of years ago. From the monstrous T. rex and the fast Velociraptor to the armoured Ankylosaurus and the gentle Diplodocus, children can test their knowledge about each dinosaur and learn some incredible new facts.

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Ultimate Football Heroes Series

For newly independent football-loving readers here is a brilliant series of biographies telling the life-stories of the biggest and best footballers in the world.

Each book in this action-packed series explores the lives and journeys from childhood to super-stardom of a different footballer. From Maradona to Messi, from Beckham to Kane – we get a peek into each of their lives from the playground to the pitch. This is an incredibly popular series for readers aged 7+, selling over 420,000 copies in the UK alone.

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24 Hours in... Series

This is one of the most accessible series for visual learners aged 7+ about environments, history, science and more, with comic strip-style illustrations throughout and loads of facts.

Join a cave-dweller as she goes hunting, makes her own stone tools and creates amazing cave art. Or go work in the jungle, and encounter orangutans, a very stinky flower and a clouded leopard. Or even become an astronaut to train for a mission. In each of these books, readers get a glimpse of lives very different to their own.

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Horrible Histories Series

Think history is boring? Think again. It is disgusting, bloodthirsty, gory, silly and downright nasty and the Horrible Histories books will prove it. This series of non-fiction books teaches history “with the nasty bits left in”.

No fact is too foul, no battle too vicious and no blunder too ludicrous for these books and that is exactly why children love them. And they’re not the only ones: teachers, parents and librarians are fans too and as a result they have expanded to a hugely successful, BAFTA award-winning TV series on CBBC not to mention to games, stage shows, activity books and more.

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Extreme Planet Series

This non-fiction series is fully illustrated in colour, has flaps on each page and is packed with facts that will amaze all readers aged 7+.

Each book is about a different part of our planet, where extreme conditions have taken over. From the deep sea, and the Arctic all the way to the Amazon and the Earth's core, each book hones in on the creatures that live in these places, the weather, how to travel through them and so many more awe-inspiring facts.

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Space Station Academy Series

Calling on all space-loving and STEM-obsessed readers aged 7+! This graphic novel series is packed with facts on everything there is to know about space.

Each book focuses on a different aspect of our solar system, from single planets and dwarf planets to stars and the Moon. Through the fun adventures of the Space Station Academy students and their teacher, Dr Bott, readers get answers to all their space-dwelling questions. We especially love that the books have an array of different characters from all backgrounds, so all children can see themselves in space.

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100 Things to Know Series

So many of us are collecting this STEM-themed fully illustrated series for our own children or buying the books as a gift for fact-loving readers we know aged 8+.

Each book contains 100 bite-sized facts about different topics, from space and the human body to computers and coding and music and sports. Every page is full of exciting illustrations, brimming with facts and bright colours.

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Football School Series

Football School is the ultimate book series for anyone whose world revolves around football by Alex Bellos and Ben Lyttleton.

The Football School books have been described as Horrible Histories for football and are broken down into subjects like Science, Maths and Geography, illustrated with hilarious cartoons and packed with fascinating facts about the beautiful game. Discover when footballers poo, whether you can play football on Mars and the origins of the coin toss. Learn about Business Studies through footballers’ salaries, Psychology through the art of penalties, and so much more.

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More to explore

Arcturus Children's Reference Library by Various (Arcturus)

Born Free by Various Authors (Hachette)

Corpse Talk by Adam Murphy and Lisa Murphy (David Fickling)

Everything You Know About... by Various (Nosy Crow)

Extinct by Ben Garrod and Gabriel Ugueto (Zephr)

Football Superstars by Simon Mugford and Dan Green (Hachette)

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli, Francesca Cavallo and Rebel Girls (Puffin)

Incredible True Stories by David Long and Stefano Tambellini (Barrington Stoke)

Pets Tell Tales by Rik Worth and Jordan Collver (Wren & Rook)

Puzzle Adventures (Usborne)