The Brainstorm 54: Top 10s of 2015 (part 2 of 3)

I'm continuing my top 10s lists of books I read in 2015. Unless a list has a special note beside it, the books may have been published any time. Today's installment of these top 10s feature the nonfiction books I loved this year. Click on the titles to see my review of the book. Next week I'll post my top 10s for graphic novels and picture books.

Lower & Middle Grade Biographies/Autobiographies

1. The Underground Abductor (Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales #5) by Nathan Hale 
2. Everybody Paints: the lives and art of the Wyeth family by Susan Goldman Rubin
3. The Right Word: Roget and his thesaurus by Jen Bryant, ill. by Melissa Sweet
4. Zheng He: the great Chinese explorer by Li Jiang, translated by Yijin Wert
5. Mr Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis, ill. by Gilbert Ford
6. Finding Winnie: the true story of the world’s most famous bear by Lindsay Mattick, ill. by Sophie Blackall
7. Winnie: the true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh by Sally M. Walker, ill. by Jonathan D. Vos
8. To Dance: a ballerina’s graphic novel by Siena Cherson Siegel, ill. by Mark Siegel
9. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
10. Father’s Chinese Opera by Rich Lo

Lower & Middle Grade Nonfiction

1. Unusual Creatures: a mostly accurate account of some of Earth’s strangest animals by Michael Hearst, ill. by Arjen Noordeman, Christie Wright and Jelmer Noordeman
2. Millions, Billions, & Trillions by David A. Adler, ill. by Edward Miller
3. First Book of Japanese: an ABC rhyming book by Michelle Haney Brown, ill. by Aya Padron
4. The Next Wave: the quest to harness the power of the oceans by Elizabeth Rusch
5. Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray, ill. by Kenard Pak
6. The Biggest Story: how the snake crusher brings us back to the garden by Kevin DeYoung, ill. by Don Clark
7. Name That Style: all about isms in art by Bob Raczka
8. An Egg Is Quiet by Diana Hutts Aston, ill. by Sylvia Long
9. The World in Your Lunch Box by Claire Eamer, ill. by Sa Boothroyd
10. Octopus Scientist (Scientists in the Field) by Sy Montgomery, ill. by Keith Ellenbogen

Adult Nonfiction

1. Molecules: the elements and the architecture of everything by Theodore Gray, photos by Nick Mann
2. Quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can’t stop talking by Susan Cain
3. Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain by John J. Ratey with Eric Haggerman
4. Elements: a visual exploration of every known atom in the universe by Theodore Gray, photos by Nick Mann
5. Surprised by Hope: rethinking heaven, the resurrection, and the mission of the Church by N.T. Wright
6. Frozen in Time: an epic story of survival and a modern quest for lost heroes of WWII by Mitchell Zuckoff
7. Saving Italy: the race to rescue a nation’s treasures from the Nazis by Robert M. Edsel
8. The Lord and His Prayer by N.T. Wright
9. Nature Anatomy by Julia Rothman
10. Farm Anatomy: curious parts and pieces of country life by Julia Rothman

Adult Biographies 
(I'm a few short on this list for 10, so I included one I'm currently reading and two I plan to read very soon. *currently reading, **on my very soon to read pile)

1. Fierce Convictions: the extraordinary life of Hannah More – poet, reformer, abolitionist by Karen Swallow Prior
2. The Devil in the White City: murder, magic, and madness at the fair that changed America by Erik Larson
3. The Case for Grace by Lee Strobel
4. A Higher Call: an incredible true story of combat and chivalry in the war-torn skies of WWII by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander
5. Unbroken: a World War II story of survival, resilience and redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
6. Where the Wind Leads: a refugee family’s miraculous story of loss, rescue and redemption by Vinh Chung with Tim Downs
7. Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elisabeth Bisland’s history-making race around the world by Matthew Goodman
8. *Seven Women: and the secret of their greatness by Eric Metaxas
9. **The Fellowship: the literary lives of the Inklings: J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams by Philip Zaleski & Carol Zaleski
10. Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: a devout Muslim encounters Christianity by Nabeel Quereshi