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Find out moreScience should be exciting for young people, giving them skills and opportunities to improve their futures. Here are a selection of books we love, books we think will inspire every child to become more interested in Science.
Striking illustrations and an empowering story combine to introduce young readers to the world of maths, creative thinking and problem-solving. Setting off on a camping adventure with her cousin, Aliyah soon discovers that numbers are everywhere, whether it's counting out money at the shops, planning trips on the train or even stargazing in a forest. As Aliyah solves some sums of her own, she learns about the brilliant mathematicians who have helped us understand our world. Soon she can't wait to become a maths whizz too! With pages encouraging kids to play maths games with their friends, this brilliant picture book written by engineer and TV presenter Dr Shini Somara unlocks a love of numbers and creative thinking, and celebrates women in STEM. Also available in the series: - A Scientist Like Me - A Coder Like Me - An Engineer Like Me
Prepare to meet some of the world’s most amazing animals, each of them adapted to survive in ways that are marvellous but, according to the cheeky narrator of this unusual information book, a bit ridiculous. Take the Mexican Mole Lizard for example, which looks like a long pink worm except that it has a pair of mole-like forelegs; weird, but great for digging beneath the sands of Central America. There are lots more wonderful creatures too from the macaroni penguin to the very cute but venomous pygmy slow loris. Each animal is illustrated in colour, the illustrations accompanied by paragraphs of lively fact-filled text and quirkier, jokey labels courtesy again of our playful narrator, who also edits the Latin names for each animal in humorous ways, so that the common wombat, or vombatus ursinus becomes cubus poopus (the text also helpfully explaining why wombat poo is uniquely dice shaped). The combination of animal facts and humour make this very appealing and the illustrations are very attractive too.
Lift off in the hilarious edge-of-your-seat adventure series that is a home alone story with a difference! Written by the inimitable Larry Hayes and hilariously illustrated by Katie Abey, this is the perfect read for fans of David Solomons, Tom Gates and Back to the Future! Fresh from saving their parents from the jaws of frenzied billionaire Mr Noah, ten-year-old Eliza and her genius little brother, Johnnie, are called upon once again. Their parents have disappeared into thin air and it's up to the kids to save the day, travelling back in time to 5000 BC Egypt! Can they overcome friendly locals, a mysterious boy-god, snakes, a rainbow-coloured Sphinx and another plot to end the world? And - most importantly of all - will they survive time travel? For more out-of-this-world adventure don't forget to read about Eliza and Johnnie's first adventure in How to Survive Without Grown-Ups.
The second laugh-out-loud adventure for Leonora Bolt, Secret Inventor. Leonora isn't supposed to be building a submarine in a tree. Or turning the local wildlife luminous. In fact, she is supposed to be keeping her head down and drawing no attention - because Leonora Bolt is an inventor in secret. But she can't stop thinking of the clues she found to her missing parents' location. So, deep in hiding in Snorebury, desperately trying to avoid being discovered by her evil uncle, Leonora is hatching a plan. So what if involves launching a homemade submarine into the middle of the ocean, accompanied only by a couple of friends and an otter with particularly sensitive whiskers? For when disaster strikes, Leonora's wackiest plan might just be her most brilliant yet.
Everything You Need to Know About Numbers | The troupe of mammoths that first appeared in Mammoth Science reappears here along with some elephant shrew buddies. This time they are explaining how Mathematics works. Bestselling illustrator David Macaulay, whose iconic How Machines Work won the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize in 2016 is renowned for his ability to explain complex ideas with simple genius. Speaking as somebody who is entirely maths averse and numerically challenged at the best of times, I found the added whimsicality of using the animals to illustrate the fundamental concepts really helped keep me interested by demonstrating key mathematical principles in unusual and amusing ways. The clarity of the graphical explanations is superb, with over 60 topics covered in total, including numbers, geometry, measurement and operations. The visual reference section at the end with tables and diagrams and charts, units of measurement, signs and symbols is incredibly useful and hopefully will be reproduced as a classroom poster! There is an excellent glossary too. This is aimed at children from 8+ but will be invaluable for reluctant maths learners of all ages for whom the standard textbook is a real turn off. Find more great STEM books here!
A marvellous must-have book for STEM fans. Containing 100 words from science, technology, engineering and maths, this illustrated A-Z of STEM takes you on a journey from adaptation, to zoology through fibonacci, metamorphic and olfactory. If you don't know your algorithm from your ytterbium, and you love science, then this is the book for you! With a contents list at the front and a full index at the back kids can research to their heart's delight. Beautifully produced by STEM expert Jenny Jacoby and illustrated by Blue Peter Book Award winning Vicky Barker, this book is a non-fiction delight for kids aged 7+.
Illustrator Katie Scott returns to the Welcome to the Museum series with exquisite, detailed images of some of the most fascinating living organisms on this planet - fungi. From the fungi we see on supermarket shelves to fungi like penicillium that have shaped human history, this is the definitive introduction to what fungi are and just how vital they are to the world's ecosystem. Created in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
This is the latest book in Ben Garrod’s excellent series, Extinct. Previous books have examined mass extinctions and the creatures that disappeared from Earth as a result, from Hallucigenia to the Megaladon, and we’ve learned that extinction can be a natural process and can even help evolution. But the mass extinction he’s examining in this book is different, because the Anthropocene has been caused by humans. The subject of this book, the Hainan gibbon, is not extinct but it is critically endangered. With the help of experts, Garrod explains the impact humans have had on habitats and species and how it’s still possible for us to save the Hainan gibbon and other endangered species. As with all the books in the series, it’s full of information and the latest scientific thinking, explained with real clarity and quite a bit of humour, the text accompanied by wonderful full colour illustrations. Garrod’s passion and enthusiasm shines through and readers of any and all ages will benefit from reading this series.
Circle loves the tower that the squares and hexagons have built and wants to make his own. But circles, diamonds and triangles are pointier, rounder and much wobblier - making a tower is not as easy as it looks! The shapes try and try but their tower just keeps tumbling down. Can Circle persuade them to have just one more try? In this perfectly shaped follow up to the bestselling The Perfect Fit geometry meets brilliant storytelling and vibrant artwork.
Part of the Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds series, The Invisible World of Germs delivers fascinating information in engaging style. Kicking off with a clear explanation of what germs are, and an intriguing history, colourful cartoons introduce us to the different types of germ - bacteria, fungi, protists and viruses. At every stage, readers are armed with terminology through “Speak like a Scientist” features as we discover how germs are transmitted, our natural defences, and the future of germs. Like all the books in the series, The Invisible World of Germs was written in consultation with an expert in the field, and presented in a cute, colourful, compact format that makes exploring the subject a rewarding breeze, with plenty of easy-to-digest infographics, photographs and fun dialogue boxes.
Part of the Very Short Introductions for Curious Young Minds series, The Secrets of the Universe tackles big questions in manageable bite-sized chunks. This colourful, compact book can’t be beaten on the accessibility front as it answers questions like “what is the universe?”, “how big is it?”, “what’s our place in it?”, with “Speak like a Scientist” boxes highlighting key terminology budding scientists will relish adding to their vocabulary. As the book takes us through the history of studying the universe, and explains everything from gravity, galaxies and the lives of stars, to the Big Bang, the infographics, photographs and cartoons make digesting big concepts a tasty delight. And, like all the books in this impressive series, The Secrets of the Universe was created by experts. In this case, the book was written by a doctor of astrophysics in consultation with a Cambridge University cosmologist.
May 2022 Book of the Month | This attractively illustrated and cleverly designed book is targeted at children from ages 4-8 and successfully employs key strategies to absolutely ensure their engagement. A pleasingly diverse and relatable cast of characters, Lilli, Bea and Leo, are inquisitive friends who love adventure and solving problems. They discover that when they need help with a difficult problem, if they just hold hands and think hard, they are transported to the magical kingdom of Questland where they are transformed into, ever popular, Superheroes. There it is up to them to complete a series of challenges using key STEM skills, cooperation, and teamwork. I am sure parents will find the explanatory glossary outlining the STEM skills involved in each book very useful! For the reader these books develop key essential learning skills such as critical thinking, collaboration, and communication. One can easily imagine a group of children, or a child and parent or carer, talking together to solve the entertaining puzzles. The very sturdily produced book comes complete with reusable stickers and rewards to collect and the questfriendz.com website provides free activity sheets and supporting classroom materials, lesson plan guides and extra downloadable stickers. By ensuring that children are attracted by the imaginative story and characters, engaged in fun activities and rewarded for their success, this will be a sure fire hit at home or at school and a brilliant example of learning through play!
Young readers who love the idea of exploration and in particular journeys to far off places to meet the animals that live there, will find lots to enjoy in this bright, stimulating information book. Double page spreads depict different habitats, from grassland to mountains, rainforests (you’ll need to turn the book sideways for that one) and the ice caps (North and South, turn the book upside down). Each scene is full of the amazing animals that thrive there, all depicted in attractive cartoon-style illustrations while integrated text gives us background information together with some amazing and memorable facts. Did you know for example that brown bears can eat for up to 20 hours a day; that marine iguanas, the only sea-swimming iguanas on earth, sneeze out salty sea water after a big swim; or that camels have two sets of eye-lashes. The page layouts and illustrations are very appealing and this is a great and inspiring way to explore the world without leaving home.
Research shows, sadly, that boys and men are just as concerned about their appearance as girls and women with all the problems and misery that can entail. That makes this book particularly important. It talks to young men clearly and openly about the issues surrounding body image and is full of advice on how they can protect their health and learn to understand and be happy with their bodies. There are tips from experts throughout but even more importantly, quotes from boys themselves and a question-and-answer format makes it very clear and accessible. Covering everything from developments during puberty to coping with social media and healthy eating, it’s comprehensive and engaging, big on reassurance backed up by evidence and lived experience. A must have for schools, GPs and parents of boys.
I can’t imagine why such an informative book hasn’t been written before! Looking at how the animal kingdom builds its homes and the ways this has influenced people to look at new construction methods and ways of living. A simple but fascinating story plays out here arranged into five different areas – looking at construction methods, the materials used, the shapes that nature produces, energy use and water use – all vitally important topics in modern construction. Animals and insects covered include the well-studied bee, termites, and coral as well as the wonderfully named Diabolical Ironclad beetle. Light is explored through the peacock and energy through the prairie dog and the tree. Who knew that the camel was fast becoming more famous for the way it’s nose works - by condensing the vapour it breathes out back into water and keeping it within its body? Or that this technology could now be used to help deserts bloom? This is a fascinating look at all sorts of animal builders and their legacies to us – arranged in such a way that it can be dipped into or read cover to cover. The bright illustrations and text blocks provide lots of information in a very accessible format. As is always vital in a book like this a detailed contents page and index help students find what they are looking for and a fun quiz finishes off the read. A book that will be used again and again.
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