Best Children's Science Books

It’s never too young to start learning about how the world around us in all ways. And that includes simple introductions to some of the principles about the everyday science that surrounds us. How science is shown in books ranges from text books, or near text book approaches for home use, to the use of stories to bring the subject to life and to make it easier to understand. Understanding the living world is the easiest component of science to get to grips with. Given the threats to our planet, it is also the one that children need to learn about from very young indeed.
~Julia Eccleshare, "What are the best children's books on science?"


Do you have a kid who's already showing an interest in science? Nourish that aptitude with some books from the library catalog! We have lots of titles to get young people started discovering nature, famous scientists, space, and more, even when you are still reading them picture books. Here's some fun reads for the youngsters:

Easy

Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies 

Shackleton's Journey by William Grill

Star Stuff: Carl Sagan and the Mysteries of the Cosmos by Stephanie Roth Sisson

Animalium by Katie Scott and Jenny Broom  

Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth by Molly Bang and Penny Chisholm

Best Foot Forward: Exploring Feet, Flippers, and Claws by Ingo Arndt

Behold the Beautiful Dung Beetle by Cheryl Bardoe [also DVD]

Feathers: Not Just For Flying by Melissa Stewart

Elementary School 

Beetle Boy by M. G. Leonard 

Frank Einstein & the Antimatter Motor by Jon Scieszka

The Worm written and illustrated by Elise Gravel

You Are Stardust by Elin Kelsey

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian by Margarita Engle 

Terrible Typhoid Mary: The Most Harmless and Yet Most Dangerous Woman in America - A True Story of the Deadliest Cook in America by Susan Campbell Bartoletti 

The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats: A Scientific Mystery by Sandra Markle

Tiny Creatures: The World of Microbes by Nicola Davies

How the Meteorite Got to the Museum by Jessie Hartland

The Girl's Guide to a Life in Science by Ram Ramaswamy [eBooks]


For books about children's science fair projects, check the library catalog.  We also have a Science  Project Help LibGuide!
 

Links

Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 [National Science Teachers Association]

The DeBary Children's Science Book Award [The American Phytopathological Society]

Giverny Book Award [15º Laboratory]

Science Books & Films [American Association for the Advancement of Science]