The holidays are right around the corner, which means for those who give gifts in December, now is the time to start putting together that shopping list. If you have a young person in your life who loves science, why not expand their library and get a book or two?
Joining Ira to give their recommendation for the best children’s science books of the year—both fiction and nonfiction—are Melissa Stewart, science book author based in Boston, Massachusetts, and Kristina Holzweiss, education technology specialist based on Long Island, New York.
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Author of Tree Hole Homes: Daytime Dens and Nighttime Nooks and more science books for children
“This new book… starts with a person and it looks at the insides of our bodies: cells, and then molecules and atoms, and then all the way down to quarks and gluons. Jason Chin is really well known for his beautiful, lifelike illustrations, and so this is a book that I think kids will really love.”
“It ranges all the way from footprints of some of our favorite animals: from elephants to birds, all the way down to tiny little flies. It also looks at footprints from fossilized dinosaurs.”
“It tells the remarkable story of an injured loggerhead sea turtle that was rescued by some Japanese fishermen… then eventually released with a radio tag, and scientists are able to watch it swimming… all the way back to his home in Australia.”
“A book about a Jewish refugee… [who], when TV was first invented, he wanted it to be more interactive, and he had the skills and expertise to figure out how to create those very first video games that have developed into one of the pastimes that kids love more than anything today.”
Do you have a buddy engineer in your life, or a young person who wonders about the architecture and design in their world? This book covered ancient building designs with modern materials to show readers how concrete has a deeper history than one might think.
Krill might seem small, but they are a cornerstone in the marine food chain! This book is perfect for ocean-obsessed readers, especially those who have exhausted their interest in megafauna like blue whales and are looking for a new animal to love.
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Education technology specialist and STEM and makerspace author
“This book is nature inspired designs… it has photos of nature, and how we have adapted those items in our design.”
“It is not a typical counting book. I would not use this for little kids to learn how to count from one to ten—because as you find out when you go through the book, it doesn’t just talk about numbers one through 10 And but it talks about bigger numbers.”
“This book talks about a group of students, and they are activists, and they’re talking about climate change. Not only is it about science and climate, but how relationships build.”
“Video games is definitely a hook… any way you can connect something an actual toy, or a game, with a book, I think that’s a really great idea.”
Do your 8- to 12-year-olds have questions about how sinkholes forms, or why leaves change colors in autumn? The great outdoors is a great place to be inspired to experiment.