Science in Books:

A Good Way to Start a Summer of Science

 

There are lots of great things about science. It encourages you to look carefully, think carefully, solve problems, and share what you’ve learned. Here are some books that will spark your scientific mind.

 

Does It Really Rain Frogs? Questions and Answers about Planet Earth

by Thomas Canavan

A slew of questions are answered: How far away is the horizon? Can the wind really drive a straw through a telegraph pole? Can animals predict earthquakes? and 49 more. The pages are well designed and present the information with clear text and illustrations. This book is part of the Science FAQ series.

 

A Rock is Lively

by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Sylvia Long

I like this book for so many reasons. It’s all about rocks, a fascinating topic. The pictures are fantastic, showing all the colors and textures of rocks. The information is clearly presented in easy chunks. And the ideas are neat: A rock is lively. A rock is mixed up. A rock is creative…

 

First the Egg

by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

First the egg then the chicken. Cause and effect is all around us. As I read this book the first time, I tried to guess all the cause and effect pairs. Some are not too hard (tadpole-frog) but some downright unguessable (at least for me). I love everything about this book – its simplicity, its cut-out pages, and its cleverness.

 

Science: Not Just for Scientists: Easy Explorations for Young Children

by Leonisa Ardizzone, EdD

Chapters: Patterns, Cause and Effect, Size and Scale, Change and Growth, Energy, Systems, and How Things Work. Each chapter has 5 or 6 experiments that help demonstrate the chapters’ topic. The procedures are scientific and yet simply explained.

 

Zoology for Kids: Understanding and Working with Animals

by Josh and Bethanie Hestermann

Learn about animals, their behavior, and their environments. Also learn about the people who work with animals. This book has lots for animal lovers to enjoy. There are 21 activities to stretch your understanding and fun.

 

The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs: A Scientific Mystery

by Sandra Markle (sorry, no link)

If you want to learn about scientific process, this is a terrific book to read. It closely follows scientist Karen Lips as she works to figure out why the golden frogs of Panama are vanishing. She looks at many possible sources – pollution, climate change and others. Although there is a lot of text here, it is written clearly. And there are also lots of pictures. I look forward to reading more of Sandra Markle’s books.

 

The Book of Why? 50 Questions and All the Answers

by Kath Grimshaw (sorry, no link)

Ever wonder why soap makes bubbles? Why leopards have spots? Why deserts are sandy? This book answers these questions and 47 more.

 

This Book Requires Safety Goggles: A Collection of Bizarre Science Trivia

by Kristi Lew

Find out if lightning can knock your socks off. Or about a mountain that grows. Find out about a liquid metal. Or what the Magnus Effect has to do with baseball. This book has lots of interesting stuff!

 

We’re the Center of the Universe: Science’s Biggest Mistakes about Astronomy and Physics

by Christine Zuchora-Walske

Scientists work really hard to figure out how the universe works. But lots of times, they just don’t have all the information they need to make the right conclusions. Read this book to learn about some of the big scientific mistakes over the years. This is part of the Science Gets It Wrong series. Other books cover geology and ecology; animals and plants; and the human body.

 

Island: A Story of the Galápagos

by Jason Chin

This is an amazing book! In just 25 picture book pages, it tells the life story of an island over a span of 6 million years. It starts as a volcano, it cools, animals find it and it becomes a complete civilization. The text and pictures are so clear, you feel as though you really understand the life of this island: birth, childhood, adulthood and old age. I look forward to reading this author’s other books, Redwoods and Coral Reefs.

 

Robot Experiments

by Ed Sobey

Written for upper-elementary and middle school students, this book is stuffed with science projects about robots. It starts with some easier projects (such as taking apart motors) and works up to actually building a robot. Projects that would make good science fair projects are marked. This is part of the Cool Science Projects with Technology series.

 

What sparks your scientific mind?

Gail