We are surrounded by science, from the air we breathe to the gadgets we hold in our hands. What we learn in school represents only a fraction of the available scientific evidence.
However, exploring the science section of a library is overwhelming, as there are hundreds of science books available on millions of topics, and it is pretty challenging to pick the best.
To help you, we have compiled a list of the top 20 science books covering a wide range of topics for your kids to read in 2022.
Kid Innovators
By Robin Stevenson and Allison Steinfeld
From Florence Nightingale and the Wright brothers to Bill Gates and Elon Musk, this extraordinarily imaginative and inspiring book narrates the childhood stories of innovators of all kinds. Each mini-biography comes with colourful illustrations and exciting factoids about game-changers in science, entertainment, business and technology.
Buy now: Amazon and Helly Hansen
KEW: Grow, Forage and Make
By Alys Fowler and Heidi Griffiths
The unprecedented shutdown of the world has made it difficult for many parents to keep their children engaged and entertained throughout. They are forced to develop innovative ways, and a book like Kew Gardens’ new field book is filled with great fun ideas for tiny green fingers.
From edible blossoms and roots to growing neon Beetroots in the dark, the emphasis is placed on the discovery and practicality of mud splashes with many things to do, grow and find – inside and out.
Buy now: eBay andWaterstones.
Fourteen Wolves
By Catherine Barr and Jenni Desmond
The Fourteen Wolves is an evocative story about rewilding, designed to capture young and old imaginations and give us all a refreshed appreciation of nature. The book articulates the story of the wolves of Yellowstone Park who disappeared in the 1930s. Their absence has had a considerable impact on the ecosystem, with the fortunes of many species related to the pack. It was not until 1995 that wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone, and this wonderfully illustrated book tells the fantastic story of what happened afterwards.
Buy now: Amazon
Diary of a Young Naturalist
By Dara McAnulty
This book tells the story of author Dara McAnulty, a nature-obsessed environmental activist who finds peace through the observation, registration and understanding of the wildlife and landscapes he encounters.
The author is autistic and his book, often described as a mix of nature’s book and passing memories into adulthood, traces a tumultuous period in his life. Her connection to the environment is reassuring and reminds us of nature’s healing power.
Where the Wild Things Grow
By David Hamilton
A part dedicated to the how-to guide, another part love letter to the ecosystems on the threshold of our doors, this book reveals the hidden food in front of all that most of us have the chance to eat. From wild mushrooms and berries to the weeds growing in our gardens, the author draws on his extensive experience to explain what is out there and where to find it. David illuminates the science and history of wild foods and explains how to use them in recipes.
Buy now: eBay
Gory Details: Adventures From the Dark Side of Science
By Erika Engelhaupt
Based on National Geographic’s blog, this collection of scientific snapshots explores the weird, the gross and the funny. This book is great for young minds willing to impress their friends with something outrageous yet highly informative.
This book covers everything from bee stings to blood spatter at crime scenes. This book is best for teen readers; there is plenty for parents here.
Buy now: Amazon
The Science of Can and Can’t: A Physicist’s Journey Through the Land of Counterfactuals
By Chiara Marletto
Written by Physicist Chiara Marletto, a Research Fellow at the University of Oxford, it is a guiding light on how the radical new science of counterfactuals can reveal the full scope of our universe. A pioneer in the field, Chiara Marletto, is exploring the extraordinary promise this revolutionary approach offers to meet existing technological challenges, from the supply of next-generation processors to the design of AI.
However, contemplating what is possible and real, Marletto further shows how counterfactuals can break barriers to knowledge and form a fuller, abundant and rewarding picture of the universe itself.
Buy now: Waterstones and Amazon.
Foodology: A Food-lover’s Guide to Digestive Health and Happiness
By Saliha Mahmood Ahmed
Foodology is an excellent amalgamation of food recipes and science-based information, as the name already depicts. Saliha Mahmood Ahmed, gastroenterologist and food writer, takes the reader on a digestive system tour, from the first bite to the last. She also delves into why food makes us so happy and how a delicious smell makes our mouths water.
Buy now: Amazon.
Always On: Hope and Fear in the Social Smartphone Era
By Rory Cellan-Jones
Reflecting upon the rise of social media, this amazingly written book takes readers on an entertaining ride through this turbulent era, as an author relates with a ringside seat to the key moments of the technology revolution. We remember the excitement and wonder that came with the arrival of Apple’s iPhone with all the promise it offered. We see tech empires rise and fall as these devices send shockwaves through every industry and leave the corporate titans of the analogue era floundering in their wake. We see that early utopianism about the potential of the mobile social revolution to transform society for the better fade, as criminals, bullies, and predators poison the well of social media. Moreover, we hear from those at the forefront of the tech revolution, including Stephen Hawking, Elon Musk, Tim Berners-Lee, Martha Lane-Fox and Jimmy Wales, to gain their unique insights and predictions for what may come.
Always On immerses the reader in the most important story of our times – the dramatic impact of hyperconnectivity, the smartphone and social media on everything from our democracy to our employment and our health. The final section of the book draws on the author’s personal experience with technology and medicine, considering how COVID-19 made us look again to computing in our battle to confront the greatest challenge of modern times.
Buy now: Amazon
Handmade: A Scientist’s Search for Meaning through Making
By Anna Ploszajski
Scientists often tend to think of materials in quantities such as their melting point, density and pressure that they can handle. However, the early materials scientists of humanity did not work in a laboratory to measure the stress that an object could handle: they worked with their hands and did things.
Anna Ploszajski, a materials scientist herself, goes back to these old roots to explore practically. She learns wisdom by experimenting with generations of experts in clay, sugar, steel, glass, paper and more.
Buy now: Amazon
Be Who You Want: Unlocking the Science of Personality Change
By Christian Jarrett
The promise of changing your personality into whom you aspire to be could resemble the realm of life coaches and unconvincing self-help books. However, this is feasible, says psychologist Dr Christian Jarrett.
Using authentic science, Jarrett, in this book, explains how you can change your personality for your taste, whether it is becoming an extrovert or getting conscientious or learning to use the “Dark Triad” – narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy – for your benefit. The promise to become the one you aspire to be might look like the domain of life coaches and unconvincing self-help books. However, this turns out to be possible, says psychologist Dr Christian Jarrett.
Gory Details: Adventures From the Dark Side of Science
By Erika Engelhaupt
Comprising far-out facts, this informative book by the author takes the reader on a fascinating journey through an astonishing new reality.
Mixing humour and journalism in the tradition of Mary Roach, the famous scientific journalist Erika Engelhaupt investigates the gross, strange and morbid nonsense of our body and universe. From the research biologist who stung himself with almost every conceivable insect to the world’s most murderous mammals, this exciting book explores oft-ignored but alluring facets of biology, anatomy, space exploration, nature, and more. With conversations with leading researchers in the field and a high dose of wit, this provocative book reveals the most intriguing science applications in all their splendour.
Buy now: Amazon
What To Look for In Spring
By Elizabeth Jenner
Most of us have witnessed the beautiful natural world waking up from the long winter’s sleep. Blossoms, buds and butterflies appear, marking the beginning of the rebirth season. This book presents a closer look at boxing hares, bleating lambs, meteor showers and celebrations of May Day as the secrets of the spring begin to appear in the world around us.
Buy now: Amazon
Shape: The Hidden Geometry of Absolutely Everything
By Jordan Ellenberg
Geometry is undoubtedly one of the minor favourites of most people. It is complex, but it often appears to have no value in the real world. When will I need to draw an equilateral triangle using a ruler and a pair of compasses?
Geometry, however, turns out to have actual uses. As Jordan Ellenberg explains in Shape, geometry does not just have uses in physics and artificial intelligence; it also appears in finance, American politics and even poetry.
Mysteries Of The Quantum Universe
By Thibault Damour & Mathieu Burniat
Presented as ‘Tintin meets Brian Cox’, it fulfils the delicate task of making quantum physics accessible. Join Bob and his dog Rick to journey through the world of tiny talking atoms with Einstein and eat crepes with Max Planck.
Buy now: Amazon, eBay and Foyles for books.
Only Connect: The Official Quiz Book and Only Connect: The Difficult Second Quiz Book
By Jack Waley-Cohen and David McGaughey
Learn how to win an episode of Only Connect, the BBC’s fiendish quiz hosted by Victoria Coren Mitchell. Both puzzles allow you to find the connections, finish the sequences, defeat the connecting walls and decode the sentences with missing vowels.
The puzzles are classics based on the TV programme, organized in increasing difficulty. Begin with a warm-up from the first run and gradually climb up to the questions worthy of the last round.
Buy now: Amazon, eBay and Waterstones.
Beyond Infinity
By Eugenia Cheng
It takes a talented writer to bring the concept of infinity to life, but Cheng’s infectious enthusiasm makes maths a delight. Discover why some infinities are more significant than others and why there is always room at an infinite hotel, even if it is complete.
Buy now: eBay
Graphic Science: Seven Journeys of Discovery
By Darryl Cunningham
In this book, Cunningham tells the stories of seven scientists whom history has somewhat overlooked with his crisp comic art. Mary Anning, Alfred Wegener, Fred Hoyle, and Jocelyn Bell Burnells are names you may have heard of, but Graphic Science underlines the importance of their work.
Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
By Neil deGrasse Tyson
Renowned author Neil deGrasse Tyson guides you to the stars and beyond with “Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries.”
Neil deGrasse Tyson is interested in abnormalities like black holes, modern myths like the colour of the sun and advanced topics like particle physics. With more than 42 essays put together in a book, “Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries” is a book that will keep you busy for hours.
Buy Now: Amazon
A Shot to Save: The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine
By Gregory Zuckerman
“An inspiring and informative page-turner.” –Walter IsaacsonLonglisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award The authoritative account of the race to produce the vaccines that are saving us all, the #1 bestselling New York Times author of “The Man Who Solved the MarketFew were ready when a mysterious respiratory disease appeared in Wuhan, China, in January 2020. Politicians, public servants, entrepreneurs and public health professionals were unprepared for the most devastating pandemic in a century.
Buy Now: Amazon
If you’re looking for the best science books for your kids, this article is perfect.
