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National Science Week is in August, and to encourage all the budding scientists out there, we have collated a list of the best science books to inspire you to experiment, invent and learn.

Explore the world around you, learn about great scientists, get messy with slime, dive underwater, or answer the unanswerable! Enjoy these great non-fiction reads for primary school-aged children, or picture books for the whole family. 

For the children who ask 'Why?'

  • A to Z of science: a visual dictionary for curious scientists by Basher
  • DK children's encyclopedia: the book that explains everything
  • Questions and answers about weather  by Katie Daynes
  • The everyday journeys of ordinary things: from phones to food and from post to poop... the ways the world works by Libby Deutsch
  • National Geographic Little kids first big book of science by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
  • Ask a scientist: professor Robert Winston answers 100 big questions from kids around the world! by Robert Winston

For the inventors

  • The zoom, fly, bolt, blast steam handbook: build 18 innovative projects with brain power by Lance Akiyama
  • What do machines do all day? by Jo Nelson
  • Leonardo's science workshop: invent, create, and make STEAM projects like a genius by Heidi Olinger  

  • 100 easy STEAM activities: awesome hands-on projects for aspiring artists and engineers by Andrea Scalzo Yi

  • 101 brilliant things for kids to do with science by Dawn Isaac

  • Home lab: exciting experiments for budding scientists by Robert Winston

For the astronomers

  • The book of space rockets by Neil Clark
  • Why does the Earth need the moon? by Dr. Devin Dennie
  • When the stars come out by Nicola Edwards
  • The race to space by Clive Gifford
  • Odd science: spectacular space by James Olstein
  • Science for exploring outer space by Mark Thompson

For the zoologists

  • The ultimate animal counting book by Jennifer Cossins
  • Fanatical about frogs by Owen Davey
  • The sea book: meet the marvellous creatures living in our oceans by Charlotte Milner
  • Helen Ahpornsiri's beneath the water by Lily Murray
  • Odd science: incredible creatures by James Olstein
  • Meet the minibeasts by Sarah Ridley

For the experimenters and makers

  • Super slime! Make the perfect slime every time with 30 fantastic recipes by Susan Akass
  • Science you can eat: putting what we eat under the microscope by Stefan Gates
  • Kitchen science lab for kids: 52 mouth-watering recipes, and the everyday science that makes them taste amazing by Liz Lee
  • Science is magic: amaze your friends with spectacular science experiments by Steve Mould
  • Science lab: fantastic activities for young scientists by Robert Winston

For the dinosaur experts

  • Dinosaurs and other prehistoric life by Chris Barker
  • Dictionary of dinosaurs : an illustrated A to Z of every dinosaur ever discovered ed. Dr Matthew G. Baron
  • Dinosaurs: travel through millions of years to see the birth and death of the dinosaurs by Liz Gogerly
  • Lifesize dinosaurs by Sophy Henn
  • Mammals, birds and other vertebrates by Clare Hibbert
  • Prehistoric by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

For the naturalists

  • The wonder of trees by Nicola Davies
  • Rock spotter by Dan Green
  • Seeds move! by Robin Page

For the environmentalists

  • You can change the world by Lucy Bell
  • The Usborne book of planet Earth by Megan Cullis
  • Beetles for breakfast by Madeleine Finlay
  • What a waste: rubbish, recycling, and protecting our planet by Jess French
  • 100 things to know about saving the planet by Rose Hall
  • Climate change by Izzi Howell
  • A planet full of plastic and how you can help by Neal Layton
  • If polar bears disappeared by Lily Williams

For the science history buff

Finally, to learn from the influencers of the past, check out the following titles.

  • Stand up for the future: a celebration of inspirational young Australians
  • Super scientists: 40 inspiring icons by Anne Blanchard
  • Stories for boys who dare to be different 2: further true tales of amazing boys who changed the world without killing dragons by Ben Brooks
  • Darwin: An exceptional voyage by Fabien Grolleau
  • Brilliant ideas from wonderful women by Aitziber Lopez
  • Fantastically great women who worked wonders by Kate Pankhurst
  • Ten women who changed science, and the world by Catherine Whitlock

Scientist Storytime

STEAM themed picture books

  • Argh! there's a skeleton inside you! by Idan Ben-Barak
  • Ada Twist, scientist by by Andrea Beaty
  • Give me some space! by Philip Bunting
  • The big beyond: the story of space travel by James Carter 
  • The imagineer by Christopher Cheng and Lucia Masciullo
  • Jabari tries by Gaia Cornwall
  • My mad scientist mummy by Rina Fu
  • Ouch! tales of gravity by Kate Simpson and Andy Hardiman
  • Peppa in space ad. Lauren Holowaty
  • Izzy Gizmo and the invention convention by Pip Jones and Sara Ogilvie
  • Incredible freedom machines by Kirli Saunders
  • Dream big, little scientists by Michelle Schaub
  • A scientist like me by Dr Shini Somara with Catherine Coe
  • Diggersaurs mission to Mars by Michael Whaite

Make a reservation

To reserve a book, select the title and use your membership number and PIN to place a reservation. Titles with an asterisk (*) are also available from our eBook collection.

More recommended reading

Enjoy more Science stories read by our favourite authors, illustrators and media personalities with Story Box Library. Watch on any device using your library membership. 

Visit the Children’s Storytimes and Activities page for all our regular children’s programs. See our Literacy and reading resources for families page to find the best reading recommendations, literacy advice and programs for your child.

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