Fuse 8 n’ Kate: Where Is the Green Sheep by Mem Fox, ill. Judy Horacek

My kids wonder why I do this particular list on Christmas, and I don’t really have a good answer for that. There’s no direct correlation between the holiday and the subject matter. Maybe you could consider it my present to all those nonfiction and informational book fans out there. In any case, I love this massive little list. It’s just FULL of titles that won’t really get their day in the sun unless we promote the bloody heck out them. Consider this the first shot across the bow!

Now you may see that I have a list coming up later this month called Blueberry Award Contenders. Like this list, they’ll involve science and nature, but they’ll be much more about instilling a love of nature in kids. There will be a little crossover, but not as much as you might think.

You can find a PDF of today’s list here.

Interested in seeing other books for kids about science and nature? Then check out these previous lists:

• 2023
• 2022
• 2021
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016

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2024 Science and Nature Books for Kids

Picture Books

Bats Beneath the Bridge by Janet Nolan, ill. Emily Cox

“Those bats are scary.” “We don’t want them to stay.” Find out how the people of Austin, Texas learned to love the bats under the Congress Avenue Bridge with the help of a clever bat biologist. Now I may just be slightly biased towards this book since I think I heard a podcast episode sometime, somewhere about Dr. Merlin Tuttle (note to self: name next son “Merlin”) and I was just so grateful that Ms. Nolan had the chutzpah to write a book with him at the center. Plus, it’s a very clever framing for this story. I love that the people of Austin had a variety of opinions when the bats first arrived. It seems only obvious to me me now that folks would have thought they were horrible and diseased, since they are only now a major revenue stream for tourism. The book’s art isn’t quite up to the storytelling, but I’m happy to let that slide since the writing is so smart. There’s a hint of fake dialogue, but since it comes from the crowds rather than individuals I’m happy to let it slide.

The Bee Mother by Hetxw’ms Gyetxw (Brett D. Huson), ill. Natasha Donovan

It’s spring once again and Nox Ap, the bee mother, emerges to become nature’s gardener once more. The bumblebee, the honeybee, and the yellow jacket all get their moment in the sun in this stirring examination of insects in the Xsan ecosystem. Personally, I shall not rest until the world is just as baffled and fascinated by the life cycle of bumblebees as myself. I mean, what other creature restarts its entire colony from scratch each spring? Seems like a terrible plan, but that’s how the bumblebee rolls. This book is the seventh in the “Mothers of Xsan” series. The series focuses on the animals in the Xsan ecosystem, and tends to balance both the facts about the animals as well as their direct connection to the Gitxsan Nation. And I should clarify that this book doesn’t focus solely on bumblebees, but an array of mother bees in nature. Add in the art of Natasha Donovan (who can resist it?) and you have yourself a winner. 

City of Leafcutter Ants: A Sustainable Society of Millions by Amy Hevron

Ah ha! The FOURTH ant book I encountered in 2024 (following Philip Bunting’s The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants , There Are No Ants in This Book by Rosemary Mosco, and Jay Hosler’s Ant Story), but the first leafcutter ant book I’ve seen in a long while. Hevron is the kind of nonfiction picture book author who likes to look closely at very specific areas. Tonally, this probably has the most in common with her previous title The Tide Pool Waits, even though the author on that one was Candace Fleming. Here, Hevron was inspired by a trip to Costa Rica. I envy her the fact that she got to see these little guys working in the wild like this. The book keeps its text fairly simple, with a nice big font that won’t scare off some of the younger readers. And, naturally, the way to any librarian’s heart is if it can include at least one fact that an adult reading this might not have encountered before. For me, it was some of the jobs that the ants separate into. For example, in one section “tiny inspectors clean and process leaf cuttings” while in another, “small pharmacists use antibiotics produced from their bodies to keep the city free of disease.” I just had to sit there and read that one over a couple of times before it truly sank in. Hevron does a great job of showing the size differences between the ants, even when they’re from the same species. Sometimes a librarian’s job is to instill a sense of wonder in kids. These ants? They make the job easy. 

Clever Crow by Chris Butterworth, ill. Olivia Lomenech Gill

“Wherever you are right now, there’s sure to be a crow or two nearby.” Meet these clever, crafty birds and learn all about their incredible intelligence. I mean, I just like crows in general, so I’m not entirely certain how much of my enjoyment of this book stems from the fact that these are birds that I’m already enamored of or not. Butterworth does a nice job of taking all these cool crow facts, making them simple enough for younger kids to get excited about them. Olivia Lomenech Gill also appears to have also been a good choice to do the art. She never anthropomorphizes the birds, and there are some nice shots of crows looking smart. Plus, I kind of love how the backgrounds are often lined paper or newsprint. A subconscious way of making you appreciate their intelligence? Could be. Bonus: This is the kind of thing that only I appreciate, but I absolutely LOVE that this book begins with a shot of the pyramids that makes it clear how close they are to the busy Cairo urban centers. It’s the little things…

Clouds in Space: Nebulae, Stardust, and Us by Teresa Robeson, ill. Diāna Renžina

Nebulae finally get their time to shine (literally, I suppose). You can tell kids all day long that they’re made out of spacedust, but aside from it sounding particularly poetic, it’s kind of a vague term. This book personifies a nebula and explains why it both is and is not like the clouds in our skies. The books does a great job of integrating photographs of the universe alongside the illustrations of Renžina to give the whole enterprise a fun and otherworldly feel. I thought Robeson did a darned decent job explaining the origins of a nebulae in fairly poetic but still scientific terms: “Sometimes, I am the last burst of breath expelled by a star or a supernova lofting elements into space like dandelion seeds on the wind.” Or, later, “You are grown from scattered stardust sprouted in a stellar nursery. I AM the stardust AND the nursery.” Beautiful backmatter (literally – these photos are jaw-dropping), a bibliography, websites to explore, and more abound. This one’s a keeper.

Club Microbe by Elise Gravel

Do germs get a bad rap? Maybe some of them, but Elise Gravel is here to give you the down and dirty on all sorts of microbes. The very good, the very bad and the very strange as well. You just say the magic words “Elise Gravel” and instantly I am interested in what you have to say. Gravel has a very distinctive style. Honestly, she pairs beautifully with Philip Bunting and Maxwell Eaton III. Like Bunting she likes to slap eyeballs on everything and like Eaton she loves doing deep dives into nature with funny jokes on the side. Here she really breaks down beautifully all the different kinds of microbes out there, from viruses to bacteria and beyond. Good and (weirdly enough) never too gross (which is why it never appeared on the Gross List).

The Den That Octopus Built by Randi Sonenshine, ill. Anne Hunter

Gentle, cumulative rhymes follows the life of an octopus. Filled with fascinating facts, but with a text that’s appropriate for younger readers, come explore the world of one of our most fascinating creatures. The folks that brought you The Nest That Wren Built and The Lodge That Beaver Built get even soggier with this deep dive (I’m allowed to use puns because I am a professional) into the world of the octopus. Okay, here’s a little secret about writing an informational picture book. You want it to get more attention? Include facts that the grown-ups reading the book won’t even know. Like the fact that the octopus has nine brains, for example. I mean, I guess I heard that once, but it’s just the kind of thing that can’t be stressed enough. Sonenshine is pulling out her rhyming dictionary again, and her talents are soothing to the ear. I never have to worry with her that a line or meter won’t scan correctly. What’s more, she’s taken what I truly believe to be one of the more difficult forms of writing (the cumulative rhyme) and repeatedly made it work for her picture books. You’ll appreciate Hunter’s art (love it when they don’t cheat on those goat-like horizontal irises the octopuses sport) and the writing as well. Great younger nonfiction fare for budding octopus enthusiasts. And I hope you’re a fan of them, because you’re going to see a second octopus title show up on today’s list soon. Previously seen on the Rhyming Picture Books List.

Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera by Deborah Hopkinson, ill. Nik Henderson

 It’s 1854 and people are dying. Can Dr. John Snow discover the origins of cholera before more lives are lost? A gripping medical mystery brought to life. Ooo. Yes, this is what we’ve been looking for. A book that sets up Dr. Snow’s discovering of cholera’s origins as a mystery in need of solving with lives on the line. Excellent! Hopkinson basically already wrote a longer version of this book for kids when she wrote The Great Trouble back in the day. This is incredible in both its brevity and its ability to get to the heart of the matter. It’s also just a great story about a hero. I’m in awe of Hopkinson’s ability to pull out both pertinent and interesting details. Add in the art by Nik Henderson, which somehow manages to be both sepia-toned and NOT boring (an almost impossible feat) and we have a clear winner.

Hello, I’m a Pangolin / Hello, I’m a Quokka / Hello, I’m a Sloth by Hayley & John Rocco

Meet three of nature’s most interesting animals. Simple text and big beautiful pictures combine to introduce children to the lives, and challenges, of these incredible creatures. I saw the sloth and quokka books in this series first and was fairly certain early on that the Roccos were just focusing on the smiling animals of the natural world. Thank goodness they went with a pangolin next (though they are doing an axolotl book next year). Rocco has been on an environmental tear this year, traveling the world and even working on a David Attenborough picture book biography. I’d argue that these books are my personal favorites, however. Apart from the near photo realistic covers, the Roccos do a really nice job of using really simple sentences and art to introduce kids to the lives of these three animals. I think they balance out the environmental concerns alongside the purely interesting nature of these animals well. They’re interesting takes and a clever little series that is bound to be popular. Worth looking at closely!

I Am Gravity by Henry Herz, ill. Mercè López

“You feel me, but cannot see me. I reach everywhere, touching everything…” Meet gravity. A lyrical introduction to a complicated science told with wit, fervor, and accompanied by breathtaking art. Some of you may recall the rather remarkable I Am Smoke from a couple years ago. Well, I am here to tell you that as good a book as that was, gravity here is better. It was as if that first book was just a running start for this one. What we have here is a complex force made not simply comprehensible to kids but exciting and new! Hertz, meanwhile, is just in top form with this writing. I love how he can talk about gravity controlling the puff of a dandelion on the one hand, and then show how it “warps the path of light around stars and planets” on the other. My favorite science books are the ones that can feel dreamy and gargantuan all at once. This book fits that description.

I Was: The Stories of Animal Skulls by Katherine Hocker, ill. Natasha Donovan

Nothing better than a good old-fashioned skull, am I right? Don’t let the macabre sounding title get you down, though. This book operates like a really nice Intro to Skulls for younger kids, first showing a skull lying in nature somewhere, then cutting to that same animal with flesh fully intact. The skull sections are all painted in a variety of deep blues, which for whatever reason cuts significantly down on the creep factor. The animals themselves are accompanied by a text that doesn’t rhyme but has all the cadences of poetry. Interestingly, the animals themselves are never named directly, but rather are accompanied by the final sentence, “I was.” This lends them a kind of dignity on the page. In her bio, Katherine Hocker writes, “After twenty years of teaching science and art classes to elementary students, I can say with confidence that no subject supercharges a lesson like animal skulls. At first the kids are squeamish, but as they run their fingers over the teeth and gaze into the eye sockets, they learn that skulls are more than just spooky thrills. Skulls tell the stories of animals that once lived.” A book that gives those animals their due, encouraging kids who find their own skulls to do the same. 

If I Were a Fungus by Gaia Stella, translated by Nanette McGuinness

If you were a fungus you wouldn’t be an animal or a plant, but something very special. A strange and wonderful book about a strange and wonderful species. Surely I’m not the only person who sees this title and starts singing an old Tim Hardin song (and I’ll leave it to you to figure out which one I mean). I admit that we’ve seen a LOT of fungus books in the last few years. We have also seen a lot of fungus-with-eyeballs books (a genre that I didn’t expect to come across, but here we are). Even so, I do feel like this comes across as an ideal companion to last year’s Philip Bunting book The Gentle Genius of Trees. Here we’re entirely fungus based, though trees do get a mention. And there are all kinds of facts explained simply and beautifully in this book. It’s an excellent example of how you can take the same subject and explain it a host of different ways, depending on the book’s creator. 

The Iguanodon’s Horn by Sean Rubin

What did the iguanodon really look like? Follow its discovery and the different ways humans have pictured it over the centuries in this magnificently illustrated deep dive into how we’ve changed our minds about dinos. Great first page right from the start. “The iguanodon died a long time ago. A really long time ago. Bit of a bummer way to start a story, but hang on.” From there, Rubin does this marvelous job of not only showing not simply the various interpretations of what an iguanodon might look at, but he takes care to draw those wildly inaccurate images over and over again, improving them slightly each time. The end result is that you’re left not only understanding how science allows for change over time, but also the different ways we’ve viewed dinosaurs over the course of the centuries. But even better than this is the fact that when you get to the end you realize that we may STILL not really know what the iguanodon looks like even now. It gives kids the understanding that there’s always something new to discover. I love that. The technicolor dinos with “baggy bits and saggy bits” are worth the price of admission alone. 

Life After Whale: The Amazing Ecosystem of a Whale Fall by Lynn Brunelle, ill. Jason Chin

Death for one whale means life for an entire ecosystem of creatures. Take a deep dive into the fascinating science behind a single whale’s contribution to ocean life. I KNEW it! I knew that there would be a really good whale fall book out for kids one of these days! No shade on other whale fall titles, but after reading this one you’ll see how it really was showing just the tip of the iceberg. Brunelle is going to give you a deep dive (forgive me) into not just a whale’s death, but some really fascinating facts about the same whale during life (did you know that you can tell how old a whale is by the rings of earwax it has?). It’s kind of unfair to bring Jason Chin into all of this too. I mean, the man’s a ringer. Once he’s on board you may as well throw in the towel and declare the book a winner. Full of facts that I can guarantee you’ve never heard before, and a wonderful circle-of-life type of storyline as well. But the real reason I was so delighted by this book? Zombie worms, baby! Adequate zombie worm usage! So gross! So wonderful. Previously seen on the Gross List.

Like No Other: Earth’s Coolest One-of-a-Kind Creatures by Sneed B. Collard III, ill. Christopher Silas Neal

Strange animals exist everywhere, but the ones in this book are of a unique class. Meet the creatures that have no close living relatives currently alive on earth, and learn all about them. You know, Sneed’s been around so long that sometimes I don’t pay enough attention when he has a new book out. And I’ve always liked Neal, so this book went and won my heart practically on the first page by focusing on my new favorite bird, the secretary bird. But the whole premise is a new one on me. It’s a listing of animals in this world that have no close living relatives in their scientific family. The animals are explained with a great deal of fun, and then there’s this incredible backmatter that gives a LOT more details on what they mean by “relatives”. Kind of love it. 

Log Life by Amy Hevron

A deep dive into a nurse-log habitat. When one of the oldest evergreen on the planet falls, it becomes food, a home, and more to an entire ecosystem. Informative (and adorable!). So this was a great example of a topic I haven’t really seen in a book for kids before (nurse logs) and the text surprised me so much that I figured it must have gotten some of its information wrong. For example, when I saw that the nurse log was still around after 500 years, I figured that had to be a typo. I mean, there’s no way a log wouldn’t be totally decomposed by then, right? Amy’s backmatter was quick to correct me on the matter. Having now been adequately humbled, I can appreciate this book on its own merits. It’s seemingly simple, but full of complex info and so fun! I definitely think this is superior to One Day This Tree Will Fall too. You know the perfect book to pair it with? Whale Fall! The two have a LOT in common. 

Mushrooms Know: Wisdom From Our Friends the Fungi by Kallie George, ill. Sara Gillingham

At some point the floodgates opened and it became desirable for nonfiction mushroom books to be completely and utterly charming. Not sure who to blame for this one. Maybe Elise Gravel, who’s Mushroom Fan Club remains, to my mind, the industry standard. This year we’ve If I Were a Fungus by Gaia Stella, translated by Nanette McGuinness, which I would consider the closest competitor to Mushrooms Know here. The secret weapon up Kallie George’s sleeve, however, is Sara Gillingham. Trust me, you’ve seen her books before. It just made sense to rope her into this cute as a button, yet still strikingly accurate, title. True, mushrooms don’t usually have such cute little faces as the ones here, but if you’re willing to overlook the obvious there’s a lot to enjoy. George utilizes a technique I’m very fond of where the main text is large and appropriate for readalouds, while smaller text gives additional background information for readers who want it. I loved the bioluminescent mushrooms (which I feel have never gotten adequate attention in books before) and there was info I’d never seen, like the honey mushroom that covers thousands of acres and has been living for nearly 2,500 years. Best of all, it includes my favorite mushroom, the morel. I have some in my yard, and this book mentions how they can roll into little balls and sometimes sleep for years. Sleep well, little friends! This is a hoot. 

Narwhal: Unicorn of the Arctic by Candace Fleming, ill. Deena So’oteh

Join a male narwhal in this deep dive into the lives of these incredible creatures. Dodging polar bears, finding air, using echolocation, you’ll never look at them the same way again. Fleming specializes in a lot of different types of nonfiction (including the much older Enigma Girls, also out this year) but who amongst us can forget her incredible Honeybee from a couple years ago. Narwhal is in the same vein and by gum you are going to learn a lot about them by the time this book is done. It helps that they’re funky looking. So’oteh does an incredible job and this is clearly a case where the backmatter isn’t more interesting than the frontmatter but is STILL engrossing (three words: collapsible rib cages). In a field of animal picture books, this is the one to beat. 

Octopus Acrobatics by Sue Fliess, ill. by Gareth Lukas

I wasn’t kidding when I said you’d see more octopuses today. Behold the incredible octopus! Think you’ve heard everything there is to know about these creatures? You’re bound to learn something new thanks to the gentle rhyming text. The rhymes themselves (which are difficult to write in the first place) are very well done. Best of all, this not only covering all the octopus facts I wanted to see (brains in arms, moms die protecting babies, etc.) it included a couple I’d never heard of before (how have I never heard of octopuses riding jellyfish before?!?). I mean, this is great stuff. Previously seen on the Rhyming List.

One Day This Tree Will Fall by Leslie Barnard Booth, ill. Stephanie Fizer Coleman

The miracle of life, the inevitability of death, and the continuation of every tree’s story is encapsulated in this small, thoughtful story.  I know everyone’s putting this in the nonfiction section, but I think it would fit just as well in the regular picture book section as well. This book seems to straddle fiction and informational texts rather well. The title sort of strikes me as funny, if only because the whole premise of the book is predicated on something’s death. Momento mori, kiddos! But I think it really does place the death of a tree within a larger context. A lightly poetic recap of the concept of renewal in nature.

Parrotfish Has a Superpower by Jill Esbaum, ill. Bob Shea

I just can’t stress enough how grateful I am to these animal nonfiction books that aren’t just funny, they’re also chock full of legitimately fascinating info. I feel like this Esbaum/Shea collaboration that began with Stinkbird Has a Superpower is like a younger version of the Superpower Field Guide series by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Nicholas John Frith. But see, the thing is, if you’re going to brag about the fact that an animal has a “superpower” you better be ready to put your money where your mouth is. Stinkbird paid off in dividends but what about the parrotfish? Turns out, Esbaum seems to have a keen sense of which creatures and critters are best suited to her unique scrutiny. And to be perfectly frank, she’s dead right about the parrotfish. I guess I’d heard about its superpower before, but this book makes it just how bizarre, strange, and wonderful it truly is. And you know what? I’m not gonna give it away. Just know that this book is hilarious (thanks in no small part to the illustrious and very funny Bob Shea, doing the art) and fascinating. If you read it aloud, expect to be asked for an encore. Previously seen on the Funny Picture Books List.

Remembering Rosalind Franklin by Tanya Lee Stone, ill. Gretchen Ellen Powers

There are as many different ways to write a picture book biography as there are people. The trick lies in knowing how to make your book a little more interesting, and a little different from all the others out there (particularly if someone has covered your subject before). The interesting thing about Rosalind Franklin is, of course, the fact that she’s remembered for having her researched used without credit and, in a particularly dick move, getting belittled by jerkwad James Watson. Stone takes particular care to call out Watson in the text of this book, not just the backmatter, and it works because right from the start she makes it clear that what you are about to read is a tragedy. “Dear Reader,” it begins, “This true story doesn’t really have a happy ending.” Franklin takes on a distinctly Elizabeth Orton Jones feel under Powers’ pen which counters Stone’s distinctly acidic takedown of the aforementioned jerkwad. Fortunately, the text of this book carries it far, and should be appreciated by folks studying how to write biographies of people who left behind complicated legacies. A smart bit of writing.

Super Swifts: Small Birds with Amazing Powers by Justin Anderson, ill. Clover Robin

The swift may not look like much, but imagine spending most of your life flying, almost never landing, and traveling for ten months of every year!! An incredible look at an incredible bird. It’s not the first swift book that I think I’ve ever seen, but I was fond of this title. The book makes the peculiar decision to have no difference in reading ability between the larger and smaller texts on the page, but that’s hardly a dealbreaker. The life of a swift is awfully peculiar, and I thought the authors did a good job of showing that. In the end, it’s successful in what it sets out to accomplish. 

This Book Is Full of Holes: From Underground to Outer Space and Everywhere In Between by Nora Nickum, ill. Robert Meganck

I mean who doesn’t just love holes, amiright? I think what I love so much about this book is how expansive the idea of a “hole” truly is. Systematically the book defines each kind of hole. “A hole can be an indentation… or open.” To illustrate these two ideas you see a kid with waffles (hence the indentations) and a woman attempting to thread a needle. A long additional text appears at the bottom of the page to give some context. For example, when you learn that holes can form slowly (like potholes) or quickly (like sinkholes) you get scientific information on both of those. You also get the general feeling that just making this book must have been a great deal of fun for Nickum and Meganck. And aren’t I good? I managed to do an entire write-up of this book without a single hole-pun! 

This Is My Brain: A Book on Neurodiversity by Elise Gravel

My brain isn’t like your brain and your brain isn’t like mine. Find out how to make them happy and what it is that they can and can’t do. It’s the War of the Gravels! Which will you enjoy more? Her book on microbes or this one on differences between brains? Personally, I’d throw my hat into the ring with this little number. Gravel’s superpower is her ability to take complex ideas that kids need to learn early (fake news, mushrooms, microbes, etc.) and make it understandable AND fun for younger children. This neurodiversity number is no exception. She seems to have a preternatural ability to determine just how much information to give younger children, and where to cut things off. If they’re interested in learning more, they certainly can, but this is definitely Brain Science 101. 

Thomas Jefferson’s Battle for Science: Bias, Truth, and a Mighty Moose! by Beth Anderson, ill. Jeremy Holmes

Thomas Jefferson is not the slamdunk subject he used to be. Time was you couldn’t throw a stick in a children’s room without hitting four or five TJ books a season (though what you’d be doing throwing sticks in a children’s room is anyone’s guess). As one of our rare scientist presidents, you would think he’d be more popular, were it not for him being an owner of enslaved people as well. We’ve seen some pretty remarkable children’s books on that topic (my personal favorite being Kimberly Brubaker Bradley’s Jefferson’s Sons). This book doesn’t shy away from the information itself. It’s not in the text of the book but it is mentioned prominently in the Author’s Note. As it says, “His thinking, too, was biased.” Now the crux of this particular book is all about bias. It’s about how assumptions can upset scientific reasoning. Basically, it’s an anti-misinformation book (something I’m surprised we’re not seeing a lot more of on our shelves these days) with some truly fun art from Holmes. Without relying on any fake dialogue, the book moves at a fast clip and has some truly interesting moments. A complicated character on a complicated subject makes for a good book (albeit it, with the occasional, you guessed it, complication). 

A Tour of the Human Body: Amazing Numbers – Fantastic Facts by Jennifer Berne, ill. Dawn DeVries Sokol

I’ve heard a lot over the years about kids that love narrative nonfiction versus the kids that prefer expository nonfiction. This book falls squarely into the latter category, no question. It’s the kind of book that relishes large numbers. Some of this may be familiar to the adults looking it over, like the fact that newborn babies have more bones than adult humans do. But then there are the other facts. Your nose can recognize up to 1 trillion different odors. Every day you are 1/3rd of an inch shorter at the end of the day than you were in the morning. Or there are 15,000 hair cells in your coclea. It’s very much a facts-on-the-page kind of title, but I also appreciate that it reads like a combination of math and science in the most interesting way. Maybe it’s more numbers-based than math-based, but it’s worth consideration just the same. Previously seen on the Math List.

Windsongs: Poems About Weather by Douglas Florian

Whether it’s twisty tornadoes, arid deserts, flooded homes, or rainy days, there’s a poem somewhere in here for everyone everywhere. Catch wind of it! Well, I’ll be darned if this book isn’t pretty darn great! The science is good. The poems scan perfectly. There were even ideas in here that made perfect sense but that I’d never seen before (like when “Weather Instruments” rhymes thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, and anemometer). I’m a fan! Previously seen on the Poetry List.

The Wonderful Wisdom of Ants by Philip Bunting

Are you ready for some ant facts? Are you ready to laugh out loud? Are you ready to learn more than you ever thought you’d be able to about these tiny little workers? Get ready for factual hilarity that’ll give you a newfound respect for our tiny friends. Why should bees have all the fun? The more I dove deep into this book, the more I realized how little it is that I actually know about them. Bunting once again is doing amazing stuff with topics that others have done before. He just does ‘em better. The sheer amount of information he’s able to cram into a kid’s brain using funny stuff cannot be overstated. I’m just so grateful we get to live in an era that has Philip Bunting in it. 

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Older Books

Asteroid Vs. Comet by Dr. Marc J. Kuchner, ill. Matt Schu

The ultimate interplanetary smackdown comes alive on the page as these two titans of space head straight towards one another at incredible speeds. Who? Will? Win?  I’ve been disappointed by a fair share of “ultimate showdown” books out there, but not this time! I absolutely love using the idea of what would happen if a comet hit an asteroid to be an excuse for learning a ton about the both of them. I also have a tendency not to trust books where the author has a “Dr.” in front of their name. Again, not a problem here. Kuchner may be an astrophysicist but he knows how to write gripping texts for kids. I’m placing into the older nonfiction section, but it really does make for a quick read. I could see a teacher reading this aloud in a class, getting votes from the kids on which object will survive this incredible collision. The design and layout of both the images and the text really hold up too. I declare this book to be a winner! 

Call the Bee Doctor! How Science Is Saving Honey Bees by Sandra Markle

Worried about what’s happening to the honeybees? Scientists are on the case! A book that acknowledges the problems facing bees and finds solutions. Though the book does get a little text heavy in some sections, this is a fascinating book of solutions to problems that I found really heartening. By this point kids may have heard that the honeybee numbers have declined due to viruses, exhaustion, and mites, as well as environmental factors. This book shows how scientists have come up with some seriously clever solutions. For example, I love that the scientists noticed sick bees drinking water from logs with certain types of fungus and as a result they realized that that fungus can help heal bees medically. That’s so neat! The photographs are also incredibly gorgeous. I had no idea honeybee wings could be iridescent! 

Chasing Guano: The Discovery of a Penguin Supercolony by Helen Taylor

How do you find a massive, previously undiscovered colony of penguins? Satellite photography of their poop, of course! A fun tale of scientists in the field. This one sort of straddles the picture book/older reader line, but due to some of the complexity of the ideas and language I’d say it belongs here. Penguins are kind of an easy sell to begin with, but this is particularly cool because it includes (A) a hidden penguin colony (which is just neat) and (B) a really nice look at the amount of work that scientists have to do to solve a problem with research. You can read the main text and ignore all the bits and pieces in the sidebars if you want, or just read the whole kerschmozzle if you’re a science-y kid. A great pairing with G. Neri’s My Antarctica. A bonus for the Citizen Scientist info at the end.

The Dark! Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves by Lindsey Leigh

How well do you know your cave dwellers and systems? Learn more about the incredible creatures and constructions that exist where the sun don’t shine. I was such a fan of Lindsey Leigh’s previous book The Deep that it makes sense that I’d be naturally inclined to also greatly enjoy her follow up, The Dark. I’m wracking my brain, trying to think of another book that’s done such a deep dive (ha ha) into cave dwellers, and I’m coming up empty. Leigh’s great strength is her ability to encapsulate such a large number of creatures, locations, types of cave formations, and more within a relatively short number of pages. Better still, she adds humor and smarts to make the whole book appealing to kids. When we talk about making science interesting to young readers, this is what we mean. I learned more about what glow worms really are, why we call oilbirds by that name, the ecosystem of bat guano, and more than I ever expected to find.

The Incredible Octopus: Meet the Eight-Armed Wonder of the Sea by Erin Spencer

Think you know everything that there is to know about octopuses? Think again! Take a deep dive with these incredible creatures.  I know we’ve seen a slew of octopus books in 2024, but those have all tended to be on the younger side. This older reader exemplifies perfectly how a book can be written for kids in the upper grades, retain that complex text, and still remain interesting. First off, it’s all about the design. This book understands how to use those sidebars, pull-out boxes, and extra text. The illustrations and photographs are woven together seamlessly. Then there’s the fact that there are two sections on environmental issues that both include “How To Help?” portions, which I really appreciated. Check out that Glossary. Marvel at that list of websites a kid could visit. There’s even a site for educators on how to use this book. The icing on the cake? I took out a copy of this from the library and it was WELL loved. Kids are actually reading this thing. What better indication of a great book could there be than that?

A Meerkat Diary: My Journey Into the Wild World of a Meerkat Mob by Suzi Eszterhas

Wildlife photographer Suzi Eszterhas takes you up close and very personal with a meerkat family and their various trials and tribulations. Adorable and informative. I regret to inform you that Suzi Eszterhas does it yet again. To my mind she’s too darn reliable. Every book she creates is just chock full of great research and amazing photography. Now what’s so strange about this book is that this particular mob of meerkats has been specifically groomed, so to speak, to be comfortable around humans. That doesn’t mean the humans intervene and I do wish there were more explanation for why this has occurred, but if I were to hazard a guess it’s for research purposes, so as to study them more closely. The photographs in this book are, as you might imagine, extraordinary. You simply will not find better meerkat images anywhere else. It’s the perfect length and chock full of facts. Resist if you can. Previously seen on the Photography List.

Mountain of Fire: The Eruption and Survivors of Mount St. Helens by Rebecca E.F. Barone

When the earthquakes started, it looked like Mount St. Helens would blow. But when would it happen? A truly gripping and terrifying recounting of the people who survived (and the ones that didn’t). Worst cover. Gripping book… but not at first. A co-worker pointed out to me the fact that it starts kind of slow. You meet all these scientists and reporters and not a lot happens which, of course, is what actually happened when Mt. St. Helens started to rumble. But I tell you, once that thing blows you are in for a whirlwind ride with all kinds of people trying to survive. Did you know that if trees start falling down after a volcano explodes you should jump in the pit where their roots were to escape the fiery blast of air that’s to come? You do now! And now here’s a secret: I kinda like that inaccurate cover. Just don’t be surprised when the readers drawn to it just skip to the good parts of the book.

My Antarctica: True Adventures in the Land of Mummified Seals, Space Robots, and So Much More by G. Neri, ill. Corban Wilkin

Take a trip with G. Neri as your guide to the coldest, windiest, highest, and driest place in the world. Ideal for budding scientists of all stripes! So THAT’s where G. Neri’s been! I hadn’t seen the guy around in a while, so it was a relief on a couple of levels to see this book coming out. And whatta book! This is just fun. Fun fun fun fun fun. It answers every darn question you ever had about Antarctica and teaches you just loads of stuff. Stuff like, who’s there now and why? And what do you eat when you’re there? Neri never shies away from the fact that he’s one of the few Black guys there during his time. The copious photographs are keen but I thought it was clever of someone to add in art by Corban Wilkin as well. I have never, not a day of my life, ever wanted to visit Antarctica before. Now? Seriously tempted….

One Long Line: Marching Caterpillars and the Scientists Who Follow Them by Loree Griffin Burns, ill. Jamie Green

Two scientists, separated by a century, try to unlock the mysteries of the pine processionary caterpillars. A fun and clever look at how scientists ask questions and come up with experiments to test their answers. Let me tell you how much I like this book. I like it so much that I don’t even mind that it talked at length about my LEAST favorite insect of all times: tent caterpillars. Where I come from we call them tent worms and they were my #1 childhood fear creature. Like maggots in spiderwebs, that’s how I always saw them. Fortunately, this book is about the far more adorable pine processionary caterpillars. I thought it was an amazing look not simply on the scientific process and how to test theories, but also how to disprove old theories that may not have taken certain factors into consideration. Best of all, it’s one of those books for kids that ends by pointing out just how much we still don’t know about the world. I love it when authors make that clear.

Urban Coyotes (Scientists in the Field) by Mary Kay Carson and illustrated with photographs from Tom Uhlman

The wily coyotes of Chicago are the subject of this latest entry in the Scientists in the Field series. Find out why they’re here, what they eat, and how much of a problem they truly are. Boy, coyotes are hard to resist, aren’t they? First off, love the local Chicago connection here. But aside from that, let’s just examine what it is that Mary Kay Carson is doing to make this book appealing to young readers. The Scientists in the Field series has been around a number of years at this point and I feel that though the essential elements have all remained the same, the design has subtly shifted to become more reader friendly over time. In this book, right at the start, Carson outlines six essential questions about what urban scientists need to know about coyotes. This is separated out into a little box with questions like “Are they a danger to Chicagoans?” and “Are they eating pets and garbage or rats and rabbits?” The design of these pages also does such a nice job in filling them occasionally with just photographs and captions. This is great!

Who Knew? The Wonders of Biomimicry by Kathleen E. Madden

How have moth’s eyes changed your iphones, polar bear fur affected space travel, and bats inspired new robots? Discover the incredible world of biomimicry, where scientists take a page out of nature’s book. Admittedly, every year we see one new biomimicry book for kids come out and they’re usually perfectly decent but not all that interesting aside from the subject matter. This one, I’m rather taken with. Maybe it’s the photography, which is really nicely designed and incorporated with the text. Maybe it’s the fact that I like how the big focus is on the natural world with the sidebars being about what the human scientists are doing. I’m placing this in the older nonfiction section because of the content but honestly the author keeps all of this pretty simple. We’re not going to dive into the logistics of who made these inventions or how. The only one that left me with more questions than I liked was the lobster vision, since I couldn’t exactly understand how the lobster’s field of vision inspired an x-ray imaging device. Would be worthy of your children, in any case.

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So with all that in mind, here are the other lists for 2024:

December 1 – Great Board Books

December 2 – Picture Book Readalouds

December 3 – Simple Picture Book Texts

December 4 – Transcendent Holiday Picture Books

December 5 – Rhyming Picture Books

December 6 – Funny Picture Books

December 7 – CaldeNotts

December 8 – Picture Book Reprints

December 9 – Bilingual Books for Kids

December 10 – Math Books for Kids

December 11 – Books with a Message / Social Emotional Learning

December 12 – Fabulous Photography

December 13 – Translated Picture Books

December 14 – Fairy Tales / Folktales / Religious Tales

December 15 – Wordless Picture Books

December 16 – Poetry Books

December 17 – Unconventional Children’s Books

December 18 – Easy Books & Early Chapter Books

December 19 – Comics & Graphic Novels

December 20 – Older Funny Books

December 21 – Science Fiction Books

December 22 – Fantasy Books

December 23 – Informational Fiction

December 24 – Gross Books

December 25 – Science & Nature Books

December 26 – Unique Biographies

December 27 – Blueberry Award Contenders (Celebrating the Environment)

December 28 – Nonfiction Picture Books

December 29 – Nonfiction Books for Older Readers

December 30 – Middle Grade Novels

December 31 – Picture Books