Kid Tested Librarian Recommended: STEM
Check out books that will inspire curiosity, creativity and confidence. These STEM books help make learning fun and engaging. If your kid is interested in something specific, just ask a librarian and we can direct them to many more options.
How to Be a Math Genius by Mike Goldsmith
For many kids (and adults) math is daunting. This book makes math fun by focusing on interesting facts, adding entertaining activities and throwing in some puny jokes. The author helps break math down into easily understandable concepts. Kids who think they are terrible at math will discover they know more than they thought. Building confidence is such an important step in learning.
Even kids who consider themselves good at math will enjoy this book. Math Genius will add to their knowledge and give them some new interesting facts to share.
The Observologist by Giselle Clarkson
"What do a damp corner, wet pavement, and a weedy patch have in common? They are perfectly ordinary places for an observologist to hang out. An observologist is someone who is keen to notice the tiniest and most extraordinary scientific details specific to slugs, earthworms, flies, bees, ants, fungi, and other living organisms known to populate in small, often overlooked natural locations.
"Award-winning author/illustrator Clarkson's unique visual representations of over 100 small creatures and their habitats will have readers thinking in miniature while realizing there is no limit to what can be noticed in the world around them. Her technically impressive renderings of earth's small-to-microscopic creatures are vibrant, lively, and imaginative, while intricate text wraps around an environmental conservation approach that encourages us to observe with our undivided attention.
"VERDICT An amusing approach to a traditional field guide, displaying intricate illustrations. Clarkson's environmental book is well suited for developing naturalists as well as curious observers. It deserves a place of honor on every library shelf and will be a valuable asset in classrooms." –Lyn Smith, School Library Journal
The Tinkering Workshop by Ryan Jenkins
Using basic tools and supplies, makerspace educator Ryan Jenkins inspires kids to look at familiar objects in new ways, think with their hands and discover solutions to building and engineering challenges. This book will jump-start your child's curiosity and creativity.
"(Tinkering Workshop) feels like a buddy cheering you on in the fun (and sometimes challenging) process of tinkering and trying something new and unknown. Each page is enticing not just for the eyes but also for the hands: the images are so beautiful and tactile that I almost feel like I’m running my fingers across the grain of wood, or smooth metal, or flowing water, as I read ... The book is packed with project ideas and techniques that are brilliantly simple and accessible, but also enable endless play and exploration."―Jie Qi, artist and cofounder of Chibitronics
Animal Talk written by Dr. Michael Leach and Dr. Meriel Lland & illustrated by Asia Orlando
Explore the communication strategies of a wide variety of animals. Whether it's releasing a cloud of ink to confuse, roaring to intimidate, dancing to attract a mate or howling to locate one another, the range of communication in the wild is astonishing (and sometimes disgusting!).
This book will encourage your child to tune into the world around them. Readers will learn cool animal facts and realize that communicating is much more than making sounds. While they will understand animals better, they will probably also want to learn more about animals. Kids may also pay more attention to what they are communicating beyond their words.
Dr. Michael Leach is a full-time wildlife author and photographer. He has traveled to all seven continents and worked with many of the world's most charismatic animals. Dr. Meriel Lland is a writer, editor, photographer and film-poet entranced by the stories we tell of the natural world and the secrets those stories reveal of their tellers.
