Fun Science Books for the 30 Books Project
“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time.”
- Carl Sagan
- Carl Sagan
Isdell, Wendy. A Gebra Named Al . 1993.
Julie hates algebra until she journeys to the fantastical Land of Mathematics, where she encounters a zebralike imaginary number named Al and several horselike creatures representing the elements of the periodic table.
Hiaasen, Carl. Hoot. 2002
This story involves kids uncovering wrongdoing in Florida: in this case, a land developer whose project will destroy the home of some burrowing owls.
Hiaasen, Carl. Flush. 2005.
Noah and his sister, Abbey, investigate a floating casino whose owners they suspect of dumping raw sewage into the protected waters around their Florida Keys home. Hiaasen’s novel Hoot (Knopf, 2002) also involves kids uncovering wrongdoing in Florida: in this case, a land developer whose project will destroy the home of some burrowing owls.
Mikaelsen, Ben. Stranded. 1995.
Twelve-year-old Koby, who lost a foot in an accident, finds a new sense of self-worth when she rescues and cares for two beached pilot whales near her Florida Keys home. When an approaching hurricane threatens the whales’ lives and her father’s business, Koby and her parents must confront not only the storm but also the emotional barriers in the family.
Paterson, Katherine. The Same Stuff as Stars . 2002.
After being abandoned by her mother to live with her great-grandmother, 11-year-old Angel takes comfort from the astronomy she learns from her uncle.
Pfeffer, Susan Beth. Life as We Knew It . 2006.
After a meteor hits the moon and disrupts life across the planet, 16-year-old Miranda and her family in rural Pennsylvania struggle to survive in a world where food, warmth, and well-being have vanished.
Shimony, Abner. Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar. Illus. by Jonathan Shimony. 1997.
In 1582, young Tibaldo Bondi loses his birthday in the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar and appeals to Pope Gregory for assistance. The author, a philosopher and physicist by training, provides readers with much background concerning the astronomy involved in making this calendar correction. Period-style sepia illustrations enliven the text.
High School Level Books
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History, by Stephen Jay Gould
The Diversity of Life, by Edward O. Wilson
Under a Lucky Star, by Roy Chapman Andrews
The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA, by James Watson
E=mc2: A Biography of the World’s Most Famous Equation, by David Bodanis
A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson
A Primate’s Memoir: A Neuroscientist’s Unconventional Life Among the Baboons, by Robert Sapolsky
Microbe Hunters, by Paul deKruif
The Ghost Map: The Story of London’s Most Terrifying Epidemic–and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, by Steven Johnson
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story, by Richard Preston
Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition, by Oliver Sacks
Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood, by Oliver Sacks
The Story of Science: Aristotle Leads the Way>, by Joy Hakim (follow the link to the other two books in the series, too)
The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist, Richard Feynman
Why Evolution Is True, by Jerry Coyne
More Book Resources
Citations
"Science-Themed Novels." American Library Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Great Science Books for High School Students: The Hive-mind Speaks : The Loom."The Loom. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.