Outreach

Over and Under Series 

Grade K-2

Writer Kate Messner and Illustrator Christopher Silas Neal take children on a tour through the hidden parts of nature. The text is poetic and imaginative, and the illustrations are inviting, featuring diverse and inclusive characters. These books encourage a child’s imagination and at the same time increase awareness of all the diverse life that makes up the world around us. 

• Over and Under the Pond
• Over and Under the Snow
• Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
• Over and Under the Rainforest

Enjoy Your Cells Series

Grades 1-4

Fran Balkwill is Professor of Cancer Biology at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital and the London Queen Mary School of Medicine. Mic Rolph is a graphic designer with much television and publishing experience. Together, they have invented a new way of getting science across to children. Their unique brand of simple but scientifically accurate commentary and exuberantly colorful graphics aims to take young readers on an entertaining exploration of the amazing, hidden world of cells, proteins, and DNA.

• Enjoy Your Cells
• Have a Nice DNA
• Germ Zappers
• Gene Machines

The Big Books Series

Grades 2-4

Yuval Zommer has created this series of beautiful encyclopedia-like books about nature. The pages are filled with colorful quirky illustrations, interspersed with remarkable facts that will astonish children and adults. Picture-book charm pairs with informative nonfiction in this series of beautiful, large-format books.

• The Big Book of Bugs
• The Big Book of Beasts
• The Big Book of the Blue
• The Big Book of Birds
• The Big Book of Blooms
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Backpack Explorer Series

Grade K-2

Storey Publishing, located in North Adams, Massachusetts, specializes in books on farming, nature, and children’s activities. This series, colorfully illustrated by Oana Befort, is packed with activities, prompts, scavenger hunts, and small experiments to create your own outdoor adventures.

• Backpack Explorer: On the Nature Trail
• Backpack Explorer: Beach Walk
• Backpack Explorer: Bird Watch

The Backyard Bug Book for Kids 

Grade PreK

Written by entomologist Lauren Davidson this book combines a story with illustrations that contain actual photographs of bugs and small puzzle activities. It introduces young children to the types of bugs they’re likely to see during their day, and help them remember what they’ve learned with fun, on-the-page challenges.

Exploring Nature Activity Book for Kids: 50 Creative Projects to Spark Curiosity in the Outdoors 

Grades 2-5

Encourage young nature lovers to get outside and track, explore, discover, and create. This book is filled with hands-on, educational outdoor activities that kids will love to learn from, like crafting bird feeders out of fruit, pressing flowers, or creating sundials. They’ll get their hands dirty and their imaginations revving while staying active outside.  The book features 50 fun outdoor projects to inspire a lifetime of curiosity, with tons of guided, interactive ideas that let kids observe animals, plants, and even outer space in action. By stopping to notice and record what’s going on around them, kids will practice important skills like observation, memory, writing, drawing, wildlife safety, and more.

The World of Microscope 

Grades 3-5

The World of the Microscope by Chris Oxlade and Corinne Stockley is a great starting point to learn about the microscopic world. This small book introduces a variety of objects that are too small for the eye to see but can be revealed with the help of a microscope, from insects and bacteria, to rock crystals and microchip circuits. Step-by-step diagrams show how to get the best results from a microscope and how to make and keep slides. The book also covers the history of the microscope, different types of microscopes, from magnifying glasses to electron microscopes, and there are plenty of exciting suggestions for projects which reveal the incredible detail of everyday objects.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist: Biology for Kids

Grades 3-5

Goal of the author, mom and former molecular biologist Liz Lee Heinecke, is to make it simple for parents to do science with kids of all ages, and for kids to experiment safely on their own.   This engaging guide offers a series of snapshots of 25 scientists famous for their work with biology, from ancient history through today. Each lab tells the story of a scientist along with some background about the importance of their work, and a description of where it is still being used or reflected in today’s world. A step-by-step illustrated experiment paired with each story offers kids a hands-on opportunity for exploring concepts the scientists pursued, or are working on today. Experiments range from very simple projects using materials you probably already have on hand, to more complicated ones that may require a few inexpensive items you can purchase online.

Look Up!: Bird-Watching in Your Own Backyard

Grades 3-6

This conversational, humorous introduction to bird-watching by Annette LeBlanc Cate encourages kids to get outdoors with a sketchbook and really look around. Quirky full-color illustrations portray dozens of birds chatting about their distinctive characteristics, including color, shape, plumage, and beak and foot types, while tongue-in-cheek cartoons feature banter between birds, characters, and the reader. Interactive and enjoyable tips bring an age-old hobby to new life for the next generation of bird-watchers.

Spring After Spring: How Rachel Carson Inspired the Environmental Movement

By Stephanie Roth Sisson

Grades K-2

A picture book biography of Rachel Carson, the iconic environmentalist who fought to keep the sounds of nature from going silent.

The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs

By Kate Messner and Matthew Forsythe

Grades K-3

Life story of the environmental scientist and marine life protector Ken Nedimyer. A stunning tribute to the wonders of nature and the power of human hope—a power even the smallest readers can access in their quest to aid our extraordinary planet. 

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World

By Laurie Lawlor and Laura Beingessner

Grades 1-3

Lyrical, illustrated biography of the pioneering scientist and environmentalist, Rachel Carson. The book follows her journey—from a girl exploring the woods, to a woman working to help support her family during the Great Depression, to a journalist and pioneering researcher, investigating and exposing the harmful effects of pesticide overuse. 

The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever

By H. Joseph Hopkins and Jill McElmurry

Grades 1-3

The true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens.

Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist

By Jess Keating and Marta Álvarez Miguéns

Grades 1-3

Story of a woman who dared to dive, defy, discover, and inspire.

The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just

By Melina Mangal and Luisa Uribe

Grades 1-4

Extraordinary illustrations and lyrical text present pioneering African American scientist Ernest Everett Just. He saw the whole, where others saw only parts. He noticed details others failed to see. He persisted in his research despite the discrimination and limitations imposed on him as an African American. His keen observations of sea creatures revealed new insights about egg cells and the origins of life.

Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian

By Margarita Engle and Julie Paschkis 

Grades 1-4

The story of one young girl who took the time to observe and learn, and in so doing disproved a theory that went all the way back to ancient Greece.

Galápagos Girl / Galapagueña

By Marsha Diane Arnold and Angela Dominguez

Grades 1-4

This delightful bilingual story was inspired by the childhood of Valentina Cruz, whose family was one of the first permanent inhabitants of the Galápagos. Valentina is now a biologist and naturalist guide who has dedicated her life to the conservation of the islands. Come discover this beautiful world with Valentina and her animal friends!

Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle

By Claire A. Nivola

Grades 1-4

A picture book biography of Sylvia Earle, who has dedicated her life to learning more about what she calls “the blue heart of the planet.” With stunningly detailed pictures of the wonders of the sea, Life in the Ocean tells the story of Sylvia’s growing passion and how her ocean exploration and advocacy have made her known around the world.

Black Women in Science: A Black History Book for Kids

By Kimberly Brown Pellum

Grades 3-6

15 powerful stories of fearless female scientists that advanced their STEM fields and fought to build a legacy. A beautiful homage to all of the black women in STEM that have and continue to contribute to making the world a better place.

What Color is My World? The Lost History of African-American Inventors 

By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld

Grades 4-7

A lineup of African-American inventors makes up this lively, kid-friendly book. Offering profiles with fast facts and framed by a funny contemporary story featuring two feisty twins, here is a tribute to black inventors whose ingenuity and perseverance against great odds made our world safer, better, and brighter.

Black Pioneers of Science and Invention

By Louis Haber

Grades 5-7

A readable, perceptive account of the lives of fourteen gifted innovators who have played important roles in scientific and industrial progress. The achievements of Benjamin Banneker, Granville T. Woods, George Washington Carver, and others have made jobs easier, saved countless lives, and in many cases, altered the course of history. 

Breakthrough! How Three People Saved “Blue Babies” and Changed Medicine Forever

By Jim Murphy

Grades 5-8

Story about the development of a groundbreaking operation that repaired the congenital heart defect known as blue baby syndrome. The stories of this medical and social breakthrough and the lives of Alfred Thomas, Vivien Blalock, and their colleague Dr. Helen Taussig are intertwined in this compelling nonfiction narrative.

Primates: The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas 

By Jim Ottaviani and Maris Wicks

Grades 6-8

A graphic novel about the work and life of the three greatest primatologists of the last century: Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas. These three ground-breaking researchers were all students of the great Louis Leakey, and each made profound contributions to primatology―and to our own understanding of ourselves. 

Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science - and the World 

By Rachel Swaby

Grades 6-8

Covering Nobel Prize winners and major innovators, as well as lesser-known but hugely significant scientists who influence our every day, Rachel Swaby’s vibrant profiles span centuries of courageous thinkers and illustrate how each one’s ideas developed, from their first moment of scientific engagement through the research and discovery for which they’re best known. This fascinating tour reveals 52 women at their best—while encouraging and inspiring a new generation of girls to put on their lab coats.

Brilliant Blunders: From Darwin to Einstein - Colossal Mistakes by Great Scientists That Changed Our Understanding of Life and the Universe.

By Mario Livio

Grades 8 and Up

A wonderfully insightful examination of the psychology of five fascinating scientists (Charles Darwin, William Thomson (Lord Kelvin), Linus Pauling, Fred Hoyle, and Albert Einstein) —and the mistakes as well as the achievements that made them famous.