Books to engage children with STEM

An interactive board book with cut-out finger trails and sturdy flaps that encourage youngsters to explore the forest in the company of the very hungry caterpillar.

Rosa and her friends are growing sunflowers. The industrious team of children fill pots with soil, tenderly plant seeds and then carefully label and position their plants. This is one of a series of books following Rosa and her friends as they undertake a range of simple but inspiring projects guaranteed to stimulate children’s interest in STEM subjects.

When a brave mole sets off alone for the moon, he changes things on Earth, too. Parents and children will enjoy the inspirational message: you can inspire others if you try hard enough to make your dreams come true, and adventures are always better with friends. 

This lovely, bright book with a fun rhyming text will delight little ones who love vehicles, diggers and trucks. There’s lots of detail here about all the fun things trucks do – focused on a building site as a type of workplace that will interest little ones, with the clear, understandable outcome of building houses.

A humorous, fabulously entertaining and lavishly illustrated introduction to astronomy, geology, natural history and ecology from the point of view of planet Earth herself.

Finn is in a horrible mood and doesn’t want to talk about it – he’d rather hide under the bedcovers. But, Grandpa persuades Finn to come for a walk outside – Finn can even stay under the blanket and use it like a comforting, protective cloak.

An energetic, fun introduction to different types of weather, using rhyme and vibrant, bright illustrations.

Nathan Bryon and Dapo Adeola’s charming picture book gifts us with a gorgeous character in Rocket, a girl whose passion for all things space is as inspiring to the reader as her heroine Mae Jemison is to her. 

Featuring 52 activities (one for every Sunday in the year), Sunday Fun Day is a compendium of craft, cooking, gardening and outdoor activities organised into Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Loads of useful ideas and lovely for families who love crafts. 

Inventor Leonora Bolt has never left the remote island she lives on with her pet otter and an eccentric housekeeper! When a young castaway washes ashore, she begins to learn all about the mainland – which is in terrible danger. Can Leonora and her friends save it?

Why is the moon so dry when the Earth has oceans and rivers and snow and ice? This rhyming and poetical picture book brilliantly introduces the concept of the water cycle and the value of water in our lives.

Could the Big Bad Wolf really blow down a straw house? A funny look at familiar fairy tales through the lens of STEM.

This considers likely future occupations in the technology industry for today’s children and explains the tech world in an accessible and helpful way.

A funny, informative collection of inventions, both useful and failed, across the centuries from a best-selling author and illustrator pair. 

Genius inventor Esha Verma is on the brink of winning the Brain Trophy, when she accidentally sends her sister back to the age of the dinosaurs. Funny and fast-paced STEM adventure.

It could be said that physics is the science of absolutely everything: clouds to cars, time to rainbows and rain to sandwiches. But, as a subject, it can seem a bit complicated – or, can it?

Migrating animals are found in all areas of the animal kingdom: birds, fish, reptiles, crustaceans, amphibians, mammals and insects. But why do they do it, and how does it work? There’s so much to learn, from the varying migration routes of different birds (gannets can cross oceans easily as they can take breaks to swim, float and fish for food, and storks rely on thermal column or rising air) to the yearly habits of whales, who migrate from the freezing waters of the Arctic and Antarctic to warmer waters to give birth.

Emmy is in a new city and new school and has just discovered computer coding. But why are people in class keeping secrets? This verse novel brilliantly combines poetry, music and coding with a coming-of-age story and a celebration of girls in STEM. 

A super-fun and highly educational book which makes science accessible, cool and shows children that they don’t need fancy equipment to have a lot of fun with experiments.

Danny Chung doesn’t do maths he does do art. When his grandmother arrives from China, hilarious adventures including bingo and lychees show him that maths and art are closely connected.

A fascinating and accessible introduction to the variety of engineers across the globe making a difference in their jobs. Sure to inspire all secondary school pupils.