• Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024 - All Bodies Are Wonderful by Beth Cox & Samantha Meredith (illustrator)
  • Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024 - The Expanding World of Data Tom Jackson, Ekaterina Gorelova & Ana Seixas (illustrators)
  • Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024 - Can You Get Rainbows in Space? Dr Sheila Kanani, Liz Kay (illustrator)
  • Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024 - Where Are You Really From? Adam Rutherford, Adam Ming (illustrator)
  • Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024 - Engineers Making a Difference Dr Shini Somara, Adam Allsuch Boardman & Manuel Šumberac (illustrators)
  • Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024 - Mission: Arctic — A Scientific Adventure to a Changing North Pole Katharina Weiss-Tuider, Christian Schneider (illustrator), translated by Shelley Tanaka

Top Science Books for Children: Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2024, recommended by Dorothy Bishop

The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize recognises the best science books for under 14s. Professor Dorothy Bishop, psychologist and chair of the 2024 judging panel, introduces the wonderful titles on this year’s shortlist and explains why she thinks they will inspire children to become scientists.

  • The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Bodies, Brains & Bogies by Paul Ian Cross & Steve Brown (illustrator)
  • The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Live Like a Hunter Gatherer Naomi Walmsley, Mia Underwood (illustrator)
  • The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Am I Made of Stardust? Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Chelen Écija (illustrator)
  • The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Step Inside Science: Germs by Sarah Hull & Teresa Bellon (illustrator)
  • The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Ben Rothery's Deadly and Dangerous Animals by Ben Rothery
  • The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - A Bug's World by Dr Erica McAlister & Stephanie Fizer Coleman (illustrator)

The Best Science Books for Children: the 2023 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Usha Goswami

The judges of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize look for books that explain high quality science in an engaging and accessible way. Neuroscientist Usha Goswami, chair of the 2023 judging panel, explains why it is important to get children excited about science via books, and introduces us to the fabulous titles that made this year’s shortlist.

  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - How Was That Built? The Stories Behind Awesome Structures Roma Agrawal, Katie Hickey (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Microbe Wars: Humanity's Biggest Battles with the World's Smallest Life-Forms by Gill Arbuthnott & Marianna Madriz (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Fourteen Wolves: A Rewilding Story by Catherine Barr & Jenni Desmond (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Fantastically Great Women Scientists and their Stories by Kate Pankhurst
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - If the World Were 100 People Jackie McCann, Aaron Cushley (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Beetles for Breakfast and Other Weird and Wonderful Ways to Save the Planet Madeleine Finlay, Jisu Choi (illustrator)

Best Science Books for Children: the 2022 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Alan Wilson

The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize celebrates books that stimulate children’s curiosity and enthusiasm to explore, innovate and debate. Alan Wilson, Chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six outstanding science books for kids that made the 2022 shortlist.

  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Under the Stars: Astrophysics for Everyone by Lisa Harvey-Smith & Mel Matthews (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast by Michael Holland & Philip Giordano (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Agent Asha: Mission Shark Bytes by Sophie Deen & Anjan Sarkar (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Inventors: Incredible Stories of the World's Most Ingenious Inventions by Robert Winston & Jessamy Hawke (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - I am a book. I am a portal to the universe. by Stefanie Posavec & Miriam Quick (illustrator)
  • Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - 100 Things to Know about Saving the Planet

Best Science Books for Children: the 2021 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Katharine Cashman

In selecting the best science books for children, the judges of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize identify books that are scientifically accurate as well as accessible and engaging. Katharine Cashman, Professor of Volcanology at Bristol University and Chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six wonderful books that made the 2021 shortlist.

  • The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson & with Gregory Mone
  • The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Cats React to Science Facts by Izzi Howell
  • The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - In the Key of Code by Aimee Lucido
  • The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - How to Win a Nobel Prize by Barry Marshall, Bernard Caleo (illustrator) & with Lorna Hendry
  • The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Gut Garden: A journey into the wonderful world of your microbiome by Katie Brosnan
  • The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize - Everyday Journeys Of Ordinary Things by Libby Deutsch & Valpuri Kerttula (illustrator)

The Best Science Books for Kids: the 2020 Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize, recommended by Mike Kendall

To find the best science books for kids, the judges of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize look for books that are not only accurate but also entertaining. Mike Kendall, Professor of Geophysics at Oxford University and chair of this year’s judging panel, talks us through the six fabulous books that made the 2020 shortlist (the final winner will be chosen by the real experts: more than 13,000 kids).