10 Wonder-ful STEM Books for Kids

Because "I don't like math" is the start of a conversation

When my third grader told me the other day that he “didn’t really like math,” I laughed. He had just spent the better part of the day pouring over the NBA shooting percentages, creating March Madness brackets, examining player stats on his baseball cards, and building a marble run. 

These are all math activities. 

My dad, a scientist, adored the 1959 Disney cartoon “Donald in Mathmagicland.” Math is everywhere, he’d tell me. It’s in the shape of a spider’s web, the size of a shadow, or swirl of a seashell.

I dedicated my picture book “You Wonder All the Time” to my dad because he helped me see through wonder-filled eyes. He knew that science and math aren’t just subjects in school –  they are a ways of seeing.

One way to bolster young kids’ interest in STEM topics is to surround them with good books. Go to the library and load up on books that spark their curiosity. You don’t need to read them all. Just flipping through the pages can inspire their wonder and build some of the context that is so vital to success in reading, math, and science.

Here are nine additional math and science books to add to your preschooler’s or elementary student’s shelf.

1. It’s a Numbers Game: Football, by Eric Zweig

This title is the latest in the NatGeo series “It’s a Numbers Game” –  joining basketball, soccer, and baseball. If your kid loves sports, these books show how math fits into their passion: from how to use statistics to measure a player’s performance to the numbers used in defensive formations.

2. Double Puppy Trouble, by Danica McKellar

Best known to some of us as Winnie from “The Wonder Years,” Danica McKellar recently released the latest book in her line of whimsical, approachable math books for kids. This one teaches the concept of doubling –  and the chaos that ensues as puppies double and double and double again. 

3. Pigeon Math, by Asia Citro

Ten pigeons are sitting on a . . . hey wait, six just flew off. Let’s start the story again! This book is a completely silly & delightful way to help kids learn to manipulate the addition and subtraction of numbers 1-10.

4. Mousetronaut: Based on a (Partially) True Story, By Mark Kelly 

In 2001, a few “mice-tronauts” traveled into space with NASA astronaut Commander Mark Kelly — inspiring Kelly to write a book from the perspective of one of these mice, who teaches the reader about daily life on the space shuttle and what it takes to be a space explorer.

5. ​​National Geographic Little Kids First Big Book of Why, by Amy Shields

My kids loved all of the NatGeo’s “Little Kids First Big Book of . . .” series. These oversized, highly visual books are the perfect introduction to a host of science topics: dinosaurs, weather, space, bugs, rocks, and animals. We didn’t read them cover-to-cover. We took them in the car on long rides, flipped through them during afternoon downtime, and used them to answer questions (what was the name of that tiny dinosaur?). 

6. Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13, By Helaine Becker

This vibrant book tells the story of Katherine Johnson, a black mathematician who worked for NASA, calculated the course of moon landings, and whose work saved the astronauts of Apollo 13.  An inspiring introduction to one of the mathematical pioneers featured in the film “Hidden Figures. 

7. On a Beam of Light, by Jennifer Berne and Vladimir Radunsky 

I love this book because it can help kids develop a growth mindset –  changing their language from “I can’t do it” to “I can’t do it yet.” This book explores Albert Einstein’s early struggles with learning and school –  and how they propelled his later accomplishments. 

8. ​​Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist, by Jess Keating

Eugenie Clark fell in love with sharks as a child. But she encountered two obstacles: people who thought sharks were scary and dangerous, and people who thought women couldn’t be premier scientists. She set out to prove both groups wrong. 

9. Maps, Aleksandra Mizielinska and Daniel Mizielinski  

It’s a short name for a big book. This oversized illustrated guide to every continent has provided my son with hours (and hours) of fascination. He got it as a present when he was three –  and five years later, it is still a favorite: an endless scavenger hunt for cities, rivers, mountains, animals, plants, and cultural tidbits. Never underestimate the power of a map to inspire wonder!

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Just Because . . .

During an author visit yesterday, I asked the kids to share some "feelings words.”

The preschoolers had a really impressive emotional vocabulary -- including frustrated, thankful, and determined.

And then a 4yo ran up to the front, threw her arms around me, and said: "I love the feeling of hug" -- and then ran back to her seat.

So I'm adding to my list: I love the feeling of hug, the feeling of puppy-in-my-lap, and the feeling of spring-flowers.

Cheers,

Deborah

Deborah Farmer Kris *www.parenthood365.com