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fun facts (7)
numbers (5)
animals (4)
16 books
last updated November 2019
Science is definitely not just for school. It's a passport to wonder-land.
The world is full of amazing things to find out and share. And then there's the rest of the universe, too...
Books of strange and unbelievable facts are great for dipping into at odd moments. And science is full of such wacky facts.
500 Fantastic Facts: Space (Arcturus, 2019)
500 Fantastic Facts: Your Body (Arcturus, 2019)
1000 Facts (Parragon, 2013)
This book is not only science facts, but there are 325 science facts and I wrote them. I didn't write the others.
1001 Shocking Science Facts (Arcturus, 2008)
Did you know porcupines float in water? Or that 450 million years ago, the South Pole was where the Sahara Desert is now? The book's still good value, there are another 999 facts I haven't told you. (This book is older than most on this site, but this kind of stuff doesn't date.)
Grim, Gross and Grisly (Barrington Stoke, 2010)
A horrible set of truly disgusting facts about humans.
Easy to read. Hard to forget.
It's all very well sitting and reading a book, but sometimes you want to be a bit more active. These books have things to do, or tell you how to do some things, away from the book.
Making History: Mars Rover (Silver Dolphin, 2022)
Build your own Curiosity rover using the pieces in the pack
Making History: Titanic (Silver Dolphin, 2022)
Build your own Titanic. Warning: keep it away from icebergs
How to be an Eco-Hero (Hachette, 2020)
If you've nothing to do today, you might as well save the planet
Minecraft STEM challenge: Build a Theme Park (Welbeck, 2018)
Minecraft STEM challenge: Mega Metropolis (Welbeck, 2018)
Kind of sneaky, as it IS fun to play with Minecraft, but you might also learn some STEM. Which is no bad thing, and not unfun
Dinosaur Factivity (Discovery Books, 2015)
Find out about dinos, and build your own Triceratops
Animals live in all kinds of places. These three books have layered pages so that you can see who lives where and how they hide and move around. There are lots of stunning pictures, and not much text.
Layer by Layer: Into the WIld (Quarto, 2016)
Layer by Layer: Discovering Dinosaurs (Quarto, 2016)
Layer by Layer: Under the Sea (Quarto, 2016)
Some animals do rather amazing things. There's an octopus that can make itself turn runny, and a cat that makes a noise like a baby monkey.
Slipstream: Super Animals (Franklin Watts, 2012)
Easy to read.
Numbers can do some very tricky things. They can multiply when you're not looking until there are an infinity of infinities. The crop up in patterns throughout nature, including in, er, crops. Brain-frazzling number nuggets you can use to show off.
Maths in 30 Seconds (Ivy Press, 2017)
If you really don't have much time, you can learn some fascinating maths in just 30 seconds. Or there's a quick 3-second summary if you don't even have the attention span for 30 seconds.
You Wouldn't Want to Live Without Numbers (Salariya, 2016)
Numbers are everywhere - and they make everything possible!
A Math Journey Through Space (Crabtree, 2014)
Fun maths adventures with a spacey theme.
50 Amazing Things Kids Need to Know About Mathematics (Quercus, 2011)
You can do amazing things with numbers - and they do amazing things on their own. What's the link between breeding rabbits and sunflowers? How can you measure the height of a tree? It's all here.
Do you want to find out about more science books? There are books about:
>> our planet (and its neighbours)
>> you and other living things
>> technostuff