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fun facts (7)
do something! (8)
fun with flaps (7)
numbers (8)
30 books
last updated January 2024
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.
Are Bananas Radioactive? (Arcturus, 2022) co-author
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.)
Revolting Records (Barrington Stoke, 2012)
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.
Scratch and Explore Dinosaurs (Curious Universe, 2022) Scratch away the black surface to reveal colourful dinosaur scenes facing a page of dino facts
Scratch and Explore Space (Curious Universe, 2022)
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
These are interactive books with flaps, layers and pop-ups. I've included one *very* old one with a magnetic robotic finger because it's such fun, but I doubt you can buy it any more!
Microbes (some Chinese publisher, 2022) There are some great pop-ups in this — such as the rat-infested plague house — but unfortunately it's only available in Chinese
Animal Atlas (Lonely Planet, 2019) Lots of flaps to lift
Dinosaur Atlas (Lonely Planet, 2017)
Under the Sea (Quarto, 2016) Layered pictures that build up, and sounds that play when you turn the page
Discovering Dinosaurs (Quarto, 2016) More layers and sounds
Into the Wild (Quarto, 2016) And yet more layers and sounds...
Wallace and Gromit's World of Mysteries (Chrysalis, about 2004 or so) Amazing bit of engineering. Turn the pointing finger to a question on the left hand page, then move it to the right-hand page to find the answer. Spolier — it's done with magnets, not magic
Numbers can do some very tricky things. They can multiply when you're not looking until there are an infinity of infinities. They 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)
A Math Journey Through Space (Crabtree, 2014)
Fun maths adventures with a spacey theme.
A Maths Journey Human Body (Crabtree, 2014)
A Maths Journey Planet Earth (Crabtree, 2014)
A Maths Journey Animal Kingdom (Crabtree, 2014)
50 Amazing Things Kids Need to Know About Mathematics (Quercus, 2011)
Do you want to find out about more science books? There are books about:
>> our planet (and its neighbours)
>> your body
>> technostuff