Award-Winning Science Picture Books

The Animal Book: a Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest—and Most Surprising—Animals on Earth, by Steve Jenkins.  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, 208 pages.  Age/interest level: 6-up.

Steve Jenkins has made a name for himself writing about specified corners of the animal kingdom (see our review of The Beetle Book) and illustrating them with exquisite cut-paper collages.  The Animal Book is his magnum opus, so far at least; the subtitle pretty much says it all.  Chapters include “Animals!,” a general introduction showing how animals are distributed and the proportional population of each phyla.  From there is goes on to Family (mating and gestation); Animal Senses, detailing how each species is equipped with special sensory gifts for survival; Predators, Defenses, Animal Extremes (here’s where the “most surprising” come in); and “The Story of Life.”  That last chapter is the one parents may want to slight, for its praise of the evolutionary process.  Aside from that there’s a lot to like, including helpful charts, a glossary, and a 6-page section showing how the book was developed and designed (I especially liked the collage-making).  There’s also the “Hey, Mom!” (or “Hey, Dad!”) factor, as in, “Hey, Mom!  Did you know . . .

that the assassin bug can speak smaller insects with its sharp beak?

how herring gulls get shellfish open?

a horned lizard can spit blood from its eyes?

Have you ever heard of a flying frog?!

In other words, hours of fun for everybody!

• Worldview/moral value: 2.5 (out of five—points off for the evolutionary enthusiasm)
• Artistic value: 4.5

How the Meteorite Got to the Museum, by Jessie Hartland.  Blue apple, 2013, 34 pages.  Age/interest level: 5-7.

This is the third science picture book by the author built on this model, after How the Dinosaur and How the Sphinx got to their respective museums.  All begin with an actual discovery–in this case, a meteor that hit a teenage girl’s car in Peekskill, NY, 1994.  Once its scientific importance is established, the book gets a rhythm going, for example: Here is the dog sleeping on a porch who is awakened by a loud sound.  She barks at the meteor as it zooms toward the earth.  Here are the Virginians enjoying a late-night burger, who suddenly see a fiery trail in the sky . . . and on it goes, each new observer recapping all the previous ones in the manner of “This is the house that Jack built.”  Police, geologists, cosmologists, and museum curators all get into the act, following the rock’s progress all the way to permanent exhibit.  Illustrations are bright, exuberant, and primitive, best suited to the primary level—a pleasing introduction to the process of scientific research and verification.

• Worldview/moral value: 3 (pretty much neutral)
• Artistic Value: 3

Bone by Bone, bySara Levine, illustrated by T. s. Spookytooth.  Lerner, 2013, 32 pages.  Age/interest level: 6-9

“Comparing Animal Skeletons” is this book’s subtitle, but a better one might be, “What you would look like with the bones of an ostrich or turtle.”  The mind-blowing illustrations (I’m not believing this guy’s name) picture boys and girls with the bone structures of herons and giraffes, which could really start some speculation on why bones are so important.  The text is structured to get the kids involved, not just by telling them, but asking: what animal they would be if they had, for instance, finger bones reaching down to their feet–or arm bones but no leg bones?  If you’re reading the book aloud for the first time, it would be fun to wait for their guesses, then turn the page and see if they guessed right.  One reviewer recommended the book as a good introduction to evolutionary biology, but I didn’t see any marked evolutionary bias.  It’s a good introduction to skeletons—always an intriguing topic for the early elementary set—and by the time they’ve read it they’ll definitely know what a vertebrate is.

• Worldview/moral value: 3.5
• Artistic value: 4

We’ve looked at lots of science picture books!  Here are some science biographies, and science mysteries, and don’t miss our librarians’ favorite science picks.