The 2014 Nominees for The Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize has recently been announced.

“Each year the Royal Society awards a prize to the best book that communicates science to young people. The prize aims to inspire young people to read about science and promotes the best science writing for the under-14s.”

We will cover each of these books over the coming weeks. The prize will be announced in November 2014. Follow the link for more information: https://royalsociety.org/awards/young-people/

What makes you YOU? by Gill Arbuthnott

What Makes You You? is a mind-blowing introduction to the building blocks of life, DNA, what it is, how it works, and what we can do with it. Breaking down complex scientific concepts and processes into digestible bite-sized chunks; Gill Arbuthnott seamlessly explains everything from the basics of evolution to the incredible achievements of modern day genetic research in an accessible, insightful and brilliantly interesting way. Packed with amazing 3D style illustrations and explanatory diagrams that jump off the page as well as amazing tales of scientific discoveries and what’s in store for the future, Gill truly brings science to life.

How animals live by Christiane Dorion and Beverley Young

Animals have cleverly adapted to life all over the planet, from the freezing poles to the hottest, driest deserts. This book explores the extraordinary diversity in animal life, and readers are encouraged to reflect on how a tiny change can have a huge impact on a whole habitat and beyond. The use of novelties and colourful detailed illustrations explain complex concepts in an accessible and fun way.

Eye Benders: the science of seeing and believing by Clive Gifford with consultant Anil Seth

Why do some printed pictures appear to swirl madly in front of your eyes? How can two colours that look completely different actually be the same? What makes complete images suddenly arise out of random patterns? With this crazy book of optical illusions, astound your eyes and amaze your brain and discover the science of how the illusions work. Clive Giffords fun and accessible text introduces kids to the neuroscience behind how our brains and our eyes interact, creating these amazing phenomena. Children will be enthralled by the illusions, and engaged by the supporting information. Learning and critical thinking are encouraged, as readers come away wondering: can you ever believe what you see?

We’ve Got Your Number by Mukul Patel

Numbers and maths are all around us. They can explain where electricity comes from, why we look like our parents, why moons revolve around planets, and why it’s so hard to win the lottery. We’ve Got Your Number investigates all aspects of mathematics and numbers and is arranged in a number of thematic chapters. Within each chapter is a series of self-contained spreads, each of which investigates all aspects of a specific subject, such as the different counting bases or the evolution of money. Each spread comprises concise and accessible running text with boxes, which belong to four main types: Good at Sums provides brief biographies of great mathematicians; Try This at Home is a series of entertaining number games and puzzles; What’s Your Problem? presents real-life challenges such as calculating the size of the Earth and shows how maths has solved them; while What’s In a Number? provides a fact-file ‘biography’ of iconic numbers, such as zero, 1, 3, ‘unlucky’ 13 and 1 million.

The Usborne Big Book of Stars and Planets by Emily Bone

A big picture book with giant fold-out pages to satisfy the curiosity of every young space enthusiast. Everything children need to know about the solar system, which is dispalyed on a hige double-gate fold. Makes a substantial gift which children will pore over for hours.

Lift-the-Flap Questions and Answers about Your Body by Katie Daynes

Children are always asking questions and their bodies are an endless source of fascination to them. This quirkily illustrated book has lots of answers and will engross curious children. You can find the answers to intriguing questions such as How do I smell things? What makes me burp? Why do I need to wash my hands? Why is blood red? And lots more. It offers friendly, simple answers to challenging questions, with entertaining and informative illustrations.

[Image Credit: http://downloads.royalsociety.org/Images/Furniture/Blogs/YPBP-logo.png ]