Another year has gone by and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) has released its annual list of recommended science literacy trade books for this year. These books are recommended by members of the science education community to NSTA and reviewed by a panel of professionals. This panel of professionals is comprised of science teachers, university professors, and other science educators.
The panel’s review focuses on reading level, creative path to inquiry, scientific accuracy, appropriateness of art and pictures for using visual arts in science, connections with science standards, and content area appropriateness. After reviewing the latest panel’s recommendations, the NSTA published its list of outstanding science trade books for 2009.
The following are selected samples of outstanding science trade books for 2009 by content area and grade level, as recommended by NSTA:
Archaeology, Anthropology, and Paleontology
Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past
- by James M. Deem
- Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008, Trade ISBN 978-0-618-80045-2
- Middle School and High School, 64 pages
- Gripping stories are accompanied by highly informative expedition photographs of human remains discovered in glaciers around the world.
Biography
Farmer George Plants a Nation
- by Peggy Thomas and illustrated by Layne Johnson
- Boyds Mills Press, Inc., Trade ISBN 978-1-59078-460-0
- Elementary, 40 pages
- Readers meet George Washington, a thoughtful farmer who delighted in experiments with plants, tools, and new methods of farming.
Earth and Space Science
Moon Landing
- by Richard Platt and illustrated by David Hawcock
- Candlewick Press, Trade ISBN 978-0-76364-046-0
- Elementary, Middle and High School, 10 pages
- Magnificent three-dimensional pop-ups and foldouts tell the story about Apollo 11.
Environment and Ecology
When the Wolves Returned: Restoring Nature’s Balance in Yellowstone
- by Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and illustrated with photographs by Dan Hartman and Cassie Hartman.
- Walker Books for Young Readers, Trade ISBN 0-8027-9686-9
- Elementary and Middle School, 32 pages
- This book presents a comprehensive explanation of how the balance of nature was restored in the Yellowstone National Park as a result of restoring the park’s wolf population.
Health
Dr. Frankenstein’s Human Body Book
- by Richard Walker
- Dorling Kindersley, Trade ISBN 978-0-7566-4091-0
- Elementary and Middle School, 96 pages
- Human anatomy is studied, step-by-step, in a laboratory setting. The author provides x-rays, color photos, drawings, and a good sense of humor.
Biology
Genetics: From DNA to Designer Dogs
- by Kathleen Simpson
- National Geographic Society, Trade ISBN 978-1-4263-0361-6
- Middle and High School, 64 pages
- Portraying the work of scientists in the quickly advancing field of genetics, the stories in this book tell about researchers sequencing a mummy’s DNA and investigating the use of human stem cells.
Technology and Engineering
Cool Stuff Exploded
- by Chris Woodford
- DK Publishing, Trade ISBN 978-0-7566-4028-6
- Middle and High School
- Photographs and computer-generated images provide an inside look of mechanisms that make many transportation vehicles, home appliances, entertainment systems, and personal electronics function.
Additional Science Trade Book Resources
The following are additional tradebooks resources that focus on science, along with popular online animated science trade books.
- NSTA’s outstanding elementary science tradebooks for 2008
- Elementary animated science trade books are available free from the MSN Organization.
Outstanding science tradebooks provide learning resources for students through reading scientific correct books, being resources for science nature journals, problem-based learning investigations, and other inquiry-based science exercises. Students will enjoy these books as they develop a better understanding of science through the stories being told and visually artistic works.
David R. Wetzel - Dr. David Wetzel's experience includes more than 25 years in continuing, adult, and teacher education.
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