Top 10 STEM books of 2018 (Fiction & Nonfiction)

From creative thinking to coding to chemistry- there were some fantastic science-themed books released this year. Here is a roundup of our top favorites for 2018.

1. CALLING ALL MINDS: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor

by Temple Grandin (Nonfiction/ Ages 8-12 years)

An impassioned call to look at the world in unique ways with plenty of practical advice on how to cultivate a curious, inquiring, imaginative mind. (diagrams, photos, bibliography). Celebrated inventor Temple Grandin shares her experiences and insights into her processes of tinkering and building, offering excellent advice to aspiring young inventors for realizing their own innovative ideas. Included in the text are 25 kid-friendly projects to help develop those skills. Mixing history, science, and memoir makes for an occasionally digressive narrative that is sometimes unwieldy but never boring.

2. Hello Ruby: Expedition to the Internet

by Linda Liukas (Nonfiction/Ages 4-8 years)

Hello Ruby is half picture book and half activity book rolled into one adorable package. It introduces programming without requiring a computer at all. The point of the book isn’t to teach you a programming language, but programming concepts. The third book in the series, Expedition to the Internet helps children understand what exactly is the internet and how does information travel. We highly recommend getting all three books in the series and watch your kids learn the joys of programming through storytelling and fun activities.

3. Whales: An Illustrated Celebration

by Kelsey Oseid (Nonfiction/Ages 8+)

A gorgeously illustrated, entertaining, and educational guide to the wonderful whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the world. Some of the world's most fascinating and beloved animals, cetaceans—whales, dolphins, and porpoises—have captivated the human imagination for centuries. Whales: An Illustrated Celebration explores the most interesting and illuminating facts about these marine mammals, from the enormous blue whale (which has a heart the size of a car!) to the Amazon river dolphin (which is pink!). Perfect for nature and animal lovers from eight to eighty, Whales also covers the current state of wild and captive cetaceans worldwide, why we should care, and what we can do to help our beautiful marine mammal friends.

4. The Book of Ingeniously Daring Chemistry

by Sean Connolly (Nonfiction/Ages 9+)

A book that takes you on a journey through the periodic table of elements with the master of daring STEM books, Sean Connolly. Readers are introduced to each element, including its properties, how it was discovered, its everyday uses and all this knowledge is put into action using household ingredients to conduct 24 awesome, hands-on experiments. An fun book to introduce chemistry to curious kids.

5. Crack the Code!: Activities, Games, and Puzzles That Reveal the World of Coding (Girls Who Code)

by Sarah Hutt (Nonfiction/ Ages 8-12 years)

A great book to learn the concepts of computer coding - without screens! Using word games, puzzles, mazes and quizzes, this book shows kids how coding is a part of everything around us including sports, arts and even music. As part of the Girls Who Code literary collection, these books are aimed at inspiring young girls to explore the world of programming in a fun and engaging manner.

6. Does It Fart?: The Definitive Field Guide to Animal Flatulence

by Nick Caruso, Dani Rabaiotti (Nonfiction/ Ages 6+)

This New York Times bestseller started as an innocent tweet asking if snakes fart. The question exploded across Twitter with the hashtag #doesitfart as dozens of experts weighed in on which animals do and don't fart resulting in one of the most comprehensive and authoritative guide to animal flatulence ever published. A well written book that is sure to delight both kids and grown ups with information they didn't realize they needed to know. Scientifically accurate and seriously funny.

7. Turn This Book Into A Beehive

by Lynn Brunelle (Nonfiction/ Ages 8-12 years)

This book introduces kids to the complex social hierarchy of the honeybee world and offers inspiration to wanna be conservationists. It is packed with 19 sensory-driven experiments and activities that offer a deeper understanding of what it's like to be a Bee. A must-read for all to learn why this keystone species is an irreplaceable part of our world and our need to protect them.

8. Miscalculations of Lightning Girl

by Stacy McAnulty. (Fiction/Ages 8+)

Review by Smore reader, Minu Krishnapuram (Age 11 years)

"The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl is a funny and interesting book. The plot of the story is wonderful and unique. Readers will get sucked into the story as soon as they pick up the book. Lucy’s mathematical thoughts mix with her real-life problems which make for a refreshing point of view. One pleasant tidbit is the end, where all the mathematical concepts of the story are explained to the reader. Stacy McAnulty really provides a charming story that appeals to all ages."

9. The Third Mushroom

by Jennifer L Holm (Fiction/ Age 8+)

The Third Mushroom is a humorous, heart- warming and thought-provoking read. This book is the sequel to the New York Times bestselling novel “The Fourteenth Goldfish”. Sometimes even the most careful experiments yield unexpected - and wonderful- results. With a storyline that involves a teenage grandpa who is also a world renowned scientist, how can you not be tempted to pick this one !

10. Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters

by Christa Avampato (Fiction/ Ages 8-12 years)

This book tells the story of a teenage girl who visits a rare bookstore and finds that gem of a book. It causes her to embark on a journey to discover the answers about her mother's mysterious death at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Deep below the streets of New York City, she finds herself on a dangerous adventure into a magical world of books. The central characters of the book are all female, a rare quality for fiction books, especially in young adult literature, and many of them are engaged in science, technology, and invention. Rather than asking for help to be saved, Emerson sets out to be her own savior and to take others with her as she rises.

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